Kilroy1988 

Hello folks,

I was only out on my second ride using a set when about 10 miles in I looked down to see the bearings physically poking out on either side of the hub - the damn thing had peeled itself apart as I was rolling along! I stopped at my destination to observe the bearings all locked up and the internal bits either in okay or disintegrated condition. The old cartridges squeaked awfully and did not spin very freely anyway, so no big loss...A rather quick internet search turned up what appear to be some sealed cartridge bearings that will fit the Avocet front hubs such over at Boca Bearings. Now I'm just trying to figure out if anyone knows why I can't find the rear bearings? Might as well replace the lot!

#BRK-016RS by Boca Bearings :: Ceramic Bearing Specialists

CroMo Mike 

I have a set of Ofmega sealed cartridge bearing hubs. Ofmega made the Avocet sealed cartridge hubs. The bearings in my Ofmega rear hub are the same size as in the front hub. They are industry size code 6001. 12X28X8 mm. Two rubber seals. You can find them on ebay if you search the generic specs.

ThermionicScott 

Can't see the pictures.

unworthy1

2 tips: those shown at Boca are stainless which might be nice if you are sure to expose them to a very wet, salty life, but I think both over-kill and over-priced.
Your should be able to fine high grade 2RS sealed 6001s for half that price.
Check out another bearing supply or online, and get some made in US, Japan, or EU (for some reason Slovakia and Slovenia are hot in the bearing business, lately). Chinese-made cart bearings vary too much in quality to be a sure bet, IMO.
tip 2: since you spun out those in the alloy hub this may have enlarged the cavities in the hub shell to where new ones will not securely press-fit anymore. If so just clean surfaces and get some LocTite GREEN in the gaps. Once that cures your bearings should be tight in the hub body again.

noobinsf 

Good info here: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-bearings.html

Sounds like it ended poorly for the OP in the final post, but not because of the bearings.

grizzly59

Try these guys, there should be some numbers and coding imprinted on the bearing seals that you can read -

Motion Industries

Address: 9644 W Nicholas Ave, Visalia, CA 93291
Hours:
Open ⋅ Closes 5PM
Confirmed by this business 3 weeks ago
Phone: (559) 651-0111

https://www.motionindustries.com/pro...tockOnly=allDc

Kilroy1988 

Thanks for the information, fellas... Much more confident I'll be able to work this out now! Bookmarking until I can move along with overhauling the wheels, which will require me to finish another build that's taking up all the work space at the moment. Cheers!

-Gregory

3alarmer 

...if you have this local Motion Industries outlet, I would pop out the old bearings and take them over there when they are open. I have done this several times here in Sacramento, when I couldn't figure out what I needed for a sealed bearing application, and they always seem to come up with something that works well.

Kilroy1988 

Okay, I feel like an idiot, as I cannot for the life of me figure out how to remove the axle or the cartridges from this hub. I just took apart another pair of later Suntour sealed bearing hubs and I suspect the inner ring here is threaded onto the hub, but I cannot turn anything in any direction that begins to break one part or the other loose. Help???

Thanks!

-Gregory

philpeugeot 

I ran into a similar issue with some Suzue hubs; bearings and axle wouldn't budge. In my case, a liberal amount of WD-40 and some light tapping on the axle with a hammer managed to free one of the bearings and axle. I imagine that there's some corrosion that's preventing the bearings and axle from freeing from the hub.

CroMo Mike 

The axle is machined with a step that is larger than the rest of the axle and fits the 12mm i.d. of the bearing snug but not tight. With the locknuts removed, you should be able to tap the axle out one side through both bearings. Generally the bearing's outer diameter is an interference fit into the hub. Since aluminum expands more than steel when heated, you should be able to heat the hub to about 200F with a hair dryer or heat gun, then bump the bearing out with an extractor or a punch from the opposite side. Be careful not to apply too much heat to the spokes if using a torch or heat gun. If they turn blue, they may be toast.

Kilroy1988 

Thanks CroMo Mike and philpeugeot , and also thanks to Mad Honk who sent a PM. The piece that I mentioned "disintegrating" in the first post was the little steel clip that sits over the bearings to keep them spaced inside the cartridge, but in fact it was just slightly bent and not broken as I initially thought.

Since I really want to ride this bicycle I decided to heat up the bearings enough that they were loose in the chambers then applied a liberal amount of grease to repack them. I got the seals to sit flush on both sides, tightened on the lock nuts and gave them a spin around the block. It looks like it might hold together!

The rear hub is spinning freely for now but I'm sure also needs grease, so I'll take that apart some coming weekend. If ever I do need to remove this your help this evening has been much appreciated. Cheers!

-Gregory

dddd

I always gently heat the hubshell till hot, use a heat gun or more carefully using a torch (the shell is thin and the spokes are thin, things that can heat up too locally and too fast).

You can just drop the bearings into a heated hubshell, no need to drive them in just make sure they are fully seated when the shell cools.

I'm literally doing this all the time with modern freehubs.

Kilroy1988 

Thanks again for all the advice. I managed to completely disassemble the hub with help from a blow dryer and a bit more elbow grease than I usually employ on such dainty components then purchased new bearings at Motion Industries as grizzly59 suggested. I picked them up this morning and reassembled the hub and now all should be well! I've been under the weather but next week after the mist has cleared from my mind I hope to get out for a good ride to confirm that that is the case indeed. Cheers!

-Gregory

Sactown_Albert 

As an experiment, I did a dimension search at the Boca website using your numbers. The search returned industry size code 6001.

Kilroy1988 

The bearings I removed from the front hub were 629-2rs bearings and I purchased the same - the "2rs" just means "two rubber seals" according to the person who ordered them from the distribution center for me. The ones I purchased are by SKF and made in Italy and cost $27 each, though of course they can be had much cheaper but I was interested in quality since I don't want to have to do this again for a very long time!

-Gregory

CroMo Mike 

I checked and the 926 is 9x26x8mm. I don't know if mine have a different size or I've gotten my numbers wrong.

Kilroy1988 

BUY 629 Ball Bearings | 9X26X8mm | EASY Bearings Selector (misumi-ec.com)

That would be the same as what I purchased - 629 bearings are 9x26x8mm.

-Gregory