Finding advice on removing a cartridge bearing from a bicycle wheel proved surprisingly difficult recently. Even a fairly recent and comprehensive bicycle repair manual that I had to hand didn't say anything about it.
It turns out the way to do it is to remove any end caps and locknuts and washers and nuts and then bang the end of the axle really hard against a piece of wood. You will probably make dents in the piece of wood.
This works because cartridge bearings are pressure fit both to the hub and to the axle. (This is really neat!) Both the hub and the axle are stepped to hold the cartridge in place. A hard enough bang will simultaneously make the step on the upmost side of the axle pop the upmost cartridge from the hub and make the step on the downmost side of the hub pop the downmost cartridge from the axle. You can then pull the axle out and remove the other cartridge by poking through a screwdriver or similar and tapping with a mallet.
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- Dafydd (
dgh) wrote,
March 31 2011, 08:03:27 UTC 2 years ago
April 26 2011, 20:52:23 UTC 2 years ago
April 10 2011, 22:50:13 UTC 2 years ago
nother way
Hey bru,I found advice just as difficult to come by, but I did get one good source and have used that method ever since.
The method is to drill a sturdy piece of wood all the way through with a large-ish bit (like an inch) so you can put the hub on it with the axle in the hole, and tap the axle with a hammer to get the bearings out.
You can also use the same block for mounting the bearings later. Also, for getting the "other cartridge out", it's much safer to use the axle rather than a screwdriver, which could hurt the seal etc.
Hope this helps. Cheers!
April 10 2011, 23:27:01 UTC 2 years ago
Re: nother way
I like it!In this case, the bearings were being replaced, but yeah, I can see that the axle would be gentler. It's a compromise between being small enough to fit into the hub and having a large end to disperse the force.