The cheapy off ebay 6001 bearings for my old hope hub have gone again. This time I think they lasted about 4 months, but just can’t cope with the crap, the hosing down and the leave it in the shed to not dry out properly cycle that goes on.

Looking about it seems that ceramic (hybrid) bearings may not be all they’re cracked up to be, so may be better off with stainless bearings with decent seals (like the LLU enduro ones)

the end of this thread suggests

Any recommendations?

can’t seem to find any Enduro bearings in the UK that fit the bill.

Thanks

Remove seals and pack with grease.

This will either make the bearing last longer (according to me and others) or destroy the seal and make the bearing fall apart within minutes of use (according to others).

done that.

I have play in the bearings so the need to be renewed.

I repacked them as I got them this time, made no difference to how quick they wore out.

🙁

I may be flamed for this but try Kaesae – he does seem to know what he’s doing.

Is looking after them just not an option? Preventative maintenance being mostly free, and all that…

cynic-al – Member
Remove seals and pack with grease.

This will either make the bearing last longer (according to me and others) or destroy the seal and make the bearing fall apart within minutes of use (according to others).

Though I hate to say it, pregreasing or weather proofing is a good idea. The arguement for not removing seals as you will damage then is valid. Cheaper bearings have seals that cannot be removed without damaging them, However top end bearings have seals that are designed to be removed. As long as you know how to remove them, you’ll be fine. People are saying stanley knives and all sorts, take a pin, needle or tooth pick and insert it into the edge of the inner or bore races seal, then leverage it out.

In a lot cases you can get SKF or INA/FAG bearings at good prices, the 6001 2rs bearing you can get on ebay for not a lot. Then all you do is pop of the seals and fill them with grease. Don’t us a very thick grease as this will slow the bearings rotation down a bit. Rolling resistance.

In theory the Ceramic and Ceramic hybrid bearings look good, but a bit like Enduro max bearings in practice they don’t really work. No matter what the material of the bearings water will still get into it unless the seals are good quality. Once the water dries out the silt that it carries will build up inside the bearings and sieze or bind it.

Also with the ceramic hybrid bearings the type of black silicon nitride used is important. reaction bonded is cheap crap and tends to chip, sintered and hot pressed are more suited to bearings. However unless you weather proof inside the bearing the races will still rust.

As for running cheapo bearings in hubs or frames for that matter, only if you want to waste a fortune on maintenance time, which offsets any benefits. The bearings simply will not last and you’ll end up changing them all the time.

I have a lot of performance bearings that are weather proofed by me, they will last years and in the long run make much more sense than constantly changing bearings.

looking after sealed bearings….nope, doesn’t work with my head. fit, forget until they develop play/seize, replace.

I’m after something that will last more than a few months. It’s not as if I jetwash the bike, just a light hosing when it’s dirty, then back in the shed.

They should last longer than that.

Three_Fish – Member
Is looking after them just not an option? Preventative maintenance being mostly free, and all that…

The tolerances and materials used, mean you can really do maintenance, it’s a bit like good quality cooking knives as opposed to cheap ones.

Good quality will last years and stay sharp for longer due to the material being very tough, cheapo you will simply end up sharpening them all the time.

Look at the tolerances on the cheap bearings and the materials used, as well as the seals.

SKF will last a good 4 years or there abouts in the 6001 2rs

The tolerances and materials used, mean you can’t really do maintenance, it’s a bit like good quality cooking knives as opposed to cheap ones.

Fixed that for you, although I disagree. I was referring to the OP’s “hose down and leave in shed” comment. I accept that lower quality bearings would not be expected to remain sealed and greased for as long as better ones, but there’s plenty can be done to improve longevity – not spraying water/degreaser/cleaners into them for starters.

I’ve taken (regularly hosed down) bikes apart and found water lying in (cartridge) bearing recesses, rusty races/cartridges and degraded grease inside the bearings. Rust on a bearing cartridge will deform a seal and increase the possibility of water ingress (and degraded grease). By simply applying a coat of grease above, for example, headset bearings, there’s an extra layer of protection. The same can be done with many hub bearings. Not washing hubs/BB/headsets down with hoses and jet washers, but rather wiping them down or removing the cassette to clean it (and/or using a better chain lube that doesn’t attract and redistribute large amounts of crap), and certainly not just dumping a soaking bike in the shed, is what I would refer to as preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance can be as simple as just drying things with a towel. It’s ridiculously easy to maintain most 20mm front hubs by just whipping the adaptors off and cleaning/drying the inside and wiping a bit of heavy grease around the seals. It’s literally a five-minute job.

