Wahoo Kickr bearing replacement

richjturner

Hi all,

Hoping for some advice from people who know bearings and the Wahoo Kickr.

My Kickr gen 1 started making weird noises a while ago. It's not awful or that loud but it's a bit annoying and I don't want to do damage. I messaged Kickr support who said the bearings had gone and that they would swap my faulty one for a refurbished one for £250. That doesn't sound bad of it was trashed but it's only a bearing!

I asked if instead of replacing the unit they could just send me some bearings. They said

"The required part is 6003-ZZ bearings. However, I must stress that this is not recommended by Wahoo or myself and I do not have any instructions that I am able to supply. Before I arrange for these to be sent out I just wanted to check you have access to a table mounted bearing press. This is necessary as you must press the bearing onto the axle and into the cup simultaneously.

Let me know if you have access to this, as any other method of fitting the bearings in a Kickr 15 is likely to damage the unit as well as the bearings."

I asked both of my LBS of they thought they could do it and both said it should be fine but neither has a table mounted press.

Can anyone shed any light on this? I've taken the thing apart which is easy and the bearings are right there, but u don't know anything about fitting them.

Thanks in advance,

Rich

redvision

Tbh, even though it's only a bearing, I would take up their offer of a refurbished unit for 250.

You might have not trashed the unit, but if you have used it regularly then other components (I'm thinking the belt etc) may also be worn. So for 250 I would get a fully refurbished unit you know will (should) be good for another few years.

Alejandrosdog

redvision wrote:

Tbh, even though it's only a bearing, I would take up their offer of a refurbished unit for 250.

You might have not trashed the unit, but if you have used it regularly then other components (I'm thinking the belt etc) may also be worn. So for 250 I would get a fully refurbished unit you know will (should) be good for another few years.

250 is 240 more than a couple of bearings though. That’s a chunk of change

david7m

Put some pictures up.
Worth a punt, nothing to lose. Or is the 250 with a PX?
Dave

richjturner

redvision wrote:

Tbh, even though it's only a bearing, I would take up their offer of a refurbished unit for 250.

You might have not trashed the unit, but if you have used it regularly then other components (I'm thinking the belt etc) may also be worn. So for 250 I would get a fully refurbished unit you know will (should) be good for another few years.

That's not a bad perspective, and one I hadn't thought about. However, as far as I can tell the belt looks fine. I've cleaned the unit out on the inside and all looks ok. Aside from the noise it runs smoothly. So I feel like I'm paying £250 for a bearing which when they only cost a few quid, is hard to swallow. If it weren't for the fitting thing it would be a no-brainer.

richjturner

Alejandrosdog wrote:

redvision wrote:

Tbh, even though it's only a bearing, I would take up their offer of a refurbished unit for 250.

You might have not trashed the unit, but if you have used it regularly then other components (I'm thinking the belt etc) may also be worn. So for 250 I would get a fully refurbished unit you know will (should) be good for another few years.

250 is 240 more than a couple of bearings though. That’s a chunk of change

My thinking exactly.

richjturner

david7m wrote:

Put some pictures up.
Worth a punt, nothing to lose. Or is the 250 with a PX?
Dave

Googling Kickr bearing brings up this image:

https://www.google.com/search?q=wahoo+k ... PjVlOBCCpM:

The other side looks basically the same. Easy enough to access but as I said, I have no experience with bearings.

This is the noise it makes:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Am_P6tWpM5FW0XAdEERfrlGJ_-Iq

Although out of warranty they will do the PX if it's worn. I think if I damage it though the PX option is gone.

StillGoing

richjturner wrote:

redvision wrote:

Tbh, even though it's only a bearing, I would take up their offer of a refurbished unit for 250.

You might have not trashed the unit, but if you have used it regularly then other components (I'm thinking the belt etc) may also be worn. So for 250 I would get a fully refurbished unit you know will (should) be good for another few years.

That's not a bad perspective, and one I hadn't thought about. However, as far as I can tell the belt looks fine. I've cleaned the unit out on the inside and all looks ok. Aside from the noise it runs smoothly. So I feel like I'm paying £250 for a bearing which when they only cost a few quid, is hard to swallow. If it weren't for the fitting thing it would be a no-brainer.

A negative way of looking at it when in reality, you're getting a "refurbished" unit in exchange. One that has probably just been in stock and recalled for the belt change and had everything checked again. On the other hand, you could spend £10 on bearings, screw removal of the worn bearing or pressing of the replacement up and be a whole lot more out of pocket.

Alejandrosdog

philthy3 wrote:

richjturner wrote:

redvision wrote:

Tbh, even though it's only a bearing, I would take up their offer of a refurbished unit for 250.

You might have not trashed the unit, but if you have used it regularly then other components (I'm thinking the belt etc) may also be worn. So for 250 I would get a fully refurbished unit you know will (should) be good for another few years.

That's not a bad perspective, and one I hadn't thought about. However, as far as I can tell the belt looks fine. I've cleaned the unit out on the inside and all looks ok. Aside from the noise it runs smoothly. So I feel like I'm paying £250 for a bearing which when they only cost a few quid, is hard to swallow. If it weren't for the fitting thing it would be a no-brainer.

A negative way of looking at it when in reality, you're getting a "refurbished" unit in exchange. One that has probably just been in stock and recalled for the belt change and had everything checked again. On the other hand, you could spend £10 on bearings, screw removal of the worn bearing or pressing of the replacement up and be a whole lot more out of pocket.

I've had a look, though i havent done it...

It looks relativley straightforward. I fail to see why you need a hydraulic bench press for that. I'd do it myself if it were mine.

shane_cycling

Did you manage to sort new bearings out and fit them, I'm in the exact same position. I had the kickr 2, and took their offer of a refurb kickr core. (I genuinely thought kickr core was same as my kickr) the core is a useless trainer, so unstable when putting out power so I'm sending back. Hopefully they'll now send an actual kickr, if not I'll get the original back and fit new bearings.

richjturner

shane_cycling wrote:

Did you manage to sort new bearings out and fit them, I'm in the exact same position. I had the kickr 2, and took their offer of a refurb kickr core. (I genuinely thought kickr core was same as my kickr) the core is a useless trainer, so unstable when putting out power so I'm sending back. Hopefully they'll now send an actual kickr, if not I'll get the original back and fit new bearings.

I have the bearings but haven't got around to fitting them yet. At the moment I'm using the Kickr outside and given I use noise cancelling headphones, the noise isn't that bad. I'm still weighing up what to do to be honest. When the time comes I'll probably go to my LBS with all the bits and see what they think.

I bought them from Quality Bearings Online https://www.qualitybearingsonline.com/ They were really helpful and couldn't see why it would be that hard to fit them. They said once the original bearings are out, freeze the new ones and keep the Kickr somewhere warm, plus use some lube. I bought

6003 2Z SKF Deep Groove Bearing - 17 x 35 x 10mm
SKU 6003-2z-skf

Less than £9 including delivery.

Good luck. If you do anything keep me posted!