Hi,

i have a PowerTap PRO+ hub. I noticed that my bearings are quite rough. it's not the freehub, but the actual bearings from the wheel itself.


Should i replace them (can i do it myself) or contact Saris? I live in Belgium and it took the distributor 2 month to deliver my new powertap so i rather wouldn't send it back to the distributor in belgium...

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Keep on going!

You can do it youself, it's just the same as any normal cartridge bearing hub, don't beleive all the rubbish Saris advise about it being a very specialist expensive job as it's not and I suspect they have an interest in telling you it's not possible to change them as it generates work for their service department.
I've done dozens here in the workshop and never had a problem.
It will void your warranty if you have any on the hub though, if it's ran out anyway you may as well do it yourself.
Be sure to fit the bearing spacer in between the bearings the correct way round though, the little taped on magnet end goes on the drive side.
Pop the bearings out and you can pick up some replacements from a bearing shop online, you could even upgrade them to a better quality than the originals, stainless, even ceramics if you want.
I use VXB bearings as they have plenty of choice at different price and quality levels depending on what job they are for.

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Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

Great,

i suspected something like that. Saris told me only they could replace them because of the PM inside.. blabla


do they easily pop out?

What kind of bearings do you recommend? I only use it for training so reliability is more important than weight.

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Keep on going!

I'd fit them with a stainless steel bearing from VXB http://www.vxb.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
Plenty of different choices there, choose one to suit your budget as they are all better quality than the originals fitted at the Saris factory.
If you have the 12mm axle type of hub you'll need four 6901 double sealed bearings, that will be two for the hub and two for the freehub body.
I'd advise taking them out and double checking the sizes against your own though.
They'll take about 4-5 days to come by mail for northern europe.
Insert a 5mm allen key into the axle and undo the drive side cap, pull off the freehub body, do the same on the NDS and you'll be able to push out the axle, you may need to give it a tap with a mallet or a block of wood and a hammer to get it moving, but it's normally easy enough to get out by hand.
Get yourself a nice tool to tap the bearings out with, I use a bronze or alloy peice of 10mm bar about 30cm long, but an old screwdriver will do the job, put it down into the axle hole and push the spacer tube to one side to get on the bearing, give it a tap at 90 degree variations each time so the bearing comes out reasonably straight.
Take the spacer tube out, remembering which way the sensor magnet goes, tap the other side out in the same way, you can normally do this by getting someone to hold it in their hands to avoid damaging it, but sometimes you need to place the hub on a block of wood to get a little more shock to get it moving.
Don't beat it to death though, take it easy with the hammering.
Clean it out with a rag making sure there is no debris or burrs on the hub shoulder where the bearing sits against.
Take your new bearing, put a little bit of grease on the bearing and hub and either fit them with a bearing fitting cup which is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the bearing, or you can use a QR spindle with the old bearings on the outside, just screw up the QR and pull them in.
I have a set of alloy cups with a shaft on them for fitting the bearings, and just tap them in, nice and straight and gently.
As a tip, you can use a socket (11/16ths is a perfect fit for this job) and a socket extension to carefully tap them in too if you don't want the hassle of making or buying a tool, just either grind the face that contacts the bearing flat so it fits nice or just be very careful to not damage the seal of the bearing, always only tap in cartridge bearings by driving on the outer of the bearing and vever on the seal or the inner of the bearing or you'll damage it and end up having to get another one.
It sounds a bit complex, but it's pretty straight forward really, just take it easy and be patient and you'll be fine.
Cheers, Rob.

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Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

Thanks dude! Excellent reply.

I'll order them and give it a spin!


If i'm correct, these bearings would fit?

http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/6901-2RS

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Keep on going!

Hi Rob - still haven't got my Powertap yet, but a couple of my coaching clients are having bearing trouble within a matter of weeks of receiving their wheelsets - are you finding that the bearings you install (presumably of good quality) last any longer than the originals?

Gavin

The bearings in powertap are shiite, especially in the UK climate. Any replacement bearing will be better!

