BEARINGS KEEP YOU ROLLING

The following press release from Enduro Bearings may read like an ad for their product, but it helped remind us how important the bearings in our bikes are. We usually don’t give a bike’s bearings much thought until something goes wrong with them, so it makes sense to get the best bearings you can whenever you build a new bike or fix an older bike.

Think about it. Bearings are one of the critical parts of a bike. Without them, things just wouldn’t work.

Bearings are in hubs, bottom brackets, pedals, freehubs, pivots, pulley wheels, and headsets. They are parts we don’t think about until something squeaks or goes wrong.

Enduro Bearings has been at the forefront of bearing technology in bicycles since 1996. Enduro says that the bike industry brands that want the best bearings spec Enduro and still do.

Did you know that Enduro bearing are found in PIVOT bikes, Intense Cycles, Norco bikes, Industry 9 wheels, Foes bikes, Marin bikes, Devinci bikes, YT bikes, BMC bikes, Cane Creek bike parts, Niner Bikes, CrankBrothers components, Alchemy bikes, Canyon bikes, Yeti bikes, Box Components, Stan’s wheels, and more—see here.

With so many bearings where is the best upgrade location?

#1 The bottom bracket:  With only 2 bearings supporting all your body load and power, it’s the first point of power transmission to the rear wheel. The loads are the most variable with the human pedal motion, out of the saddle, in the saddle, shifting forward and back, varying pedal speed, etc. They are usually the source of the most wear, problems with noises, and friction.

#2 The hubs: Hub bearings are next in line when it comes to the power transmission to the rear wheel. With axial loads and with four bearings in the average rear wheel, you want high precision here where they line up evenly and transmit power rather than friction.

What are the best bearings for the different parts on my bike?

XD15 bearings—for all spinning parts of your bike; hubs and bottom bracket

440C stainless bearings—for your headset

MAX BO Solid Lube bearings—for your pivots

Enduro offers a full range of bearing choices and quality to suit every pocket, plus they have the tools to do the extraction and fitting. If you don’t put the bearing in straight, it doesn’t matter how good the bearing is; it can’t run smoothly.