Why No Yeti Love on the Shore?

Jan. 2, 2013, 5:53 p.m.

Posts: 424

Joined: Feb. 18, 2010

wrt bearings; my Knolly, (which has a bizillion bearings) never had to receive replacement bearings in 4 years. Repacked, yes, but even then the repacked bearings continued to last.

Bearing quality and tight tolerances = good bikes.

Jan. 10, 2013, 12:50 p.m.

Bradical

Posts: 0

Joined: April 8, 2011

I just ordered a SB66 Carbon Frame….cant wait to build and ride

Jan. 10, 2013, 1:32 p.m.

craw

Posts: 1055

Joined: Jan. 31, 2005

I just ordered a SB66 Carbon Frame….cant wait to build and ride

Can't wait to see this. Build/ride report please.

There's nothing better than an Orangina after cheating death with Digger.

Jan. 10, 2013, 2:27 p.m.

shoreboy

Posts: 1552

Joined: Sept. 30, 2006

I still think Turner has the best idea,high quality,high tech bushings and a grease port.If they weren't so stupid expensive up here I'd own more than one.

I agree that Turner has the best system. I (or my wife) have owned 6 Turners since 2001 and never had to replace any of the bushings on any of them. Most of them were owned for at least 3-4 seasons.
As far as them being expensive, why not just buy one direct from the States? We got all of ours used and or new from US sources, and Turner often has end of season sales on their frames (like right now) where you can get a pretty good deal.

Jan. 12, 2013, 6:06 a.m.

woodlotrider

Posts: 193

Joined: Dec. 2, 2002

…
Bearing problems in a frame are more likely from bad alignment, sideloading or skewing the bearing. Most bikes use 6000 series bearings, which are deep groove ball bearings, and not designed for any sideloading. So many suspension designs I see rely on tolerancing to make sure that the bearings are not sideloaded: This is an overconstrained design, and honestly, it's sloppy.

It's a valid approach provided those tolerances are sufficiently tight AND that every part out the door hits them (ie. good QC). Depending on the execution it could be expensive to reject / rework all non-conforming parts. Deep groove ball bearings are suitable for moderate thrust loads in additon to radial loads, but like you mentioned, bearing misalignment will prematurely wear the bearings, in addition to negatively impacting performance from day 1.

(For nerds looking for more details on deep groove ball bearings: http://www.skf.com/group/products/bearings-units-housings/ball-bearings/deep-groove-ball-bearings/single-row-deep-groove-ball-bearings/index.html)