Campagnolo bearings

[hamster]

Agreed. It's a cartridge bearing, with a dust seal only on the outer side to allow grease to sit inside the whole thing and be refilled.
I did the rebuild on 1994 Veloce hubs which definitely had cartridge bearings and are definitely older as they have skinny 10mm axles, not the fat one on your hub.

[tatanab]

It is at least 25 years old.

I doubt that. 20 years, yes - see the 2002 spare parts that I showed earlier. 1995, yes there were freehubs, but the axles were smaller diameter (as hamster says), almost certainly steel ones which can be seen in the spares of that time. Also, this was a time when Centaur name was not in use.

Given the model name, the axle design, I'd go for 2002. Therefore a youthful 18 years old. it doesn't matter, it still needs fixing.

[Cranky2]

Perhaps your right tatanab. I may have been getting mixed up with another pair of wheels from a few years previous. So I'll go with around 18/19 years old. Maybe even as young as 15. It's just a bit of a blur.

[Brucey]

campag don't sell the bearings separately but others do, for example this is a repair kit sold on ebay



you just need to make sure the bearings etc are the correct ones for your hub model.

FWIW if the outer bearing has failed then the inner one probably won't be in great shape either, so change them both if there is the slightest doubt about them.

cheers

[Cranky2]

I am now starting to think that I may be missing somthing here. Like the outer face of a cartridge bearing. Time to take another look at the freehub.

[Cranky2]

Look what I found lurking inside the freehub body. Thats right!! The outer face of a cartridge bearing. WHO KNEW?? Thanks for sticking with this you guys I was convinced that I was looking at putting some loose bearings in. Just goes to show. If you keep at it the messsge will eventually get through. Even with a thick b------er like me.

[drossall]

At least we can all agree that that particular part needs to be replaced

[fausto99]

Re dates and cartridge bearings; I have repaired a 1997 Veloce rear hub which I’d had from new. The freehub definitely had two sealed cartridge bearings inside, held in with a circlip and held apart with a spacer. The other two were cup and cone with loose balls. I think the ND side were 1/4” but the DS had smaller balls, there being less room.
HTH

[Brucey]

FWIW if you are fully determined and the raceways are undamaged, you can convert a cartridge bearing to 'full complement' type.



However not only do you need to fit balls of exactly the correct diameter, you need to grind a loading slot into the raceways



if you grind badly, the slot can become an 'unloading slot', with the unloading happening as you ride.

I have done this once or twice but it is, I confess, more or less a complete waste of time, unless you start with new, undamaged parts. It gives a higher static load rating to the bearing, which is most likely to be 'worth it' with a highly loaded, near static part like a suspension pivot.

[not that this is relevant on a bike part but IIRC such bearings may have a lower speed rating too; presumably (for any given shaft speed) the balls can rub against one another at about twice the relative speed as they would each rub against the usual retaining clip.]

cheers

[NickJP]

IMG_20210118_190755.jpg

1/8 sounds far too big,especially looking at your pic, 5/32 seems more likely

5/32 is actually bigger than 1/8...

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my Pixel 5 using hovercraft full of eels.

[Cranky2]

Brucey. That's what I thought I had. But turns out not the case, anyway I have ordered a couple of new bearings so saves me the bother of faffin about trying to get the loose bearings back in that cage.. Have tried to get the circlip out but think I will leave the inner bearing as it is. Thanks again for your help.

[alexnharvey]

Are you able to assess the inner bearing for wear and smoothness? Seems a shame to leave it for the next twenty years if it is in bad condition.

[Mick F]

To remove the bearing, drill a small hole into the body, then with a spoke push the circlip inwards to release it.
Outer bearing has a normal circlip you can use a circlip plier to release, but the inner has a clip without holes in the ring.

Campag want you to buy a whole new body.
Cheaper to buy a whole new hub, because not only do you get the body, but all the bearings, seals, cups, and cones too.

Try pricing those up individually first before making your mind up!

[Cranky2]

I had a look on flea bay for a new/old hub but couldn't find anything. But the good news is, I have replaced the outer bearing, inner was fine and now repacked with lots of grease. I have also replaced the square bearings in the hub and now everything is running nice and smooth.

Here's to another 20 years.

[Brucey]

nice!