Superstar switch hub bearings

kenan

My rear wheel has developed play and been told its the bearings. My wheel hub is the older style switch hub.

Does anyone know what bearings I need, web link would be great.

I'll email Superstar for help but in a bit of a hurry and know they are slow to reply.

supersonic

If you can knock the old bearings out, you should be able to see the code on them.

kenan

I was hoping to only have to take the bike apart when I was fitting the new bearings.

Will I do damage to the wheel if I keep riding it? There is only a little play in the wheel at present.

supersonic

Not really, but the brakes will rub.

kenan

The brakes are what prompted me to look at the back end.

Cheers for the responce

bike-a-swan

Switch/Switch EVO F- 6802 x2
Switch/Switch EVO R- 6902 x4. 2 in the freehub, 2 in the shell.

I've got the full (as much as they send out) service instructions and the bearing lists if you want. PM me an email address if you're interested.

As an aside, if superstar tries to tell anyone their slick hubs use the same bearings as the switches, they're wrong- they take the same as the SS versions.

kenan

Thanks bike-a-swan, you have a PM.

kenan

Been looking round and the bearing range from £1 (ebay) to £13ish for Ceramic.

Is it worth going for the Ceramic or are the normal ones off ebay going to do teh job?

supersonic

I'd just get the cheapies to be honest. Ceramic can last longer, but I doubt will be 13 times longer lol.

kenan

Then if I drop/break any during install won't feel so bad

Just looked and you can get a switch hub from superstar for £40, cheaper option than going Ceramic !?!

steben

I used cheap bearings in my rear Hope II hub and they lasted 6 months, the original lasted 3 and a half years ! I now have Hope ones installed, 5 bearings for £20 odd. Worth it .Good luck.

supersonic

Hope don't make them though, they import them from the far east. It can be hard to know what you are getting, but I'd certainly take a cheap generic bearing over a cheap generic ceramic bearing.

If wanting branded ones, then SKF do well sealed versions for a little more.

kenan

I have just ordered 5 for £6. Originals lasted me a year and a half so will be interesting to see how these do.

Got the destruction details from bike-a-swan, cheers again for that.

bike-a-swan

Good, have fun!

cavegiant

be very careful not to put any force on the inner race when installing, this is normally why bearings fail so fast when replaced (as damaged on install).

Ceramic will roll faster, but I would put a lot of money on you not noticing the 0.001% difference compared to tyre drag or wind resistance.

Ceramics are fancy, but you are wanting to spend about £2-300 a bearing for a proper one.

as well as the code there are also the seals.

they will be RS or ZZ. RS is rubber seal and greased. ZZ is metal seal and oiled.

Again ZZ will roll faster (some pros fit them for race days), but again fractions of a second saving for a lot more faf.

SKF standard bearings are very well known for a reason. They will cost about 5 times more than a cheapo bearing, but will probably outlast your bike (if installed correctly).

So if installing your own bearings without the tools, just get cheap as you will trash any bearing. If using good tools, going SKF migh be worth the investment. Cermaic are bling, but will burn money.