Vpp bearings hard to rotate by hand?

bearings that are hard to rotate need to be replaced. good thing santa cruz offers free bearings for life to the original owners!

are they stiff but smooth ? or rumbly ? if smooth you might be able to recover with relube/reseal
if rumbly they are dead

They are a little rumbly. Gonna try to clean them with white petrol and regrease.
If i cannot solve, do you know if i can buy just the bearing with same specs or do I have to buy the Hightower V2 specific kit?

outback82 said:

They are a little rumbly. Gonna try to clean them with white petrol and regrease.
If i cannot solve, do you know if i can buy just the bearing with same specs or do I have to buy the Hightower V2 specific kit?

Click to expand...

On the bearing seal their should be a code containing 4 numbers starting with 6 if its a deep groove ball bearing (ex: 6901). This code states the type and size of the bearing so any bearing with the same code will have the same dimensions. Since you are replacing frame bearings you should buy full complement bearings like Enduro Max. Any good bike shop will have a supplier that sells Enduro bearings.

HuckingKiwi said:

On the bearing seal their should be a code containing 4 numbers starting with 6 if its a deep groove ball bearing (ex: 6901). This code states the type and size of the bearing so any bearing with the same code will have the same dimensions. Since you are replacing frame bearings you should buy full complement bearings like Enduro Max. Any good bike shop will have a supplier that sells Enduro bearings.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I read the serial code on the bearings and it is "enduro 6902zs max". I can find a lot of 6902 LLU max which seems to be different only for the plastic outer cover. Do you think is it the same?

outback82 said:

Thanks. I read the serial code on the bearings and it is "enduro 6902zs max". I can find a lot of 6902 LLU max which seems to be different only for the plastic outer cover. Do you think is it the same?

Click to expand...

Sorry I forgot to mentioned what the letters mean after the code. LLU means that the rubber seals are contacting the inner race. ZS means that the seal allows for old grease to exit the bearing when you are using a grease gun. If you install bearings with LLU seals you wont be able to grease the pivot using the greasing fitting. I assume that the only way to get Enduro bearings with ZS seals is through Santa Cruz since all the suppliers I know only carry LLU. Most full suspension bikes don't have grease fittings so they run bearings with LLU seals instead. In my opinion its only worth it to go with ZS seals if you ride in really wet conditions. However I'm not sure if Santa Cruz uses bearings that have a spacer built into the inner race. If that is the case its better to get them from Santa Cruz.

HuckingKiwi said:

Sorry I forgot to mentioned what the letters mean after the code. LLU means that the rubber seals are contacting the inner race. ZS means that the seal allows for old grease to exit the bearing when you are using a grease gun. If you install bearings with LLU seals you wont be able to grease the pivot using the greasing fitting. I assume that the only way to get Enduro bearings with ZS seals is through Santa Cruz since all the suppliers I know only carry LLU. Most full suspension bikes don't have grease fittings so they run bearings with LLU seals instead. In my opinion its only worth it to go with ZS seals if you ride in really wet conditions.

Click to expand...

Thank you so much for clarifications. So, I'll be good to go with 6902 LLU MAX?
I think it is ok just to inspect and regrease them by hand. Also i prefer to have the chance to easily buy them instead of contact Santa Cruz all the times I want a bearing.

outback82 said:

Thank you so much for clarifications. So, I'll be good to go with 6902 LLU MAX?
I think it is ok just to inspect and regrease them by hand. Also i prefer to have the chance to easily buy them instead of contact Santa Cruz all the times I want a bearing.

Click to expand...

It should not be an issue. You just need to keep in mind that sometimes suspension bearings have an inner race that is taller than the outer race ( search "Enduro MAX-E" on google if your not sure what I'm talking about). Im pretty sure you can buy bearings from a local shop that sells Santa Cruz.

Well guys i need your feedback. I regreased the bearings via grease port and some old grease came out. I tried to make them move with a rubber stick inside the hole and after some rotations i was able to make them rotate by hand. By the way the movement is smooth, not rumbly but they do not rotate like skateboard wheels, they just move if i insert my fingers inside the vpp and make a rotational movement.
Is it ok?

^^^ normal. Remember, you packed it with a grease gun.

How did you rotate the bearings with your finger? Did you remove the lower VPP to pack it?q