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Just taken some bearing out of a Shimano external BB.
They're 6805's but the depth is only 6mm.
They only 6805's I can find have a depth of 7mm.
So where do I get bearings to fit the Shimano cups?
All 61805s (6805s) are 7mm, its an industry standard sizing IIRC?
[url= http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk/items.asp?CategoryID=237&Name=Hollowtech+II+bearing+upgrade ]BETD?[/url]
Why bother with fitting bearings.
Get some replacement cups from [url= http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=32 ]Superstar Components[/url], I've heard loads of great things about them.
£19.95, cheap as chips.
Get some Enduro bearings from BETD. They are 6MM, and you don't need the top hat.
coffeeking.
The shimano bearing are marked as 6805 but only measure 6mm depth. 😕
The reviews I've seen in 2 mags give SS BB bearings a poor rating. Very short life.
BETD do em for about £20 and Sideways can do Phil Wood replacements. They were about £35 fitted but that is couple years ago now.
I've had Phill Woods done at sidways before but I'm just looking for a cheap replacement while i wait for the King BB and grease gun to come into stock.
The reviews I've seen in 2 mags give SS BB bearings a poor rating. Very short life.
Thats odd as they always seem to get very good reviews from actual users on here.
The pooperstar BB is by far the worst I've tried so far lasting less than a month.....
Even the ceramic one didn't last as long as a Shimano. 🙁
Perhaps you didn't follow the fitting instructions correctly singlespeedstu.
A poor craftsman always blames his tools.
Whatever mate.
You sound like you work for fruit making a judgement without seeing what happened to the bearings......
Why would you pay £20 for bearing when the whole unit costs about that? Not getting at anyone, just interested.
Perhaps SSS, or perhaps I'm just laying some groundwork for what may follow.
😉
Oh and 'chomp'.
I'm not interested in slagging anyone off just after some cheap bearings to tide me over.
I have a suspicion that Sooty may have hooked a couple there.
i wouldn't go near the SSC B/B it chopped some guys xtr axle in two. SSS on a more serious note why don't you just wait for the king it's not as if your short of bikes, or you could swap them off another bike?
it's not as if your short of bikes
😆 at tails.
You do have a point but i like my bikes to be ready to go straight out the pile. 😉
Would the bearing width really create a problem SSS? I wonder if Shimano have "bespoke" 6805s made that are narrower? Maybe that is why they don't last as long as replacements? If you look at the BETD link above it states that the bearings they use are 1/8th" instead of Shimano's 3/32nd.
I have done a search on a site that lets you put in the dimensions required. The search came up empty when I put in 6mm width.
Is the bearing cartridge just a friction fit in the external cups or does it get held in with a circlip? If it is push fit surely it will still fit in the cup? There is no shoulder on the BB shaft so should work. Looks like you'll be paying from about £6.00 each up from what I have found on line.
Where do you live? Anywhere near to BETD, cos if you can call in you could get a quick turn around and know that the bearing fits for £20. Otherwise you'll be paying at least £12 and "we" may have missed something so they don't work. BETD link mentions the loss of Shimano's shim when their bearings are used. Can you measure the internal diameter of the shaft face? I wonder if this is bigger than the 25mm of the 6805 bearing?
Right I've just taken the Phil Woods bearings out of a RF cup.
These measure 7mm. It seems the difference is in the plastic sheild that sits over the bearing.
The shim in the shimano cup is 1mm thicker than the shim that was used with the PW/RF combo.
So it looks like I could fit the 7mm bearings and use the thinner shim to get the same width as a standard shimano.
BTW The shimano bearing internal diameter's 25mm.
Isn't it easier just to buy the whole lot? Does save all the arse-ing about.
i did the betd buy 5 sets of bearings get a tool free thingy, seems like a good un to me..
Just browsing fleabay & found this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shimano-Hollowtech-BB-Bearing-Replacement-Toolset_W0QQitemZ220361938574QQihZ012QQcategoryZ56193QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I asked the same thing nickc, but not had an answer.
I've just had Enduro/Endura(?) ones fitted by Swinntertons - not had bike out yet but took their recommendation and had those instead of Shimano
So then who's used the BETD bearings?
the betd ones are enduro
SSC BB's are utter tosh. Had 5 of which none lasted more than 3 rides. Piece of cheap crap.
i have an ssc gxp one which is just fine after a whole 5 filthy rides.
offroading, why did you get through [i]five[/i] before deciding they were crap? I was going to try one at a time, but having discovered enduro replacements at the same price as whole ssc ones i hope to stick to them.
well SS just kept replacing them under warranty so i went along with it.
Apparently i was the only one in the whole country having problems with them....
The XTR unit they replaced ran fine for over a year and the new other brand unit im running at the momment is working perfectly too.
Bugger - just deletted a long reply.