Even the finest bearings in the world will fail quicker if they are not looked after. As far as my experience goes, better quality parts generally just require less maintenance; not no maintenance at all.

I currently run the routine of, out on the bike for an hour or two at 5:30am, back, hose bike (or most of the time drivetrain) dry with a rag and lube chain/mechs) just in time to get my daughter sorted for school, out the door, her to school, me to work.

Home in the evenings and not always the time to spend half an hour or an hour in the shed tinkering, so it gets left.

We have a fairly busy weekend schedule too as our daughter does a lot of drama and choir practices.

I get some time occasionally to maintain/repair my bike, but the majority of the time it’s kinda sporadic and essential rather than dealing with the hidden parts.

Oh and I’m known for killing rear wheel bearings and bottom brackets, even before the family came along.

So no, sot just a simple case of dumping it in the shed, there is some care that goes on, but it’s a fair change from when I kept my bike in the nice warm kitchen years ago.

I stay out riding too long, get back, lucky to hose the bike off sometimes and just put it away wet. I may blow the air compressor at the chain and mechs.

Quite, not all of us have the time to properly maintain our bikes.

I’ve always wondered about those folk who turn up for regular rides, or at events, show up with perfectly clean bikes, not a spec of dirt, even in those hard to reach areas. 😉

I have Hope wheels on my main bike, the front one is from 2003 and the rear 2005, both are on their original bearings and are showing no signs of play.
I put this down to:
– never cleaning my bike, apart from shaking the mud off and the odd wipe down with a dry cloth
– keeping it stored in-doors
– trying not to ride in the rain

I’m actually considering changing the bearings ‘just in case.’ of what, I don’t know.

Hosing down a drivetrain is possibly the single most counter-productive “maintenance” that people do on their bike. Try something like this after a wet ride instead:

(use a quick semi-dry lube like Prolink)

Dry chain a little by running through a rag. Better still, use a Powerlink/Missing Link for quick on/offand leave it somewhere indoors to dry afterwards.

Wipe derailleur(s), maybe hit the pivots with a small spray of silicone lube and wipe away the excess and displaced water. Make a mudguard for your front derailleur if you have one – it’ll save you loads of time.

Wipe cranks/rings.

Wipe fork/shock seals/stanchion.

Dry as best you can any other components.

If the cassette is dirty (with mud), let it dry and use a heavy brush to clean it (somewhat) before refitting the (relubed) chain before the next ride.

That kind of maintenance requires no water at all and will take less time than hosing the whole bike down.

Drying the bike out is something that I think will help. I may get a heater and insulate my shed.

If I have time I’ll use a chain cleaner and properly clean my chain, but that is normally a once a week ‘god look at the state of it’ clean.

I do a hose down followed by a rag wipe, followed by a GT85 spray, rag wipe, in shed. I lube it with chain lube before the next ride.

brakes – Member
I have Hope wheels on my main bike, the front one is from 2003 and the rear 2005, both are on their original bearings and are showing no signs of play.
I put this down to:
– never cleaning my bike, apart from shaking the mud off and the odd wipe down with a dry cloth
– keeping it stored in-doors
– trying not to ride in the rain

I’m actually considering changing the bearings ‘just in case.’ of what, I don’t know.

Do all of you know how to check your bearings, to see if they are in good condition. A lot of the time it’s hard to tell, wheels have a lot of leverage that can be generated due to the length of the spokes and with pivot bearings it’s also hard to tell.

Here’s the best way to do check bearings, Yes I know shameless promotion, who cares if the technique works and is the best way to check your bearings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vROecj559gk

Do this check on your wheels BB and Pivots, it’s a very good way to check bearing condition.

Brakes if it’s smooth and no play is present, no need!

cynic-al – Member
Brakes if it’s smooth and no play is present, no need!

Wrong, play is only one way a bearing can fail, the other is binding. If your bearings are binding they will cause you to lose forward momentum. Whip the wheels of then rotate the axles and freehub manually, it’s that easy. if it feels even slightly stiff, strip it down give it a regrease see if this sorts it. if not go further in and manually rotate the bearings.

