I gave it a whack with a rubber mallet, but the axle is shaped with flanges on each of the inner sides, so the cartridge bearing on the opposite side was knocked out in the process. I drifted it back in though after "repacking" with grease.
However, I discovered that the seals were very VERY ineffective! They're basically a circle of plastic you can pull out with a pin. There was another barrier to cleaning out the bearings and sticking new grease in—a moulded retainer circlet that stopped the bearings from escaping. It really made it very hard to clean the thing adequately, and I couldn't see how it could be removed without damaging it by bending it.
Also, anyone know how can I identify what sort of cartridge bearing it needs? In case I feel like replacing them with something a bit higher quality? I find it quite hard to believe that people have hauled this wheel across harsh environments like Siberia, Mongolia, Greenland, etc, as I'd say the bearings are even more susceptible to water and muck than regular cup and cone hubs.
On a side note, my Ibex's shock pivot assembly (and that of my friends' Ibex) has had an enormous amount of play since I first assembled it, such that the fork (where the _trailer's_ wheel sits) can be wobbled side to side at least a cm. Anyone else have this problem with their BOB? I've been meaning to stick a couple of nylon washers in the linkage, but haven't got round to it yet. I probably should do that soon
