CULT bearing life?

[PLuKE]

Hi

I have been looking at some Campag wheelset with the CULT bearings, for not to much more than there steel bearings.

What are the CULT bearings like for there working life?

The wheels won't be used in the wet, unless caught out. I would strip them down once a year with fresh oil/grease, there isn't any extra maintance needed is there?

I see there fairly expansive to replace. And that's my main issue.

Thanks
Luke

[em3]

...over 15K miles on my SR crankset with CULT and still spinning effortlessly. I strip about once a year, clean and use light application of Campy grease. I bought some replacement bearing at about 10K assuming I would need to replace, but new bearings are still in wrapper. I suspect you will get equal or more life on CULT equipped wheels. IMO, the only real advantage of ceramic bearings is the longevity. EM3

[fishyskawa]

The cups/cones don't corrode and don't require grease. As long as you don't get foreign material in them (sand/dirt) they should last forever. They use cronitect steel in the cups/cones, which is why they are so badass, and ceramic bearings. If you wanna read the full story on the steel I found a write up about Cronitect. Check out the salt water spray test numbers!

http://www.schaeffler.com/remotemedien/ ... _en_en.pdf

[PLuKE]

Thanks

At some point they will get dirt and sand in, but I won't be using them in wet condtions, unless I get caught out.

I guess the seals are good to stop dirt and grit?

I guess as there dry inside, or even a drop of oil in, there going to be quick to wash out the oil contaminated with dirt and grit.

Luke

[Permon]

I read that even dirt does not hurt the bearings/cups/cone as the materials used (ceramics + cronitec) are so hard, that they will not be hurt by sand. This is the explanation why CULT bearings on SR cranks do not use any kind of seals
Juts re-assemble twice a year, clean it up, put few tears of oil in there and You are done.

I have made above 30 000kms on my CULT cranks....left bearing was changed ....the right one remains the original.
The same with my Hyperons....more than 50 000km on them during the years. Run like new.
Also made 28 000 km on Bora ONES (steel bearings) and they run like CULTs!!! So easy running and smooth....it gets even beter by the time!
14 000 km on Bora 35 ONES this year....again, getting even better after more km done.

Campa bearings rulezz. Really, no brainer at all.

[Calnago]

I have yet to see a destroyed set of cult bearings either in the crank or wheelsets. Occasionally I pull mine out and clean them by blowing compressed air at them. They spin like a high speed dental tool while I blown them out. Afterwards I just apply a couple of drops of light oil and good to go. When I first got them I was all anal about what lube I should use thinking it had to be "special" since these things were so damn expensive. But really, any light oil is fine; they'll run fine dry too if you want but I feel a couple drops of oil can't hurt. You can use grease in there too but you'll defeat the whole purpose at that point because the increased drag from the grease will render them no better than steel bearings in grease.

[sadisticnoob]

My USB fulcurm racing zero has some play on the front wheel after 12K km. did not take out and service during the 1.5 years or so that im using it in all weather conditons. Rear wheel is still fine

[Calnago]

@sadisticnoob: have you adjusted the front hub at all? They are not cartridge bearings. I'll bet if the hub had just a small adjustment your play would be gone. I've seen a bit of play in brand new Fulcrums that after s quick adjustment they were perfect.

[sharkman]

A fulcrum bearing always has a but of play, only with the spanners closed with proper force the bearing play will dissapear. Adjusting play to zero on a non mounted will will shorten the bearing life.

[Calnago]

Yeah, not suggesting you crank down with a wrench, but I have a DT Swiss tool that goes over top of the compression collar which, when given a gentle tap, gets the cone nicely against the bearings without being overly tight. Only then do I tighten the lock collar. Spins totally freely with no discernible play.
And I double check to make sure that when mounted the force of the skewers is not making that adjustment tighter.

[ergott]

Best way to adjust is to put a couple of washers inplace of the dropout and clamp them with the skewer the same way you would mount a wheel to the bike. You can feel the bearing drag/play much easier when spinning the axle in your hand than spinning the whole wheel.

[kenmical]

Not all ceramic bearings are made equal. My friend busted two sets of ceramic bearings on his Vision Metron 55 in a period of 10 months. However so far no issue with my Campy CULT.

[kgt]

+1

[tomyboy123]

On Campy CULT bearings is better to use only Oil not grease. That means, that lubrication will be more frequent.

[tomyboy123]

I cannot imagine riding CULT bearings with no maintenance whole season, for let say 8.000km and more..
On my first Bora Ultra set, 4 year ago, I destroyed inner cone. Because nobody told me, that it is recomended to lubricate mid sezone, 100 EUR total damage, material and labor.
Now, I completely disable the hubs, clean and oil the bearings, after every 3.000km or so.