[Closed] What replacement XT hub bearings to buy..?

To be honest Shimano always do good bearings, even in their lower end products. I have used SJS cycles in the past to get Shimano original bearings and they have always been good products and I have always had good service from them.

Thanks - what in fact constitutes a "good" bearing. Chrome? Stainless steel? Both? Do they come in different smoothnesses?

So it looks like Chrome Steel or Stainless Steel are the two options...

Any reason not to get stainless? They look to be a better option in that they are more corrosion resistant.

A chrome steel is a harder metal, so runs quieter and will handle a higher load.
The stainless alternative can tolerate higher operating temps (300°c vs 150°c) and will resist corrosion.

As I see it only one of these could matter on a mountain bike, but either way I'd still use original Shimano balls and a waterproof grease.

OK, thanks.

With cup and cone hubs the first thing to fail is usually the ball bearings, then the cone then the race. That's quite handy as ball bearings are easy to replace, cones are possible while races probably mean the hub is a right off. A stainless bearing in a hub with non stainless cones and races is likely to increase the chance of the cone or race failing. Which is not a good thing.

I usually buy grade 10 chrome steel bearings from Simply Bearings. I'd buy cheaper grade 40 (which is what Shimano used to be reported as using) if they sold them. The G10s still usually work out cheaper than buying Shimano parts.

Wheels manufacturing sell Grade 25 as Dura Ace/Record quality and Grade 300 as Ultegra quality

The cheaper Weldtite bearings are Grade 1000 I believe.

With cup and cone hubs the first thing to fail is usually the ball bearings, then the cone then the race. That’s quite handy as ball bearings are easy to replace, cones are possible while races probably mean the hub is a right off. A stainless bearing in a hub with non stainless cones and races is likely to increase the chance of the cone or race failing. Which is not a good thing.

Perhaps not - stainless is generally softer than chrome steel so fit stainless bearings if you want the balls to wear faster, but you'd want to service before rust is an issue either way. I'm not sure if fitting deliberately softer balls is actually is a good idea.

I'd fit Shimano replacements tbh. They know that they're doing with C+C hubs.

I’d fit Shimano replacements tbh. They know that they’re doing with C+C hubs.

In some ways yes, but in other ways not so good: I've never seen a new Shimano hub that hasn't been set up with too much load on the bearings. Assuming we're talking quick release hubs here, if there's no slack before the QR is tightened then the cones are too tight. Using a worse grade bearing is a cost controlling measure, not a choice they made because it's better. So if G10 is cheaper, why not?

Another vote for shimano £3 a hub from madison via lbs.

So SJS tell me that you have to buy the cage as well as the bearings as they are moulded in - but they have none in stock...🙄

On the basis that I was able to replace just the balls in my cheaper MT401 hubs (I could just pop them out of the cages with no difficulty at all) I have bought some grade 10 Chrome from SJS.

I looked at Simply Bearings and was about to buy some when I noticed that SJS do sell grade 10 Chrome bearings at £8 for 100 which is a lot cheaper than Simply Bearings which are £25 for 100.

I read somewhere that Shimano are grade 25 so grade 10 is a closer (and a slightly better quality) match than grade 100 or 1000 would be I guess.

My XT hubs from new were over tightened I think. They certainly have no play in them to allow for the axle tightening or if they do it is not at all obvious and they don't spin as freely as I would expect anyway. When I replace the bearings I will see what's what but I am not convinced about setting them with any play in. I could not get my cheaper hubs to setup with any play in them that was eliminated in the frame. As soon as I got even the slightest bit of play and then tightened the locknuts up that play was still apparent when the wheel was in the frame. I was using a vice to hold the other side of the axle as well so there was no chance of it spinning while I did the locknut up. I was adjusting it back and forth by a mater of a couple of degrees and I spent an hour trying tiny adjustments and putting it in the wheel after each adjustment. No matter what I did as soon as even the tiniest play was apparent it stayed like that once tightened in the frame. 🤷‍♂️ Does anyone have a fool proof method for getting it right?

Right - cancelled the Chrome bearings order as I have sort of learned that the softer Stainless bearings are going to be better in the long run. So - I have bought some that are marked up as Shimano Saint bearings in the hope that they are Stainless 25 or 50 grade. Based on the fact that they were twice the price of the equivalent Shimano bearing for Deore XT my guess is they are better quality....🤷‍♂️

It's actually impossible to get a straight answer out of anyone. I rang SJS and the chap on the phone didn't know what I meant by grade 50/100/1000 so I went into Infinity Cycles in Durham and the chap there had no idea what bearings Shimano used. He said people just ride until the hub fails by which time the cup is trashed so they just buy a whole new hub unless they were anal about maintaining them, but he didn't know anyone like that.... Must be just me then 😮 I admit, I am quite fanatical about getting my hubs to run smooth like butter. Feels so nice on the bike when everything is tight and smooth.. (fnarr fnarr before anyone else says it!!).