Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

AC1 bearings

2K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  John 
#1 ·
I bought a used 2003 AC1 not too long ago and discovered that some of the pivot bearings are in pretty sad shape and need replacing. Where do I get some new ones? And more importantly, how do I get the damn things out to swap them? (Specifically, I need to replace the bearings in the rocker arms)'

Thanks,
M
 
#3 ·
I'm based in the UK so can't really help you with a bearing supplier, but you should be able to get them from any bearing stockist. I wouldn't get them froma bike shop or Giant as you will probably pay a lot more. Once you've removed the bearings take them to the bearing shop and they will sort you out as the bearing will have a code giving the diameter and depth of the bearing.

To get the bearings out you will need a socket with the same diameter as the outer edge of the bearing, so that the socket rests on the bearings outer edge. All you do then is drift them out with a hammer. Easy. Make sure you drift them the right way as I think there is a lip on one side of the bearing hole on the rocker for the bearing to seat against.

Hope that makes sense.
 
#5 ·
Boca Bearings

A big thanks to Reek. We found the bearings for the AC1 on the bocabearings.com website much less than anywhere else. Giant claims they do not have any knowledge of where to get replacement bearings. After a "giant" run around, the local bike shop said they might be able to piece together something resembling a pivot kit for close to 100 bucks. The two bearings from boca bearings were 17 bucks, no shipping, or tax.
 
#6 ·
They're really helpful.

Rangernoot said:
A big thanks to Reek. We found the bearings for the AC1 on the bocabearings.com website much less than anywhere else. Giant claims they do not have any knowledge of where to get replacement bearings. After a "giant" run around, the local bike shop said they might be able to piece together something resembling a pivot kit for close to 100 bucks. The two bearings from boca bearings were 17 bucks, no shipping, or tax.
They're a really nice site. You just send them the numbers on the bearings or size and they'll find a the right kind of bearings for your application.

Glad I could help.

REEK
 
#7 ·
Update: My bearings arrived today from Boca Bearings. Tossed em in the freezer for a while, then used a socket that matched the outer diameter of the bearing to tap them into place. Took less than 10 minutes to install them and put the bike back together, good as new. A quick bounce around the driveway and everything seems great!

In case anybody is interested, the part # is MR1910-2RS. As far as I can tell they are identical to the stock bearings. Except that they are a whole lot cheaper.

Hopefully this info can help somebody else out too.
 
#8 ·
$17 for 2 bearings.

Rangernoot said:
Update: My bearings arrived today from Boca Bearings. Tossed em in the freezer for a while, then used a socket that matched the outer diameter of the bearing to tap them into place. Took less than 10 minutes to install them and put the bike back together, good as new. A quick bounce around the driveway and everything seems great!

In case anybody is interested, the part # is MR1910-2RS. As far as I can tell they are identical to the stock bearings. Except that they are a whole lot cheaper.

Hopefully this info can help somebody else out too.
OUCH!!! I make NRS kits for the 2000-2003 frames, and I can put a FULL replacement kit together, with 6 (all of them) cartridge bearings, and the 2 spacers sleeves, and the 4 plastic flange bushings, SHIPPED, for under $25.

$17 is a ripoff, which is why I never bought from them. If you bought 600, how much would they have been then????

If you are up to it, get the quantity, and exact part number for every size bearing on the GIANT AC, and within a month, I will have a full replacement kit for it, under $25 shipped.

John
MTB Suspensions
 
#9 ·
John,

I posted above as Rangernoot. (Was logged in under my girlfriend's account.)

I didn't think that was such a bad price based on what I had heard in dealing with Giant. Here's the runaround I had to deal with:

I called Giant directly. The guy I spoke with told me they do not deal with the general public, nevermind the fact that I live 80 miles from the nearest giant dealer. So I called the nearest bike shop that carries Giant. They called the company and asked for a bearing kit for the AC1. Whomever the shop spoke to said they didn't have a complete bearing kit for the AC, but that he'd look around and see if he could piece one together. (This sounded pretty odd to me, how can you not have any replacement parts for the bikes you build?) He said it would be costly, though, as the bearings are expensive. The shop told me it would be upwards of $100 for a set. Screw that. That is when I asked here and found boca bearings. So either the people at Giant have no idea what the hell they are talking about, or they are out of their friggin mind thinking I'm going to pay that much. I don't think $17 is excessive to pay for something that should last a while.

I would be interested in a full bearing kit if you can get one together. Especially at that price. I'd think there would be plenty of others out there who would like one as well.

I will see if I can get the part numbers for the bearings to you.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I agree with GIANT not being fair in pricing and inventorying parts for their frames. I also got the runaround on bearing kits, and talked with their warranty guy directly. The factory would not direct ship the kit. I have an NRS which I tried to get bearing kits for this Summer and they were 8 weeks backordered, and almost $100 for the whole bike!! Nutz to that.

As far as Boca Bearings, their selection is slim at best, they didn't carry every bearing size for the two bikes I was trying to repair. My main beeef with outlets like Boca is their shipping charges. It does NOT cost $8-$12 to package and ship a vew bearings. Since they didn't carry all of them, the first set I made up cost over $85 to assemble. Almost half of that was shipping costs. The only way to lower the price is to buy a lot of bearings
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top