When to Replace bearings?

[ChrisMember]

All the talk of wheel bearings in the thread Unit started I got to thinking if there was a rule of thumb on when to replace the wheel bearings… I think there are some obvious signs like play in the wheel which I recently noticed on my rear wheel and upon inspection the bearing had a lot of movement… I think I’m lucky it didn’t fail as upon removal it just fell apart.. I recently priced my bearings at a local bearing shop and they are cheap as chips so I want to start replacing them in some sort of timely manner even if it appears they don’t need to be changed..

Thoughts/Feedback welcome please….

[Adam RodgersMember]

I always check my bearings when I change a tyre, tube or whenever I have the wheel off. I stick my fingers in and feel the movement of the bearing.

A bearing will last a very long time as long as water and grit stay out and the lubrication stays in.

The oil in grease will wick out through dust so keep them clean, and I grease between the seal and bearing seal to help keep water out and slow the drying out of grease from within the bearing.

After you wash it pays to spin the wheels to listen and feel the spinning of the bearings. If your feeling movement its time to change.

Adam.

[MalMember]

Yep I do the same as Adam.

Cause the bearings are reasonably priced I keep a new set in the shed and always check the wheels a couple of days before a ride. They only take 20min to change.

Hard to put a time limit on replacing bearings as the ride conditions sometimes shorten the life of the bearings.

[James RookyardMember]

I dont think its a good idea to replace them more than needed. You will stretch the hub after a while and then you will have dramas keeping the bearing from spinning in the hub.
Just do it as needed.

[Paul FaheyMember]

Hi all, i run 5 bikes for my four kids and myself. Therefore the reason why i needed to learn how to change my own bearings. I have found no consistency in the bearings time frame to fail across the bikes owned. Whilst i do check them i always seem to still get caught at scrutineering, so i obviously dont check them often enough.

The last set failed just after putting a new chain and sprockets on. I am sure that they were still pretty solid when i put the new chain and spockets on. The kid had one ride and then bingo at scrutineering. I wonder if the new chain and sprockets placed additional pressure on the bearings bringing on the failure?? The Weakest link!
I certainly have no set time to change the bearings and normally pick the movement up when grabing the rear wheel in the trailer.

Certainly found the replacement process easy and relative cheap.

unit

[Author]

Posts