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The time has come, i can't duck and dive any longer. My spitfire needs a bearing change and i want to do it myself.
My last bike was a Turner 5 spot and it was actually a thing of simplicity once i stripped it down. So with that thought in mind does anyone have any real world advice or can you point me in the direction of some good online videos.
Much appreciated all 🙂
My hub bearings wouldn't shift with any of the ghetto methods, so I ended up buying a blind bearing puller set, and absolutely do not regret it. Worth trying ghetto methods first, but if you decide get a set double check the size ranges it covers, because one of the smaller, cheaper sets of 4 rather than 8 will probably cover everything you're likely to need for an MTB.
I did the bearings on my Spitfire a few weeks ago. I haven't touched them since I got the bike back in Oct so the bolts were really stuck. I had to use penetrating fluid and a punch to get them out. I used the superstar bearing tools (608 &6001 i think) to get the bearings out. the lower bearings were really stiff to get out but nothing that the tool couldn't deal with.
It was fairly easy to do, but Id recommend getting the bearings extractors if you can.
Mike
Cool, thanks guys. Had this bike for about a year now and its has some proper abuse so I am expecting it to be a bit tricky. I'm happy to get the right tools for the job.
I did my spitfire a while back using the rrp bearing extractor. The female housing didn't fit flush on the lower bearing near the bb due to the frame design so I had to cut a chunk out of it (the bearing housing not the frame!)
The other complication I had was in fitting one of the black pivot links; I had to press the new bearing only half way to allow room to slot the link in, them press it in after. Took me ages and blood sweat and tears to get round that.
The large bearings were completely seized in. I d recommend you press them out rather than whack em; only way to apply the industrial amount of force needed
I used: bearing kit/sockets
Anti seize paste
Vice with rubber clamps
Let me know if you need any press bits machined up for putting the new bearings in.
I am local to you.
Awesome, thanks guys. All appreciated 😀