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Here we go again, Spider lower link bearings. (long)

3K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  jcospoco 
#1 ·
While riding friday, I notice a "bearing grind" sound when standing and pushing hard. When I took the lower link off, I noticed all four brearings were shot. They would turn (not easy), and were full of grit. Upon removal I noticed water and more " rust red grit" inside of the lower link, (the space between the bearings). Were I live, it is wet in winter, and the dirt/mud is rust red.

The bearing manufacturer of the bad bearings is Enduro. When I purchased my spider, I requested replacement bearing set from INTENSE. They sent me a set for free. The brand they sent is Enduro.

I have had this bike for only 5 months. It is a great bike, but the bearings should last more than 5 months of two/three days a week riding. And since it has been winter, about 1/3 of these rides have been night rides on the road! Yes, I do wash my bike about every ride, (depending upon how muddy), but never with high pressure.


The bottom line: (1) The Enduro bearing does not have a very good seal, four of four failed, (and I have yet to look at the upper link). (2) Why did INTENSE send me a replacement set of this brand?? Do they not know of it's limitations?? It seams they are shooting themselfs in the foot, they put in a bearing not qualified for the job in the factory, then send the same bearing out as a replacement??

When I built the bike, I made a sheild of an old innnertube for the bottom of the lower link. Now I am going to also make a sheild for the top of the lower link.

Who can help me with a better bearing? Who has had better "luck", (and what brand of bearing do you have)? How long have your bearings lasted?

Thanks

Dirk
 
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#2 ·
dirkfh said:
While riding friday, I notice a "bearing grind" sound when standing and pushing hard. When I took the lower link off, I noticed all four brearings were shot. They would turn (not easy), and were full of grit. Upon removal I noticed water and more " rust red grit" inside of the lower link, (the space between the bearings). Were I live, it is wet in winter, and the dirt/mud is rust red.

The bearing manufacturer of the bad bearings is Enduro. When I purchased my spider, I requested replacement bearing set from INTENSE. They sent me a set for free. The brand they sent is Enduro.

I have had this bike for only 5 months. It is a great bike, but the bearings should last more than 5 months of two/three days a week riding. And since it has been winter, about 1/3 of these rides have been night rides on the road! Yes, I do wash my bike about every ride, (depending upon how muddy), but never with high pressure.

The bottom line: (1) The Enduro bearing does not have a very good seal, four of four failed, (and I have yet to look at the upper link). (2) Why did INTENSE send me a replacement set of this brand?? Do they not know of it's limitations?? It seams they are shooting themselfs in the foot, they put in a bearing not qualified for the job in the factory, then send the same bearing out as a replacement??

When I built the bike, I made a sheild of an old innnertube for the bottom of the lower link. Now I am going to also make a sheild for the top of the lower link.

Who can help me with a better bearing? Who has had better "luck", (and what brand of bearing do you have)? How long have your bearings lasted?

Thanks

Dirk
Pintense stated in one of his posts the size of the Spyder bearings :61901-2rs for a 24x12x6 (id x od x w). He also stated that he had better luck with SKF bearings but also said he took them apart and relubed them with high quality bearing grease.

It seems like the grease in the Enduro bearings is not waterproof.
The seals may be suspect also. I found a site that sells bearings online(BOCA). They sell all kinds of bearings with different options. One had better seals,more balls, and then you can get chrome or stainless steel, or ceramic(no rust). The ceramics are supposed to last longer.

I read up on bearings on the SKF site. It shows the type of bearings that deal with axial and radial stress(combined loads) best. The VPP bikes have a lot of stress on these linkages and bearings. According to the site they say that deep groove ball bearings,angular contact ball bearings, and taper roller bearings deal best with combined loads(good,better,best).You have to deal with space limitations and that's why you see ball type vs the taper roller bearings. Boca sold an angular contact bearing used in jet engines for $75.

With that in mind, Boca suggested for my Tracer, ceramic balls with super seals. You can relube them with high quality waterproof grease. If I had a VPP bike, I might investigate a better type of bearing(angular contact ball, or taper roller bearing) if available in that size. Or you can get the ceramic balls and seal upgrade and check them every 6 months and relube. Check out the SKF site and the BOCA site.Good luck!
 
#4 ·
Those numbers looked a bit off so I checked with Intense and they said....

Quattro said:
Pintense stated in one of his posts the size of the Spyder bearings :61901-2rs for a 24x12x6 (id x od x w). He also stated that he had better luck with SKF bearings but also said he took them apart and relubed them with high quality bearing grease.

It seems like the grease in the Enduro bearings is not waterproof.
The seals may be suspect also. I found a site that sells bearings online(BOCA). They sell all kinds of bearings with different options. One had better seals,more balls, and then you can get chrome or stainless steel, or ceramic(no rust). The ceramics are supposed to last longer.

I read up on bearings on the SKF site. It shows the type of bearings that deal with axial and radial stress(combined loads) best. The VPP bikes have a lot of stress on these linkages and bearings. According to the site they say that deep groove ball bearings,angular contact ball bearings, and taper roller bearings deal best with combined loads(good,better,best).You have to deal with space limitations and that's why you see ball type vs the taper roller bearings. Boca sold an angular contact bearing used in jet engines for $75.