The old hope wheels run good quality bearings that last years, but check them anyway.

Thre fish, this sounds good on paper but if I get back and bikes filthy and I will be out next day it will still be filthy when I start the next ride, so mine gets hosed off.

kaesae, i think thats what he meant by smooth.

scruff – Member
Thre fish, this sounds good on paper but if I get back and bikes filthy and I will be out next day it will still be filthy when I start the next ride, so mine gets hosed off.

Yeah, there are times when hosing and even jet washing are neccesary, just lube the chain up right after you finish.

As for hosing and jet washing bearings for BB’s, pivots and hubs, most bearings will not deal with it very well.

Then again some will.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZxXrfupL_Y

Go figure!

davidrussell – Member
kaesae, i think thats what he meant by smooth.

Smooth when you rotate a wheel by applying pressure to the rim and smooth when you manually rotate the bearings is not the same thing!

kaesae – Member

Wrong, play is only one way a bearing can fail, the other is binding. If your bearings are binding they will cause you to lose forward momentum.

You are ****ing me right? (presuming you think that could slow one significantly, in which case the bearings/hub would be fubar)

Smooth when you rotate a wheel by applying pressure to the rim and smooth when you manually rotate the bearings is not the same thing!

it depends on whats holding the inner races. spinning the wheel whilst holding the inner bearing race is the same as holding the wheel and rotating the inner bearing race, the only difference being that one method will rotate the bearings further and faster that the other.

Thre fish, this sounds good on paper…

It’s pretty much how I deal with my main bike (used on trails and for commuting/getting around), so it absolutely works in practice.

Hose the bike down is your, and anyone else’s prerogative; but be aware that you aren’t actually doing your bike any good* – it just looks cleaner.

*if you just leave it to drip dry afterwards.

[/quote]cynic-al – Member

kaesae – Member

Wrong, play is only one way a bearing can fail, the other is binding. If your bearings are binding they will cause you to lose forward momentum.

You are ****ing me right? (presuming you think that could slow one significantly, in which case the bearings/hub would be fubar)

WRONG!!! if it is 2 times as hard or even 3 times as hard for the bearing to rotate, how much power will you lose when you peddle, and more importantly why would you want to lose any power or speed at all?

A lot of wheels seem fine until you have a really go look at them, do the manual rotation check, see what you find out about your bearings, if they need to be changed we’ll get stuck in about it.

As for play in a wheel, simply attempt to rock the wheel from side to side, at the same time shine a torch at the back of your brakes caliper and see if there is any play.

@ cynic-al I know you love me, stop pretending!

davidrussell – Member

Smooth when you rotate a wheel by applying pressure to the rim and smooth when you manually rotate the bearings is not the same thing!

it depends on whats holding the inner races. spinning the wheel whilst holding the inner bearing race is the same as holding the wheel and rotating the inner bearing race, the only difference being that one method will rotate the bearings further and faster that the other.

Yes I agree, but rotating the axle will make it a lot easier to determine the condition of the bearings. Guys as always it has been great arguing, insulting, provoking, getting along with, helping out, being insulted, provoked and in general being part of STW, unfortunately my back is getting sore and I’m off too relax.

Do the manual bearing rotation on your pivots and cranks etc, it is a very good way to judge the state of your bearings.

Ridefree!

Ok, here’s a related question. I’m needing to replace my wheel bearings too. (White Industries ENO standard bearings have developed play in less than 3 months of dry weather riding, but that’s another matter…)

What’s best for wheel bearings in terms of clearances? Some bearing site was spraffling on about C3 clearances and whatever, being good for wheels. I had thought higher clearances were of use when the inner wasn’t 100% aligned with the outer – swingarms for example, possibly out of alignment…

C3 is a loose fit, so it has less rolling resistance.

In the SKF or performance bearings, it works fine. It won’t last as long as a C1 or standard tolerance bearings.

In the cheaper bearings which have play between the inner and outer races, the C3 has even more play , between the inner and outer races and this can cause play in the hub or pivot that it’s fitted to. Depending on the extent of the play.

You can run them but it depends on the quality of the bearings. Message me with the numbers for your hub and I’ll tell you what the best bet for bearings that will last is.

I just run C1 tolerances, I think they work fine.

Do you have the old bearings still? can I have a look at them?