Sorry GZA, just picked up on this thread.
As the last guy mentioned, the bearings are of the lowest quality possible in the standard hub.
Bung some stainless in there?!
Cheers, Rob.

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Guildford/Woking is the home of F1.
We make loads of other stuff here too.

I think there is more going on than crappy bearings. The way these hubs are designed, they need to be very precisely machined and put together to prevent preload on the bearings. The spacers that bear on the inner races must match the distance between the bearings perfectly... and too often they do not.

Alright, Legs. You helped me out big time with my Chorus hub issue last month. Now on to the next hub.

On my Monday ride, I noticed my PT Pro hub was as rough as a ship's hull. This is the OLD PT Pro, with the two allen screws holding on the cover. I pulled the axle out and noticed the cone was pitted (ball bearings on the drive side). I also noticed the cartridge bearing under the plastic cover (NDS) was a bit rough. Reading this thread, I decided I'd pop it out, see about replacing it, and hope the hub worked okay. I also went ahead and pulled the freehub body. Not sure how bad the bearings in that are, as I can't find any.

Anyway, I've read so many things about so many different models that I'm a bit confused. For this model, I think I can replace the freehub body with Shimano parts. However, I'm not sure if I need 105, Ultegra, or DA. Also, would I need to replace the cone with the corresponding freehub body (it needs to be replaced, but no idea which part to use). My wife (so helpful) is stopping by the bearing shop today to get a new cartridge bearing for me, so I'm fine there.

Any thoughts on the rest of my situation? What to use to replace the freehub body, what other parts need to be replaced with it, etc? The hub has worked great for me, so I'm hoping I can just finish the rebuild and get some more life out of it. Otherwise. I'm buying a new hub and learning how to build a wheel.

Thanks for the help.

TB

I ended up doing the bearings myself for a grand total of $42 and 1 hour of work.

If anyone is interested in giving it a go themselves im happy to provide a detailed photo and instruction document to help with the process.

Its simple as pie if you have basic fitter/mechanics tools like pin punch, socket set or dolly's, vice, mallets or hammer.

This is the way it looks when pulled apart. 4 bearings, 2 seals, 1 shaft with magnet attached, 1 freehub 2 spacers and 2 guides

Ive taken alot of pics in this gallery http://s564.photobucket.com/albums/ss81/hoopnake22/Powertap%20Bearings/ and if anyone needs more info on the process just flick me a pm.

Honestly if your not a heavy handed fool its simple to do.

What about bearings for the larger (14mm is it?) axle? Which is what I have.

Is there a bearing code number by any chance?

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awesome info!!!!

SL+ and SLC+ 6802RS, 6902RS Shimano 2 x 6902 RS
(6802 2RS 219 15 x 24 x 5)
(6902 2RS 434 15 x 28 x 7)

ok doing my own research.....

but the only confusion I have is this :-

I have just bought a PT with the only designation on it as a 2.4

does that mean it is an SL?

( I am about to go through the process of upgrading it to ANT + via the firmware updater also.... )

so I am guessing that the 2.4 has the 15mm axle????

According to Saris's 2009 manual, the versions with the 12mm axle use four 6901 bearings. The Shimano versions with the 15mm axle use bearings with a larger OD as well as ID in freehub and DS hub. These will take a higher capacity and should last longer than the 12mm bearings. The Campy version uses smaller bearings in the freehub though, so this one probably won't last as long.

Model Hub Bearings Freehub Type Freehub Bearings

Elite+ and Pro+ or any PowerTap with 12mm Axle 2 x 6901 RS Both 2 x 6901 RS
(6901 2RS 318 12 x 24 x 6)

SL+ and SLC+ 6802RS, 6902RS Shimano 2 x 6902 RS
(6802 2RS 219 15 x 24 x 5)
(6902 2RS 434 15 x 28 x 7)

SL+ and SLC+ 6802RS, 6902RS Campagnolo 2 x 6802 RS
(6802 2RS 219 15 x 24 x 5)
(6902 2RS 434 15 x 28 x 7)