Bearings help needed, please

This might help.

http://londonunicyclingclub.ca/bearings.htm

I think I've seen another post like this somewhere, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, this one's pretty good.

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munipsycho - Sometimes I fall down.

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Here is another link to read:

http://tinyurl.com/2g3uf

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keg - Getting fitter
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Thanks

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Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

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Interesting. I decided to have a look this evening. I removed the
wheel, removed the crank, and therefore had access to the bearings. I
don't yet have a puller.

As an experiment, I picked out the rubber ring that conceals the
bearings themselves. The balls were in a metal cage, rather than the
rubber holder that the link seemed to suggest. There was no obvious
contamination, but the bearings were a bit dry. I couldn't work out how
to remove the cage without causing damage. Maybe I need to attack the
bearig from the other side, which would mean removing it completely with
a puller.

I had some spray grease that I used to use on my old motorcycle and I
applied some of this. Bearings moving freely, but still some slight
noise. Obviously a bit worn, but not badly notchy.

On the basis that I couldn't make things worse, I stood the wheel over
the sink and flushed the bearings, dried them, then applied more spray
grease.

The situation is now:
I know there is no significant grit or other contamination in there.
I know that the bearings have some grease in them.
I know that the bearings now spin more smoothly than they did before.

There is still some slight noise, which is uneven. I put this down to
either uneven wear on the bearing surface, slight dinks caused by
occasional drops down kerbs etc, or possibly the bearings being slightly
oval. (I am always careful not to overtighten the clamp bolts, but it's
not an exact science.)

So, the uni is working perfectly well, and everything is clean and
greased, but there is still a slight noise.

Perhaps this is one of those noises that's always been there and I've
just "dialed in" to it, maybe because the new tyre is so much quieter
than the old one. It is irritating, but obviously not urgent.

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Mikefule - Roland Hope School of Unicycling

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I just changed the bearings on the 24" Nimbus Muni. It's a straight
forward task once the tools are purchased. The instructions found in
this thread are very helpful.

1) Those bearing are on there. I had to hold the bearing puller still
with another 2 foot long wrench while I screwed down the puller with a
small breaker bar. I thought this step would be much easier.

2) As expected the new bearing went on very tight. Forget the rubber
mallet, it was hammer time. Of course I pounded on a small piece of
steel tubing and not the bearing. I don't know that PVC tubing would
have held up.

3) No damage was done, and I'm rolling again. I didn't use the
lock-tight because the bearing fit so tight to begin with. Things
worked out for the best.

I'd like to take apart the old bearing, only I don't know how to remove
the inside metal cage which wrapped around the bearings. I've cleaned
up the inside but I haven't found what makes the bearing so clunky.
I'd be prouder if it were a broken bearing than dirt, but if it's dirt
I'd like to clean it up for reuse.

How do I remove a metal bearing cage without damaging it?

--
Chrashing

Regards,
Ken
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Another trick I've discovered about making sure the bearing puller goes
on straight...

Attach it upside down (wheel parellel to the floor, bearing puller
pulling up towards the wheel as you tighten) You can more properly
judge what is straight doing it this way, as gravity helps the top (now
bottom) of the bearing puller centre itself with the axle.

i'm not sure what you mean about a metal cage...

--
Brian MacKenzie

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Hello Brian,
Thanks for the great instructions and tips.

What I'm calling the metal cage: After removing the rubber sides of the
bearing, I can see that there is a steel band around the balls which
sorta looks like metal braces on teeth. It must be like what you
called a 'rubber bearing guide' in your instructions, but it is steel.

I have just carefully cleaned up and inspected the bearing, can see
that it the steel bearing guide has a tiny rivets between each ball. I
now think the guide is two pieces, one on each side of the bearing,
securely fastened together. I don't think the guide/balls are
removable.

--
Chrashing

Regards,
Ken
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As long as you can wipe clean and grease the bearings, there is no need
to remove them from any sort of housing they are secured in

--
Brian MacKenzie

'TRAINING WHEEL NOT REQUIRED DVD - NOW AVAILABLE!'
(HTTP://WWW.LBMMULTIMEDIA.COM)

'ps. just watched TWNR, the UW36 on the stairs broke my brain' - markf

'Unicycle Product Reviews'
(http://londonunicyclingclub.ca/unicycleReviews.aspx)
*122* reviews on *79* products, never make an uninformed purchase
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Hear is a pic:

+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Filename: MVC-215L.JPG |
|Download: http://www.unicyclist.com/attachment/10410 |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

--
Chrashing

Regards,
Ken
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OK, this bearing still turns very crudely. It's trash.

Thank you for help.

--
Chrashing

Regards,
Ken
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