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I've been buying Enduro ABEC-3 bearings for my 3 pawl Shimano freehub and I'm finding that they don't last that long - 500 miles or so road use.
What's better? - Is there a better brand or is there a better spec that I can try? Will ceramic last longer?
Kinetic bearings own brand....make sure you jut use std rs bearings in wheels and hubs and not max compliment
That seems a very low mileage for freehub bearings to last - especially for road use. Most road bike hub bearings will lay literally thousands and thousands of miles. Wonder if there’s something else wrong with your freehub….
I had a similar issue with the standard water-soluble bearings in my Hunt wheels. The first two sets lasted a few months then I switched to the Enduro ones and they've been fine for 18 months and are still going strong!
That seems a very low mileage for freehub bearings to last – especially for road use
They are MT-501 hubs and I use these wheels purely for road riding (I have some XT hubs on another set of wheels for offroad use). I do wonder if the axle isn't machined properly as there are 2 x 6802 bearings next to each other in the freehub and it's always the outer one that goes...🤷♂️ I had thought of replacing the axle but I can't seem to find anywhere that sells just the axle.
Better off trying a decent bearing first instead of enduro.
No idea who makes their bearings for them, but it's certainly the lowest of three quotes...
What's the failure mode of your current bearings?
Is it contamination, wear or mechanical failure? Knowing that could guide your choice. Do you need better seals and are willing to accept more drag? Is it somewhere that needs to contamination resistance of stainless but you'll accept slightly faster wear? Does it need a greater grease fill or a grease more resistant to wash out? Do you need a tighter tolerance bearing? If there's misalignment, a lower tolerance bearing might actually last longer but might allow enough movement to cause scoring on the freehub body.
Better off trying a decent bearing first instead of enduro.
No idea who makes their bearings for them, but it’s certainly the lowest of three quotes…
Enduro are a bearing manufacturer, though they can be made in the USA, Singapore or China.
“Additional manufacturing facilities in Gilroy, Singapore, Taiwan, and a joint venture in China provide everything from economical ABEC 3 bearings to high performance XD15 ceramic solutions.”
https://cycling.endurobearings.com/pages/history
List of bearings and applications
I normally get NTN bearings (who also have manufacturing facilities all round the world) from my local stockist.
I've always had decent life from enduro bearings, kinetics own brand had some play in some smaller sizes compared to enduro so I'm not that impressed, the larger sizes performed well though, especially their max ones in frame main pivots, NSK have been good in hubs, but the NTN used in my front hub just won't die, pricey but so far worth every penny, they're still going strong years later, not used them in the rear though.
That seems a very low mileage for freehub bearings to last – especially for road use
I've had similar, on my current winter bike wheels original bearings lasted 3 years (10,000+ km), swapped out for some new ones, 3mm play after about 500 miles! Swapped out again, 1mm play after 200km - they're just made from cheese....
Bought some different ones hoping they are better.
kinetics own brand had some play in some smaller sizes compared to enduro so I’m not that impressed, the larger sizes performed well though, especially their max ones in frame main pivots,
Similar experience here.
Kinetic frame bearings I fitted are still going strong. The wheel bearings lasted about a month.
Just thinking about road hubs I’ve got some hunt 4seasons that have been running since March 2018. I haven’t even taken the freehub off for a look to see how it’s going inside the hub. All just been working as it should / rotating freely.
Those bearings are claimed to be made by Ezo and presumably have done ok. Not sure how easily accessible they are in this country. I need to convert those hubs from 9mm qr to 12mm bolt through soon so I’ll have a look at all the bearings / pawls at that point.
When changing bearings in my Hope hubs / erase components hubs (these eat bearings through lack of sealing) / frame bearings I’ve always just bought enduro branded ones and found them ok.
NTN, SKS, NSK, FAG, or similar proper branded bearing manufacturers (not bike industry bearing manufacturer brands!) If you want the best buy NTN, but go on the NTN webpage and only purchase from authorised UK distributors, you can then get a free app on the phone to scan the code to verify that the item is real. There has been a flooding of the market in fakes of this sort of thing in recent years.
In any bearing brand, go for LLU seals instead of LLB for mtb application where water ingress and wear is an issue.... LLB are preferred on road bikes at BB in particular for lesser low rpm seal drag, at hub rotational speeds theres less difference anyway so go for the more protective seal.
Thanks all - sounds like NTN are what I’ll try then.
in terms of what is wrong with the Enduro ones they have just started to feel rough where they were smooth when freshly installed. When I take the free hub off and examine them individually it is the outer one that feels rough and the inner one still smooth (ish). Maybe the outer just has more load on it from cornering etc so wears quicker. But still it wears too quickly for my liking as they are a pain to keep doing.
I've recently changed the original DT hub driveside bearing that lasted triple than any other hub bearing I've had in other hubs, tried an Enduro Hybrid Ceramic this time & hoping it will last longer then normal Enduros which seems no better than NSK /NTN.
Don't waste money on ceramic bearings expecting them to last longer. There's huge variance in ceramic bearing quality anyway, only the best and most expensive have hardened races to match the balls - otherwise the harder balls will actually wear the race and shorten the bearing lifespan vs a NTN level of quality bearing. There's a marginal reduction in rotational friction with ceramic, which is usually less difference than seal type. Tests show that gain disappears remarkable quickly from new conditional, where after a thousand miles or so there is no measurable difference... and a high quality steel will actually be more efficient later in the lifespan.
I don't know why Enduro would be expected to be better than NTN other than a triumph of marketing towards the bike industry, they are just a fairly mundane average quality - while NTN are recognised across the world and across industries as the best made anywhere.. good enough for Rolls Royce jet engines.
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that C3 bearings have more clearance than a standard bearing (which are generally C5).
C3 bearings are primarily meant for applications that involve tight press fits, so once the inner/outer is pressed in place, there is still sufficient clearance for the bearing to spin freely.
Obviously Enduro's manufacturing isn't that great, considering the number of C3 bearings they seem to promote/sell.
The other main stream bearing manufacturers, although they do sell C3 bearings, are no where near as prominent in their sales channels.
Depending on the design freehub bearings can get quite heavily side loaded if not installed with care.
If the freehub has a small "tube" essentially connecting the inner races of the two bearings together, and the outer bearing is installed firmly with a press pushing against outer race then the side loading can be really high and cause very quick failure. When installing the outer bearing is needs to be pressed in really, really slowly and with a few pauses to check such that it *only just* makes contact with that inner sleeve, but with no pressure. Don't ask how I know this 😉
If you're experiencing repeated low mileage failures I'd check the installation out bearing the above in mind when you put the next set in.
If you’re experiencing repeated low mileage failures I’d check the installation out bearing the above in mind when you put the next set in.
Hmm - that might be exactly what is happening. There is a 6803 bearing on one side then an aluminium tube in the middle then 2 x 6802 bearings side by side. I've always pushed the 6802 bearings in tight against each other. I'll deffo check on the next set - thanks for the tip. That said, the factory installed ones got rough pretty early on though too (maybe they were installed poorly too). They all probably would have lasted a fair while longer before really needing urgent replacement but I like a smooth spinning axle...🤷♂️ 👍 I've got a spare brand new freehub actually so I'll maybe use that and see what happens.
I have ordered some NTN ones as well so I'll install carefully.
Enduro are a bearing manufacturer, though they can be made in the USA, Singapore or China.
As far as i can see they anufacture their high end bearings (the ceramics) in the US, the rest seem to be manufactured by a joint venture.
I'd still opt for NTN, SKF or one of the premium quality brands, rather than premium advertising.