Author Topic: Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint  (Read 2591 times)

tonycollinet

  • No Longer a western province of NĂºmenor
Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint
« on: 16 August, 2018, 12:10:31 am »
I know they take a beating on cornering load, but a set of bearings is probably only lasting about 4000 miles. Right wheel has a slight wobble/rattle and the left sounds like someone has sprinkled shingle into it.

Good job they're cheap and easy to fit :-)

Re: Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint
« Reply #1 on: 16 August, 2018, 01:54:33 am »
I'm getting at least double that distance out of my bearings.
I tend to swop them after about 2 years and around 10k miles.
I was only getting around 4k miles out of my Carry Freedom trailer bearings.
But I upgraded them to a set from ICE and now they've done a similar distance to my front wheel bearings no problem.

Re: Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint
« Reply #2 on: 16 August, 2018, 09:50:19 pm »
Is your trike .....dirty and well used or spotless and cleaned and polished after every ride ?
I will explain why I asked that leading question after you have had a peep at the next questions .
All designed to illustrate or discover any issues .

What axles are you using ?
Quick release
19mm bolt _ allen key
mini allen keys

Do you pressure wash the wheels ?
or Use any Strong cleaners/degreasers

Drum brakes or Discs

Are you using ICE supplied bearings or self supply ( in which case what brand and seal type )

Pleased to help and Nigel "Tiger" appears to be on the right road with his comments .

Regards Kevin D.TEK  ;D

tonycollinet

  • No Longer a western province of NĂºmenor
Re: Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint
« Reply #3 on: 21 August, 2018, 06:58:13 am »
Um...dirty and well used. My 4000 mile estimate is based on around 2000/year (I don't exclusively ride the trike) and it being 6 years old.

Quick release axle on one side, and spanner/mini screw on the other (damaged the quick release with a hammer after last winter) :-)

First two bearing sets were ICE, I've just fitted a set from ebay mainly due to convenience of ordering rather than price - of supposedly reputable make.

No pressure washing (see point 1 :-) )

Disk brakes

However, I'm not too worried. Swapping the bearings out is easy - time taken this time was getting the RHS axle out (again after a winter of not being removed) I really need to remove and re grease axles on a regular basis to avoid this.

Re: Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint
« Reply #4 on: 07 September, 2018, 08:54:24 pm »
I'm told that bearings come in different 'qualities'.
My son in law, who is a principal design engineer and moans often about the archaic engineering of ICE and Brompton, fitted aircraft quality bearings to the front wheels of his Trice.
The wheels freely spin and spin and spin some more.
Never knowingly under caffeinated

Jayjay

  • Layin' back a bit these days.
Re: Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint
« Reply #5 on: 26 September, 2018, 09:29:39 pm »
I hadn't realised until after the first winter that the front bearings were shielded, not sealed, hence needed generous grease protection for the outers. 2800 miles and squeaked, some rust on them. Sealed bearings, and some regular grease under the axle head (drum brakes, non QR) give many thousands more miles service than that.

Re: Onto third front wheel bearing set for Ice Sprint
« Reply #6 on: 06 April, 2019, 12:44:15 am »
I added more grease to new bearings and have had no problems since fitting them in 2016.
In fact when I bought another ICE trike last year the first thing I noticed was the front bearings sounded/felt rougher than my old Qnt, despite being told that they had been replaced two months prior to my purchase of the Vortex.
 I removed the bearings.Upon inspection the inboard ones were rusty :o on both wheels (disc brake) and none had any grease in them! ???
I bought new bearings from ICE and greased them before fitting. Now silky smooth. 8)
P.S.
Apply a thin coating of grease to the axle bolts to prevent them from corroding/seizing.