Glad we sorted it in the end, so you should be ok for something a bit under BETDs £20 Stu. Bit of research and application soon sorts it all out.
As for those who asked Stu why go to the effort instead of just buying a complete unit? He does say that he's buying some Chris Kings when they arrive. So they are going to be pricey so why spend anymore than necessary now? Also have you never tried to solve a problem? How often do "we" get told that "oh yeah you have to buy the whole thing, it's a specific part" when maybe if we could be arsed you wouldn't have to?
Maybe the "world" wouldn't be in such a crap state if we actually only replaced parts that require it, rather than whole items.
Stu - so the only Q remains - why do Shimano tag the bearing as something it isn't? But we sorted them buggers.
Best of luck mate.
speaker2animals no need to get so defensive, I only asked a straight forward question.
Christ are we still wibbling on about this after all these years!
Early HTII BB units use a custom 61805 bearing some are 1RS and some are 2RS most were 6mm width not the industry standard 7mm.
Yes the SS HTII unit as supplied was/may still be pants. I only bought one as a cheap way of getting spare BB cups/top hat units.
The original unit lasted 1 Peak ride and died, I fitted new bearings and lubricated as they should have been in the first place.
Just over a year later through one of the wettest summers on record its still spinning fine on a bike I use in the worst conditions.
IMO the main problem is lubrication, not re-lubrication but initial installation lubrication. If all the void areas are packed with a good quality grease that resists washing out then they will last.
well SS just kept replacing them under warranty so i went along with it.Apparently i was the only one in the whole country having problems with them....
that is well funny! 😆 i wonder how many replacements you could have got up to?
Mr Overshoot.
The BB I took apart isn't an early unit. It's off a crank that's just under a year old.
I agree on the lube thing though.
That's why I'm waiting for a King unit and grease adaptor.
Sorry should have also said anything LX or similar, though I have found some newer XT units with the 6mm bearings?
Perhaps Shimano have dropped back to the 6mm unit as a way of stopping people replacing the bearings?
I had a R/F bb that wents tits up,& coupled with its predecessor,(also a R/F one,that was in the depths of my spares box),I decided rather than just buy a complete new unit,to buy 4 bearings off my local friendly bearing factors,(£40 for 4),& fit 'em myself.
Even though they are good quality SKF bearings,I popped the seals off & was surprised at how little grease was in them,so I packed them with plenty of good quality grease,& hopefully they'll last.
The problem with bearings in general is they're manufactured for machinery and high rpm applications therefore the grease can't be overfilled as it needs expansion room etc.
I can't believe no one in the industry has sussed that the basic requirement for our low RPM and mostly wet usage would be extra grease in the buggers in the first place.
Oh and my SSC alike ceramic bearings were found to have seized after about 4 months light but wet use,I managed to free them off but don't hold much hope for their longevity.
I was surprised they'd actually seized tbh as the cranks where stiff to rotate but still spun, it was the top hats that the spindle was rotating in, if they weren't there it'd be metal to metal contact which would happen with the betd bearings and any others that forego the top hat, which'd make a right royal mess of the spindle pretty quickly I should imagine.
Apparently raceface have redesigned there external BB's so they <might> be worth revisiting at some time in the future.
MrOvershoot - MemberSorry should have also said anything LX or similar, though I have found some newer XT units with the 6mm bearings?
This was a newer XT unit. 🙁
I just wish they'd hurry up with the King grease tool.
Even though they are good quality SKF bearings,I popped the seals off & was surprised at how little grease was in them,so I packed them with plenty of good quality grease,& hopefully they'll last.
very good point: I have done likewise with SKF and INA bearings from local (lovely and oooober helpful) bearing shop, as they were going in a hub and suspension pivots respectively. They come with a warning not to riotate faster then so many thousand RPM (arf!) and not a lot of grease so i popped the seals off and filled them up before installing.
How long do we think it will be before shimano move the goalposts and alter cup size/bearing size so you have to bin and replace the whole BB again?
I just wish they'd hurry up with the King grease tool.
Funnily enough, I spent a couple of days last week, riding with a guy on one of those Billy Big Wheels Jones things 😉 He was very enthusiastic about the King BB. He said the tool is quite remarkable. Seems like the way forward once they come out.
I have tapped in a couple of ebay bearings (7mm) a while ago, spent about a fiver for the pair, and they have been going fine for 6 months.
ooh 'what bearings to use until my King BB and the fancy pants tool arrive', my heart bleeds for you Stu. 😆
So, its common knowlege you can change the bearings in a Shimano BB for under a tenner, flip the seals off and pack em with grease for even longer lifespan, could probably do that once in a while and make it last indefinately....
So why on earth spend so much on a King BB that needs almost as much maintenance, from my limited understanding of the king system there is still some dismantleing required before you can attach the grease gun, another 10-15 mins would have the bearings out cleaned greased an re installed.
I guess it will match the headset n hubs nicely though... 🙂