Buying bearings within Australia (Easton EA50 wheels)

Binaural

Binaural

Eats Squid
My old bearings in my roadie commuter bike wheels are starting to get a bit loose - I can feel side-to-side play when I shake the rim, and there's starting to be rub on the brakes. So I reckon it's time to replace the cartridge-style bearings with something fresh while I'm on holiday this week.

However, finding some bearings is proving a bit of a pain. The wheels don't seem to to be made anymore, and I don't really want to go through Easton in the states - previous tech inquiries revealed that they did not even have manuals for the hubs and do not stock replacement bearings, so I'm on my own here. They did tell me the bearing numbers, 6901 x 1 on the front and 6902/6901's on the rear. From this page, I have worked out that

6 --> Single-row deep groove ball bearings
9 --> Very thin section (i.e. lightest duty)
01 --> Bore number 01 (12mm hole)
02 --> Bore number 02 (15mm hole)

I can't find a way to relate the bore number to the outer diameter via the section number - does anyone have any tips here? According to the aforementioned website it should be possible. I also have no idea as to what sealing is required, i.e. double sealed, double non-contact sealed etc. Does anyone know what I should specify here when I order? Searching SKF and NSK's websites has proved... frustrating.

All help much appreciated, especially any general information on getting everything in and out successfully!
 
M

Mr Kurt

Likes Bikes and Dirt
You could take them to a bearing shop. they should be able to get you the bearings you want.

Or you could take it to a bike shop, be a bit more expensive, but it would save you the hassle.

Just my 2 cents
 
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tomacropod

tomacropod

Likes Dirt
The bearing numbers are all you need. You can measure the width, internal diameter and outside diameter if you want to be sure - they'll all be metric to 1mm. No fractions or decimals. The numbers you have provided are pretty common to bicycle hubs.

Go to your local bearing shop and pick some up, there should be good Japanese ones available.

- Joel
 
Binaural

Binaural

Eats Squid
Thanks for the tips guys. I gather now that the bearing numbers should be sufficient to select bearings that fit the holes available. There is a bearing place near work, I will pop in at lunchtime and get something. It's a bit annoying how hard it is to find these parts online, though.

Does anyone know what sort of sealing is standard for cartridge hub bearings? There is a dust seal on each hub, but I'm guessing this is not enough and they will need seals on one or both sides of the bearing.
 
E

Exie

Likes Dirt
As Joel said, those numbers should be sufficient, the bearings are fairly standard:
6902 = 15mm inner, 28mm outer, 7mm thick
6901 = 12mm inner, 26mm outer, 6mm thick

You can get all technical about suffixes like 2RS or ZZ or VV that refer to the outer seals. Most bike bearings I've come across are 2RS. You also may hear about ABEC classes which effectively relate to the quality/tollerences/smoothness, but the price goes up with this. You can read up about the suffixes here:
http://www.gizmology.net/bearings.htm

The final decision you'll have comes down to your budget, you could spend a bit more and go to stainless steal, hybrid and full ceramic. The best material will depend on what your using it for, things like load rating, shock/impact rating, resistance to water etc should guide you to the right material.

When shopping for bearings you should also explain what the bearing is for, I've made the mistake of putting super-smooth ABEC 7 bearings in suspension pivots not taking into account the little (15-20deg.) of movement and the high load rating required.

I'd speak to my local bearing shop, or perhaps speak to http://www.diymtb.com.au/

I hope that helps!

EDIT: If you looking for bearings on-line, there is a shop http://www.vxb.com that I've used before. Pretty good selection of bearings there.
 
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