Lifespan of wheel bearings?
 

My bike has done 21,000kms and I am about to go on a 5000km trip. I like to replace things before they break down. My question is how often should I be changing my wheel bearings?

changed mine at 40,000km..they were still good...
they are not exspensive... change them as often as yer like..

When I was putting a new chain kit on at 27,000kms I changed my bearings whilst the rear wheel was off. There was only one bearing that had a slight amount of play. Whilst I was at it I thought why not just change out the fronts also? There was no play in them at all.

I always flip the seal off and pack with more high quality bearing grease instead of the small amount they come with.

As stated,for all the price of them why not?

As an aside on any extended ride,i.e.,France to Morocco that I ride,I always carry a full set as they're small enough to stash...peace of mind and all that.

:)

.

Thanks guys, good feed back. Do I need a special pulley or slide hammer to remove bearings. Never done it before?

just a long punch & hammer..... to remove them..punch though from
the oppisite side to remove the bearings.. If yer don't have a long punch..
a long bolt etc will do..
when putting the new ones in... ONLY hit or press on the outer race...

Thanks a lot, sounds easy enough.

The front ones are a wee bit more awkward than the rears because of the diameter of the axle as it were,i.e.,inside diameter of the hub. It's hard to get a long drift at the correct angle to tap the inner race,because of the small gap between that inner race and the tubular spacer inside the hub.

I use a longish bar (screwdriver type length)that has been hammered(somewhat the same as the top of a cold chisel) and the splayed mushroom part is just enough to catch the inner race of the bearing,thus allowing it a purchase to hit.


Anything bar that has a a small narrow 'L' type lip at the end would suffice also.

Don't forget to install the spacer tube back into the hub before drifting the second bearing in.

They'll drift in OK anyway with the help of a socket the same diameter as that outer race that was mentioned.

On my long rides I put this 'special tool' in with my other tools and this can also be used to tap the bearings in should I get one that fails.


:)


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Replaced all mine at 45,000 miles. Nothing wrong with them, just a 'prevention is better than cure' thing.