Original manufacturers vs bearings from BMG

[FirstV8]

Im a SKF bearing fan ( mainly automotive ) . When i needed a full set of pivot bearings for my Silverback Sido i took the bearing # and went along to the main warehouse in Jet Park . They had both sizes in stock at roughly 30% less than the Enduro . When i told the counter salesman what the big bearing was for he was not sure if their  bearing would stand up to the punishment a suspension takes . So i put the Enduro's bearings , new pivot bolts ( Stainleess Steel not aluminum ) throughout and a complete set of nylon bushes . The lesson here is when purchasing none specific bearings is to check what load capacity and rotation factor is . The old saying "Goed koop is duur koop " comes to mind . 

[Mawbs]

trying to find 6902 LLB bearing by NTN here is proving very difficult 

used Enduro Max on all my pivot points ordered from Cyclelab were resonably priced

 

[dave303e]

14 hours ago, FirstV8 said:

Im a SKF bearing fan ( mainly automotive ) . When i needed a full set of pivot bearings for my Silverback Sido i took the bearing # and went along to the main warehouse in Jet Park . They had both sizes in stock at roughly 30% less than the Enduro . When i told the counter salesman what the big bearing was for he was not sure if their  bearing would stand up to the punishment a suspension takes . So i put the Enduro's bearings , new pivot bolts ( Stainleess Steel not aluminum ) throughout and a complete set of nylon bushes . The lesson here is when purchasing none specific bearings is to check what load capacity and rotation factor is . The old saying "Goed koop is duur koop " comes to mind . 

I have run SKF needle rollers in the pivot linkage various motorbikes for nearly 2 decades now without issue. I would trust them over enduro any day. But then again that is me

[DieselnDust]

18 hours ago, madmarc said:

Coming back to this thread - I just went down the rabbit hole of replacing my Top fuel headset bearings - So TREK use a funny size for the bottom bearing its an 8.0mm thickness, where other brands use 6 or 6.5mm mainly - I was in a hurry so bought them from local TREK shop. Not too bad prices

Top is an FSA P/No. MR122 TH-873E - size 30.2 X 41 X 6.5 36/45deg its actually an imperial size of 1 1/8" - paid R200

Bottom is FSA P/NoMR127 TH-073E - size 40 X 51.8 X 8 36/45deg also imperial size 1.5" - paid R 400

I remember years back buying a Cane Creek bottom bearing for my TREK Superfly where the LBS swore it was the correct size but it was 6.0mm and still laying in my toolbox. the difference is the outside 45deg chamfer is much higher on the TREK than other brands so the Cane Creek fits but sits too high up in the frame. 

Oh! and I also priced my pivot bearings and as luck would have it BMG only do 1 bearing size i need - But I was surprised to see that BMG online were about 30% more expensive than the Enduro from solomons. 

Enduro aren't the bees knees of bearings. they're ok but the big selling point is they have all sizes for bicycles available.

22 minutes ago, dave303e said:

I have run SKF needle rollers in the pivot linkage various motorbikes for nearly 2 decades now without issue. I would trust them over enduro any day. But then again that is me

^^^

this

[droo]

40 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

Enduro aren't the bees knees of bearings. they're ok but the big selling point is they have all sizes for bicycles available.

They're the easiest thing for workshops to stock because you can get all the sizes from one supplier.

Weird diameters and thicknesses, flanges, extended races and whatever other crap ideas manufacturers can come up with - all covered.

[love2fly]

19 hours ago, madmarc said:

Coming back to this thread - I just went down the rabbit hole of replacing my Top fuel headset bearings - So TREK use a funny size for the bottom bearing its an 8.0mm thickness, where other brands use 6 or 6.5mm mainly - I was in a hurry so bought them from local TREK shop. Not too bad prices

Top is an FSA P/No. MR122 TH-873E - size 30.2 X 41 X 6.5 36/45deg its actually an imperial size of 1 1/8" - paid R200

Bottom is FSA P/NoMR127 TH-073E - size 40 X 51.8 X 8 36/45deg also imperial size 1.5" - paid R 400

I remember years back buying a Cane Creek bottom bearing for my TREK Superfly where the LBS swore it was the correct size but it was 6.0mm and still laying in my toolbox. the difference is the outside 45deg chamfer is much higher on the TREK than other brands so the Cane Creek fits but sits too high up in the frame. 

