Which bearing type for cartridge hub and/or freehub?

[El Chupacabra]

I'm replacing some gritty bearings in an Easton M1 freehub, which uses cartridge bearings. Googling on this, there are a bunch of bearing types -- basic, better seals, angular contact, and ceramic. And then there are the "enduro max" ones that (as far as I can tell) are intended for high load, low-rotation, like on suspension pivots.

For a cartridge hub, what would you pick? Let's rule out the ceramic ones because of $$$, and rule out the "max" ones because this is a hub, not a suspension pivot.

So -- basic, or better seal (labyrinth seal), or angular contact?

Would you pick a different type of bearing for a freehub vs the hub itself? Why?

In the past, I've just picked whatever was available, and haven't noticed much of a difference in lifespan or drag or anything, really.

[mntlion]

1) ask easton
2) ask the bearing manufacture
3) doesn't really matter? (this is my guess)

[bagtagley]

Get whatever fits and is cheap. Use the money you save to get a second set for the next time you have to replace them.

[jono]

Angular contact bearings are the only ones likely to be appreciably different from the others. Angular contact is like the old open style with a cone on one side and the outer race on the other, so you need two opposed. Less extreme in a cartridge form, but still strong against thrust one way and weak the other.

Probable choice is between sealed (usually rubber contact seals/more friction) and shielded (labyrinth) 'deep groove' bearings. Maybe prefer bigger ABEC numbers (ABEC-9, say) if you want smoother. Single sealed might be just as good as double as long as you leave the unbranded side facing the middle (like -Z vs. -ZZ or -S vs -2S; not super consistent, single not always an option). May not matter for long; no need to obsess.

[El Chupacabra]

Thanks. What do the letters mean after the bearing size? The ones on my freehub project are marked 2RS, and have one side with an orange seal and one with a black seal.

[shirk]

2RS = two rubber seals
So basically a standard sealed bearing.

I have a set of Project 321 hubs and they have EZO made in Japan bearings in them, I've never had a smoother set of running bearings, would recommend. Ceramic not worth the money unless you're racing in the TdF and they are free.

[El Chupacabra]

Thanks - googled and found several sites with info on the bearing labels, like this:
https://www.rushsports.co.za/blogs/n...a-bearing-mean

[jm2e]

I had an LBS install Enduro Max bearings into a DT Swiss hub of mine. Up side was that I expected the service to be about $100 and they charged me $16. Down side was that the bearings were horrible for hubs. Had another shop redo it a few months later with DT Bearings. Smooth, fast, durable.
I fucking hate that I'm resigned to expecting <50% of my LBS interactions to be positive.

[rudy]

I had an LBS install Enduro Max bearings into a DT Swiss hub of mine. Up side was that I expected the service to be about $100 and they charged me $16. Down side was that the bearings were horrible for hubs. Had another shop redo it a few months later with DT Bearings. Smooth, fast, durable.
I fucking hate that I'm resigned to expecting <50% of my LBS interactions to be positive.

Unless the LBS recommended the enduro max bearing why the knock on the shop (especially since they only charged you $16)?

[jm2e]

Because I dropped it off, and told them I needed them to replace the bearing for me. I asked them if they had the special DT Swiss tool required to get at the one bearing behind the Lock ring. They said they’d done a hundred of these and that it didn’t need any special tools. I came back to pick it up a few days later, expecting it to be about $50. That’s when they told me they had found some Enduro Bearings in their stock that were “the exact same thing” as the DT Swiss Bearings and charged me $16 for the two of them.
When rebuilding the wheel a couple weeks later, it became clear to me that the wheel didn’t spin like a Classic 240s.
So I took it to a different shop. The second shop showed me the MAX label and explained why it would never spin well. Then they pointed out how the other shop had ovalized and scratched the axle. All told, fixing the fuck up repair cost me about a hundred bucks.
So yea, that there’s an example of a 50% success rate. And I just ordered my own lock ring tool.

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