With that in mind, Boca suggested for my Tracer, ceramic balls with super seals. You can relube them with high quality waterproof grease. If I had a VPP bike, I might investigate a better type of bearing(angular contact ball, or taper roller bearing) if available in that size. Or you can get the ceramic balls and seal upgrade and check them every 6 months and relube. Check out the SKF site and the BOCA site.Good luck!
I just checked with Intense and they said that the correct measurements were 12 x 24 x 6 id x od x w....Quattro quoted Pintense that it is 24 x 12 x 6.
 
#5 ·
I believe most bearings are not "waterproof"

There's very minimal grease in the Enduro bearings. I just picked up a Bearing/shock bushing replacement kit for my bullit. I pulled the dust seal off and there's not a lot of grease in there. I'd give your new bearings a packing of Phil Wood grease and see how that works for you.
I would think a heav(ier) grease would be better since the bearings don't rotate a bunch.

-Sp

Quattro said:
Pintense stated in one of his posts the size of the Spyder bearings :61901-2rs for a 24x12x6 (id x od x w). He also stated that he had better luck with SKF bearings but also said he took them apart and relubed them with high quality bearing grease.

It seems like the grease in the Enduro bearings is not waterproof.
The seals may be suspect also. I found a site that sells bearings online(BOCA). They sell all kinds of bearings with different options. One had better seals,more balls, and then you can get chrome or stainless steel, or ceramic(no rust). The ceramics are supposed to last longer.
 
#6 ·
Follow-up on my bearing situation..

I e-mailed Intense Warrenty department last week and got this reply:

Dirk,
I can send you another set. The Enduro bearing is a type of bearing
not a
manufacturer. Enduro bearings have a higher side resistance load then a
normal bearing. Also the manufacturer made the bearings with a
different
grade of steel from previously 1st generation bearings. ABI industries
is
where we get the bearings from. Please give me your address and I will
send
you a set out.
Regards Bobby Vore

Per my previuos message here, the first generation bearings lasted me approx 5 months. I now have second generation bearings in the lower link, with another set on the way. I have also made a sheild for the top of the lower link out of a old tube. This is in addition to a shield I previuosly made for the botom of the lower link.

I will keep you posted.

Dirk
 
#7 ·
dirkfh said:
I e-mailed Intense Warrenty department last week and got this reply:

Dirk,
I can send you another set. The Enduro bearing is a type of bearing
not a
manufacturer. Enduro bearings have a higher side resistance load then a
normal bearing. Also the manufacturer made the bearings with a
different
grade of steel from previously 1st generation bearings. ABI industries

is
where we get the bearings from. Please give me your address and I will
send
you a set out.
Regards Bobby Vore

Per my previuos message here, the first generation bearings lasted me approx 5 months. I now have second generation bearings in the lower link, with another set on the way. I have also made a sheild for the top of the lower link out of a old tube. This is in addition to a shield I previuosly made for the botom of the lower link.

I will keep you posted.

Dirk
I guess the Enduro bearings are the "deep groove type". More of the ball is supported so it holds up better against side loads. Boca suggests ceramic balls which don't rust and are supposed to be stronger. It does sound like a better sealing system might be a fix or a better pivot or link design.The VPP bikes seem to stress out the pivots and bearings.
 
#8 ·
So how tough is it to replace the pivot bearings as well as the shock mount bushings on the ol' Spider?
I got the bearing sizes from you guys anyone know the shock mount bushing size so I can replace those too. Can you replace the shock mount bushings?
 
#9 ·
bearing, bearings, bearings

In my opinion 5 months is pretty good considering you wash your bike regularly and you didn't do any thing to keep them rolling.

No bearing or grease will hold up under those conditions. If you actually want your bearings to last try greasing them once in a while. Just pull the seals with a pick or small screwdriver and inject some grease with a grease gun.

You'll find all or your bearings will last a lot longer if you give them a little help once in a while.

An ounce of prevention . . .
 
#10 ·
Even the best of sealed bearings might not last too long if you wash the bike regularly regardless of using low pressure. Riding in wet areas will not help either. However, if you take the bearing covers off every few months and check the grease and keep them lubed up their life span will increase dramatically. Everytime you ride the bike, the movement in the bearing pushes out a little bit of grease and in the process a little bit of grit works its way in progressively.
 
#11 ·
mine are shot

mine are toast after 15-20 rides! hard to believe....i think this site shows the bearings that Intense supplies. ABI Industries Enduro bearings
if you click further into the page, scroll down to the 6900 series, and I think the 6901 2RS MAX is the correct size. it seems like these are very popular with other bike companies too.
I just can't understand how new/unused bearings can get contaminated and freeze up when I have only ridden the bike 15-20 times. Perhaps the seals had been compromised or were defective. With the pivot bolts backed out, the linkage was not moving very freely. I can only hope that with new bearings the bike will feel even plusher, and the noise will be gone. But what if they were not pressed in correctly, or worse, that I over tightened (torque spec?) the pivot bolts in my paranoia, and that the bearings were then not properly seated or something?
I am buying some from QBP, and also getting a free set from Intense, so hopefully I won't be waiting for parts again later on this summer.
P.S. My 5th element IFP is no longer holding air. send it back and wait? Intnese won't handle it. I should buck up and buy a Fox AVA to have as well.
 
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