Of all the bike maintenance tasks I do (which is almost everything unless I'm lazy), replacing bearings is the worst. I had to do it with a high level of frequency on my last bike (every few months) and I'd be ok never looking at another bearing press. Sadly, my current bike has 20 bearings throughout the frame (although they are very well sealed, whereas my last bike had next to nothing protecting them) and our dirt tends to wreck pivot bearings.
The worst of these are the blind bearings, removal of which can be a real chore if the manufacturer has loctited them or if they weren't pressed in with some kindof anti-seize.
I think the reason it sucks is the lack of availability of good tools that don't cost an obscene sum, especially for extraction. The tools I used for extraction of blind bearings would pop out after a few hammer blows, requiring an annoying replacement process several times before the bearing started to move. It lacked the flange shown on the blind extractor above. I also don't think hammering on your frame is an elegant solution, I found an obscure, small brand that made extractors that didn't require hammering, but sadly they only had a few size options available and I've yet to track them down again, making me wonder if I dreamed it up in my head.
On the non-blind bearings, you can easily fit the drift on the other side, then press it out, however what do you press it out into? A socket? One of those fancy extractors? They are all great until you get a frame that doesn't have an even surface for it to rest on, so you end up tightening this metal fitting onto your frame, chipping the paint at best. I'd like to see some kindof rubber or protective surface on those tools to prevent damaging the frame as you tighten the extractor and allowing it to conform to stylish, non-even surfaces (e.g. rocker pivot on Transition bikes). I guess I could hammer on it also, but not sure that's much better.
March 10, 2020, 6:14 a.m. - Shinook
Of all the bike maintenance tasks I do (which is almost everything unless I'm lazy), replacing bearings is the worst. I had to do it with a high level of frequency on my last bike (every few months) and I'd be ok never looking at another bearing press. Sadly, my current bike has 20 bearings throughout the frame (although they are very well sealed, whereas my last bike had next to nothing protecting them) and our dirt tends to wreck pivot bearings. The worst of these are the blind bearings, removal of which can be a real chore if the manufacturer has loctited them or if they weren't pressed in with some kindof anti-seize. I think the reason it sucks is the lack of availability of good tools that don't cost an obscene sum, especially for extraction. The tools I used for extraction of blind bearings would pop out after a few hammer blows, requiring an annoying replacement process several times before the bearing started to move. It lacked the flange shown on the blind extractor above. I also don't think hammering on your frame is an elegant solution, I found an obscure, small brand that made extractors that didn't require hammering, but sadly they only had a few size options available and I've yet to track them down again, making me wonder if I dreamed it up in my head. On the non-blind bearings, you can easily fit the drift on the other side, then press it out, however what do you press it out into? A socket? One of those fancy extractors? They are all great until you get a frame that doesn't have an even surface for it to rest on, so you end up tightening this metal fitting onto your frame, chipping the paint at best. I'd like to see some kindof rubber or protective surface on those tools to prevent damaging the frame as you tighten the extractor and allowing it to conform to stylish, non-even surfaces (e.g. rocker pivot on Transition bikes). I guess I could hammer on it also, but not sure that's much better.