Oh! and I also priced my pivot bearings and as luck would have it BMG only do 1 bearing size i need - But I was surprised to see that BMG online were about 30% more expensive than the Enduro from solomons. 

Don't try to buy pivot bearings at BMG etc. As the pivots only rotate x degrees back and forth it's better to use a Max type (full complement) bearing. There are lower cost alternatives to Enduro that aren't cr@p.

[EddieV]

2 hours ago, Mawbs said:

trying to find 6902 LLB bearing by NTN here is proving very difficult 

used Enduro Max on all my pivot points ordered from Cyclelab were resonably priced

 

 

Were looking for 6902's a while back as well, ended up buying some 61902's from Midas at a fraction of the price.... Haven't had any issues yet. Thought if these bearings are good enough for automotive use they should be more than adequate for MTB load? 🙂  

[Mawbs]

3 minutes ago, EddieV said:

 

Were looking for 6902's a while back as well, ended up buying some 61902's from Midas at a fraction of the price.... Haven't had any issues yet. Thought if these bearings are good enough for automotive use they should be more than adequate for MTB load? 🙂  

wanted the LLB's from NTN as they are very low friction for wheels especially 

[madmarc]

I need 10 bearings for my pivots

6 of them from Enduro are 80 ronds each - no big deal

4 are 3801 - 12 X 21 X 8  - 299 ronds each from enduro - WTF !! 

The problem is the 8 mm cannot seem to find them anywhere else  

[love2fly]

3 hours ago, madmarc said:

I need 10 bearings for my pivots

6 of them from Enduro are 80 ronds each - no big deal

4 are 3801 - 12 X 21 X 8  - 299 ronds each from enduro - WTF !! 

The problem is the 8 mm cannot seem to find them anywhere else  

If you're in Jhb try Wolf at Linden Cycles or Sheldon ar Dagleys (used to be Cycle United)

[RobertWhitehead]

Reviving an oldish thread. 

Question: Tapered headset bearings, the top and bottom, is there a local supplier that stock them other than the LBS? I have been in contact with SKF who claim that they can't help me. They say I need to visit them with the bearings for confirmation, so who knows who I can use

[BaGearA]

4 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

Reviving an oldish thread. 

Question: Tapered headset bearings, the top and bottom, is there a local supplier that stock them other than the LBS? I have been in contact with SKF who claim that they can't help me. They say I need to visit them with the bearings for confirmation, so who knows who I can use

Aero agencies will sell to you but you'll have to buy a significant amount. 

[droo]

4 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

Reviving an oldish thread. 

Question: Tapered headset bearings, the top and bottom, is there a local supplier that stock them other than the LBS? I have been in contact with SKF who claim that they can't help me. They say I need to visit them with the bearings for confirmation, so who knows who I can use

Headset bearings are their own thing, you won't get them from a bearing shop. Is your concern price or quality?

[David Marshall]

Bit of a mine field.  I have 18 different headset bearings in stock.  Some look identical but are not the same. To be honest I wouldn't trust the average mechanic to pick the right one and the frame manufacturers are not very forthcoming with details either. 

You need a tool to measure the angles as well as the dimensions.

[madmarc]

28 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

Reviving an oldish thread. 

Question: Tapered headset bearings, the top and bottom, is there a local supplier that stock them other than the LBS? I have been in contact with SKF who claim that they can't help me. They say I need to visit them with the bearings for confirmation, so who knows who I can use

Nope only from your LBS - I been down this rabbit hole before 

[madmarc]

2 minutes ago, David Marshall said:

Bit of a mine field.  I have 18 different headset bearings in stock.  Some look identical but are not the same. To be honest I wouldn't trust the average mechanic to pick the right one and the frame manufacturers are not very forthcoming with details either. 

You need a tool to measure the angles as well as the dimensions.

A big mine field - Thats why its probably the only thing i buy from the brand agent TREK in may case. If its wrong i can take it back. Also have a few where the LBS swore it was the right bearing only to find it was wrong - normally the OD & ID are correct but the height is not