Originally Posted by
TomErickson
I have seen a lot of comments about kit bearings. I just got my B5M kit and was assembling it yesterday and noticed that the small wheel bearings for the front spindles are not very smooth. I think I will be getting better bearings right away. I am using the stock steel spindles and glued in my inserts. So my bearing seem stiff and one side is gritty out of the box. Is THIS what everyone is seeing with their stock kit?
I have noticed the same thing. In my instance, the bearings are very smooth until the axle is inserted. That tells me that the plastic inserts that hold the bearings don't locate the axis of the axle properly. Basically side loading the bearings when you force the axle through. That causes these plain bearings to bind up a bit and feel gritty. I have tried many different bearings and new plastic bit with the same observation. You can feel the bit of resistance as the axle is pushed through the bearings. It seems a bit better with the 3mm (centered) position though.