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Can I leave the cups in the frame and drift the old bearings out/ press some new ones in like you can with press fit our is removing the cups and using the hope tool the way to go?
Happy to order the hope tool if needs be
Cheers
James
Pretty sure i've done them in the frame before. If you dunk the whole BB assembly in a pan of boiling water for a minute or so, the xpansion of the cups will make the bearings come out much easier,
Personally i think it's easier to remove them, for the sake of five minutes. There is a little slot in the back of each cup to fit a slim drift to get the bearings out. Might be a bit hard to spot without removing the cups, but you'd see them with a torch.
I've always done them using the hot water and freezer technique, completely tool-free!
To remove old bearings:
Boil a kettle and fill a mug with the hot water. Put the bearing cup with old bearing in it in the hot water with the outside of the cup facing down. Wait a few seconds and the old bearing will fall out of the cup into the bottom of the mug.
To install new bearing:
Put new bearing in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Boil a kettle and fill a mug with the hot water. Place the cup in the hot water for 20-30 seconds. Fish the cup out and quicky place it on a suitable flat surface with the outside facing up. Take cold bearing out of the fridge and place in the cup. Wait for it all to reach room temperature and you're done.
Can be done in under a minute per side if you plan ahead slightly.
The hope tool is a delight to use.
While we are on the subject, has anyone figured out how to use the gpx adapters/shims with the outer seal?
@reluctantjumper - if you ride bikes in really cold conditions do the bearings rattle around?
The axle holds the bearings the right shape plus the cup will shrink more than the bearing so will actually tighten the fit!
My knees on the other hand...
My knees on the other hand…
That must make riding very difficult!
I do mine on the bike with a slide hammer and press. Easy enough.
While we are on the subject, has anyone figured out how to use the gpx adapters/shims
From memory, don't the adaptors fit on the inside of the bearing ?
Yes - i bought some without realising the adaptors were fitted and had to drift them out to use shimano cranks.
The hope tool is a delight to use.
The tool is so easy to use. I pop the bearings out, remove the seals, clean them, repack with grease and then re install. I have 3 bikes with hope bb so it's paid for it's self so many times.
From time to time I replace the plastic seals that are about £2 each.
Thanks all
It’s the 30mm bb for which hope don’t make a bearing removal tool
I gave them a call this morning and they recommended drifting out with a punch so I did that with the cups still in the frame