Original manufacturers vs bearings from BMG

[Madone69]

SKF bearings R74 each in Jan 2021...just paid double the price for the same bearing a week ago....the Enduro bearings are just crap

Edited March 24, 2022 by Madone69

[Cam99]

Trek has odd sized bearings on the BB. I have the 2022 fuel EX  8 ( purchased second hand so I have no warranty to fall back on). 

BMG and Bearing International dont stock that size.

I had to purchase the bearings from a Trek agent. That particular size is 3803-2RS-W.

They stock a 17 x 26 x 5  not the 17 x 26 x 10 that is required. I was not keen to double 2 bearings up to make up for the 10mm.

Its one of those cases where you have to close your eyes and fork out the cash. Its depressing not having your bike at home to ride.

Who said owning a dual suspension bike was cheap to maintain. 

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, 117 said:

Ok thanks, does any one then know what the headset sizes are for the Top fuel so we can source alternatives? Sorry, a bit of a mad day so my search skills are a tad deficient at the moment

 

 

headset bearings you won't find at BMG because they do not stock angular contact bearings of that sort for over the counter sales

[117]

Thanks DiD, I'm looking for alternatives, not necessarily BMG 

[Trashy]

1 hour ago, 117 said:

Thanks DiD, I'm looking for alternatives, not necessarily BMG 

Are they standard size headset bearings?

My lbs sold me headset bearings for about R100 each a few weeks ago.

[117]

I'm not sure if they are standard Trashy, wouldn't even know what a standard size is... 

 

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, 117 said:

Thanks DiD, I'm looking for alternatives, not necessarily BMG 

Cane Creek will be your best bet. KCNC bearings🤢....no

[David Marshall]

26 minutes ago, 117 said:

I'm not sure if they are standard Trashy, wouldn't even know what a standard size is... 

 

I know what standard is.  I have 19 different "standard" headset bearings in my box!

As for the Trek I don't know off hand what they use on your bike but they do have their own bearings on some of their bikes.  On my son's Madone both the BB and headset bearings are frame specific.

[thebob]

Find the model in the Trek bike archive (if it is not a 2022 model) online and they will have the bearing size listed

[Alouette3]

One of the big things with OEM/ Enduro bearings vs. BMG etc is that the Enduro bearings are full compliment, ie have no cage or carrier between the balls but is rather filled with balls, I am yet to find a local supplier that carries a full compliment option as is used in suspension pivots.

Wheel bearings and BB's are often standard though. Headsets have bevels in them.

On that note, in the past I have just BMG / local not full compliment type bearings at 25% the cost and replaced every season rather then the Enduro which maybe lasts me 2 seasons if lucky.

[WaynejG]

2 hours ago, Cam99 said:

Trek has odd sized bearings on the BB. I have the 2022 fuel EX  8 ( purchased second hand so I have no warranty to fall back on). 

BMG and Bearing International dont stock that size.

I had to purchase the bearings from a Trek agent. That particular size is 3803-2RS-W.

They stock a 17 x 26 x 5  not the 17 x 26 x 10 that is required. I was not keen to double 2 bearings up to make up for the 10mm.

Its one of those cases where you have to close your eyes and fork out the cash. Its depressing not having your bike at home to ride.

Who said owning a dual suspension bike was cheap to maintain. 

My cycling buddy was just saying over the weekend that he could happily go back to a hard tail again.

[mecheng89]

33 minutes ago, WaynejG said:

My cycling buddy was just saying over the weekend that he could happily go back to a hard tail again.

Gravel bike FTW 🤭

[Frosty]

8 minutes ago, mecheng89 said:

Gravel bike FTW 🤭

I'll take my HT to the Winter Fast One (80Km route) if you take your Gravel bike. 😁

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Alouette3 said:

One of the big things with OEM/ Enduro bearings vs. BMG etc is that the Enduro bearings are full compliment, ie have no cage or carrier between the balls but is rather filled with balls, I am yet to find a local supplier that carries a full compliment option as is used in suspension pivots.

Wheel bearings and BB's are often standard though. Headsets have bevels in them.

On that note, in the past I have just BMG / local not full compliment type bearings at 25% the cost and replaced every season rather then the Enduro which maybe lasts me 2 seasons if lucky.

Full compliment bearing are crap even for pivots. There’s very little space for grease in them so any dirt ingress leads to roller sliding and premature wear. I prefer caged bearings for pivots, wheels, bb and headsets (cane creek) because they’re easier to flush clean and regressed for longer life

[love2fly]

6 hours ago, 117 said:

Ok thanks, does any one then know what the headset sizes are for the Top fuel so we can source alternatives? Sorry, a bit of a mad day so my search skills are a tad deficient at the moment

 

 

I see you're in Gauteng? Chat to Wolfgang at Linden Cycles. He pays lots of attention to which Headset (and other) bearings he stocks. OEM Trek parts sre insanely priced. I suppose Spez, Rocky Mountain etc are too ..

[madmarc]

On 3/24/2022 at 12:48 PM, 117 said:

I'm not sure if they are standard Trashy, wouldn't even know what a standard size is... 

 

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.