Ultra torque bearing maintenance

cgolvin · #1 07-18-2019, 05:54 PM

Apologies if this has been well covered in other threads; my cursory search didn't turn anything up.

I was just looking at the Campy technical manual for UT cranks and it recommends bearing maintenance every 5k km; I know I have more miles than that on all of mine. So…

- How often do you do this maintenance?
- For Super Record it essentially says not DIY, needs special materials -- true?
- Different treatment for CULT vs older bearings?
- What's your technique?

Thanks

ultraman6970 · #2 07-18-2019, 06:28 PM

I do not know the other guys but what i do if im not doing rain rides is to take everything appart, clean with paper towels and regrease the cops and the bearings outside, everytime the BB starts clicking. And thats in my case is like twice a year.

The UT BB stuff is pretty much maintanance free, the issue is that if you do nothing to it and you have been riding in rain the bearings will start getting rusty and stuck to the cups, and you might need to swap them both.

As for longevity of the bearings, you will know when they are toasted because they develop a play, which is pretty obvious reason to swap them. As for putting grease to the bearings themselves, inside... never done it. No need IMO, maybe some oil but besides that those things are ok as they come from factory.

What ive noticed you have more chances to bust is the wavy washer, personally I put 2 of them in all my builts. And bought a box of them to have moving around because once the wavy washer starts loosing its coating (u will see scratches) they whole thing will start clicking, you can fix it with a lot of grease but if the washer went south the grease trick wont help for too long.

Besides that at least for the riding I do, u just need to clean and re-grease 2 or 3 times a year and good to go.

tuscanyswe · #3 07-18-2019, 06:35 PM

Ultras method sounds good.

Me, when i have gotten to the point of hearing or feeling stuff from the bb and take it all off i will just replace them. The regular UT bearings are not that expensive so peace of mind is worth it to me if they were acting up. That perhaps is not true with Super Record as those bearings are way more expensive. Luckily they seem to last longer, at least mine do. Or maybe its just i dont ride the nicer stuff on purpose in the rain that makes them get better milage.

fignon's barber · #4 07-18-2019, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ultraman6970

I do not know the other guys but what i do if im not doing rain rides is to take everything appart, clean with paper towels and regrease the cops and the bearings outside, everytime the BB starts clicking. And thats in my case is like twice a year.
.

This is what I do as well.

AngryScientist · #5 07-18-2019, 06:48 PM

pull and re-grease once a year just to make sure the bearings dont seize to the cups. i use a pretty high quality water resistant grease which helps keep moisture out of the bearings themselves and lasts pretty long.

other than that, run the bearings until they get crunchy and replace.

i only have one SR level crank and that's on my peg, which i never ride in the wet, and they have lasted very well with zero maintenance. the record/chorus level ones get lots of miles in my riding conditions before crapping out. in all these years i think i have only replaced UT bearings twice, but my gravel typed bikes dont use UT cranks.

robertbb · #6 07-18-2019, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

run the bearings until they get crunchy and replace.

+1. The record/chorus bearings are cheap, and very high quality. Just invest in a good UT bearing tool (I like the Super B one).

bigbill · #7 07-18-2019, 09:25 PM

I have the Park UT tools and Chorus steel bearings are <$40 a set. I do what the other's posted as far as periodically greasing the cups but I don't do anything to the bearing. They were put together with good grease, just let the bearing live out its life.

My toolbox has an extra set of cups for Eng and Ita. I found a cracked cup once and would have been screwed without a spare set. I also have a wavy washer and retainer clip, just in case.

FlashUNC · #8 07-19-2019, 01:01 AM

Grease semi annually. If they feel rough swap them out.

cgolvin · #9 10-08-2019, 10:58 AM

Based on the hive mind guidance here, I removed my SR cranks last night to clean up the cups etc.

The same thing happened as last time: NDS crank came out but bearing remained stuck in the cup. Not hard to get the bearing out but now I have to go to the LBS to get the bearing re-seated on the crank arm (don't have the tool myself).

The bearing seems good, spins freely, and the cup seems clean and unmarred…is this indicative of some other problem? Was I too parsimonious with the grease last time (no problem on the drive side)? Should I replace the cups? Something else?

thanks

bigbill · #10 10-08-2019, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgolvin

Based on the hive mind guidance here, I removed my SR cranks last night to clean up the cups etc.

The same thing happened as last time: NDS crank came out but bearing remained stuck in the cup. Not hard to get the bearing out but now I have to go to the LBS to get the bearing re-seated on the crank arm (don't have the tool myself).

The bearing seems good, spins freely, and the cup seems clean and unmarred…is this indicative of some other problem? Was I too parsimonious with the grease last time (no problem on the drive side)? Should I replace the cups? Something else?

thanks

Grease in the cup should have prevented the bearing from binding but given that this has occurred before on the same crankset, I'd say the crank spindle is undersized. A more hopefully theory would be that the bearing wasn't all the way on the taper and pressing it on this time will be better. The Park kit for bearing removal and install is $57 at Probikekit. I've seen it as a great investment. The drive side is easy, you seat it past the snap ring groove, the NDS requires some measurement to know if the bearing is on correctly. If it's pushed on too far, you'll know as well.

Hindmost · #11 10-08-2019, 07:28 PM

If crud has seeped into the bearings, while in place they can be scrubbed and rinsed with your favorite solvent, blown dry, prior to regreasing.

huck*this · #12 10-09-2019, 05:02 AM

I usually use the flush method on my SR bearings. Use simple green let it sit for 30mins. Then run under hot water with dawn while I spin the bearings until it spins buttery smooth and free. Canned air to clear out the residual water a drop or two of NFS oil couple spins and good as new. I don’t think you can kill CULT bearings.

oldpotatoe · #13 10-09-2019, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cgolvin

Based on the hive mind guidance here, I removed my SR cranks last night to clean up the cups etc.

The same thing happened as last time: NDS crank came out but bearing remained stuck in the cup. Not hard to get the bearing out but now I have to go to the LBS to get the bearing re-seated on the crank arm (don't have the tool myself).

The bearing seems good, spins freely, and the cup seems clean and unmarred…is this indicative of some other problem? Was I too parsimonious with the grease last time (no problem on the drive side)? Should I replace the cups? Something else?

thanks

Need to grease the inside of the cups liberally when you reassemble. Not great that the bearing stayed in the LH cup but close tolerances of the cup=less/no creaks. Why they have had 3 iterations of cups, each with tighter fit for the bearing.

The RH bearing has a C Ring keeper on it.

cash05458 · #14 10-09-2019, 12:07 PM

Someone mentioned Probikekit as having the Park tool for 57 bucks but don't think they have it any longer...can't seem to find it anywhere less than 97 bucks...guess they discontinued the first few pullers for a new one...anyone have any idea of either a cheaper tool or a discontinued one? Thanks...

bigbill · #15 10-09-2019, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cash05458

Someone mentioned Probikekit as having the Park tool for 57 bucks but don't think they have it any longer...can't seem to find it anywhere less than 97 bucks...guess they discontinued the first few pullers for a new one...anyone have any idea of either a cheaper tool or a discontinued one? Thanks...

I see that. Park added parts to the kit so it does PT and UT bearings so it costs more. I guess if you want to do your own, you bite the bullet and buy the kit. I like having mine, I keep a few sets of bearings in my parts tub and all my cranksets have steel bearings now. I don't really mess with flushing and regreasing an older bearing, I just do a quick replacement that takes around 30 minutes.