Focus Jam2 wheel bearings

[steve_sordy]

I have a 2019 Focus Jam2 9.6 NINE, ie a carbon 29er.
It has RaceFace AR 30 wheels with a front Novatec axle 110x15 and a rear Novatec axle 148x12.

What size bearings do I need for both please?

Has anyone got any links to how to do the remove and replace thing?

My Google Fu is failing me today , so I would be grateful for any assistance.

 

[Shy Ted]

I have a 2019 Focus Jam2 9.6 NINE, ie a carbon 29er.
It has RaceFace AR 30 wheels with a front Novatec axle 110x15 and a rear Novatec axle 148x12.

What size bearings do I need for both please?

Has anyone got any links to how to do the remove and replace thing?

My Google Fu is failing me today , so I would be grateful for any assistance.

Hi Steve, when I was looking into my Novatec hub issues this site was quite useful:

Spare parts for hubs

www.nguide.eu

If you find the breakdown diagram for your hub, note the bearing number then go to spare parts (page 2 onwards gives the bearings) click on your bearing and it gives you the sizes.

Maybe this helps; apologies if I’ve got the wrong end of the stick, but normally we’re guided by your expertise in these matters!

 

[steve_sordy]

......Maybe this helps; apologies if I’ve got the wrong end of the stick, but normally we’re guided by your expertise in these matters!

Thank you @Shy Ted but I have no expertise in this matter. In fact there are almost no matters at all where I would claim expertise on this Forum. I have never forgotten when I first heard a definition of an "expert". It was at a Best Man's speech where he had been introduced as an expert public speaker. He said "An expert, let's look at that word. Two syllables, "ex" and "spurt". One is an unknown quantity, and the other is a drip under pressure!

PS: I will take a look at your links, I'm sure they will be helpful, Many thanks.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Shy Ted I note the key words in your post "If you find the breakdown diagram for your hub, ...."
It's probably just me, but I cannot see how to find the hub, all the info I have is Race face AR30 and searching for that gets me nothing.
(I said I lacked expertise).

 

[Billybopsbasher]

First of all, we need to know what numbers are written on your hubs as that will determine exactly what bearing numbers you'll need and how the hubs are disassembled.
For example it'll read something similar to this
D771sb-b15
Then you can follow the instructions in this video which should be fairly generic across most of their hubs.

 

[Shy Ted]

A possibility ......is the bearing from a D462SB-SL

SEALED BEARING #6902, SIZE: 15 x 28 x 7 MM, WEIGHT: 15.7 G.

 

[Shy Ted]

A picture of my hub on 2020 Jam2 6.8: I’m guessing yours might be the same, but at least you can see where the number is. Sorry it’s slightly out of focus.

 

[steve_sordy]

@Shy Ted That is absolutely great!

I went out to the garage and had a close look at my hubs. To my intense embarrassment, the hubs are clearly marked, not only with the word "Novatec" but the hub numbers in the format you described!
I have been cleaning that bike on average once per week for over two years and I never noticed that. I obviously saw it, just never noticed it!

To help others, the front hub is D041SB-B15 and the rear hub is D162SB-SL-B12.

It took some patience but I found the rear hub and it needs 3 bearings, all are 6902 sealed bearings 15x28x7

For the front hub I could only find D041-SB-15 (instead of D041SB-B15) That needs 2 bearings, same size as above.

The front hub number is so similar that I returned to the garage to check it, but I was correct the first time. Do you think it makes a difference? The hub number on my bike is just not on the website.

 

[Billybopsbasher]

Those front hubs are the same apart from the boost spacing...ie b15. They use the same bearings.. You have the same hubs as I.

 

[Shy Ted]

I found this as clear as mud but make sense of it:

Abbreviations in hub description explained

Product support for Novatec wheels and hubs.

www.nguide.eu

it’s an index of the coding of the hub numbers/letters. It may help.

 

[Shy Ted]

@Shy Ted That is absolutely great!

I went out to the garage and had a close look at my hubs. To my intense embarrassment, the hubs are clearly marked, not only with the word "Novatec" but the hub numbers in the format you described!
I have been cleaning that bike on average once per week for over two years and I never noticed that. I obviously saw it, just never noticed it!

To help others, the front hub is D041SB-B15 and the rear hub is D162SB-SL-B12.

It took some patience but I found the rear hub and it needs 3 bearings, all are 6902 sealed bearings 15x28x7

For the front hub I could only find D041-SB-15 (instead of D041SB-B15) That needs 2 bearings, same size as above.

The front hub number is so similar that I returned to the garage to check it, but I was correct the first time. Do you think it makes a difference? The hub number on my bike is just not on the website.

The way I interpret these numbers is that the B12 means a diameter of 12mm and B15 is 15mm, in which case the front bearings will be different to the rear i.e. front has a 15mm hole in the middle and rear has a 12mm hole.....without going out to the bike and pulling things apart I couldn’t be sure, but Steve as you’re the one getting his fingers grubby, perhaps you can confirm or otherwise.

 

[steve_sordy]

The way I interpret these numbers is that the B12 means a diameter of 12mm and B15 is 15mm, in which case the front bearings will be different to the rear i.e. front has a 15mm hole in the middle and rear has a 12mm hole.....without going out to the bike and pulling things apart I couldn’t be sure, but Steve as you’re the one getting his fingers grubby, perhaps you can confirm or otherwise.

Thanks, I'll have a good look at that link later. The important piece of info is once again embarrassing for me, how could I have bearings with an internal diameter of 15mm in a hub that has a 15mm axle? Therefore the hubs with the almost identical code numbers are NOT the same (ref post #8 above). But it still has a 15 at the end of it (instead of B15). I believe that the B just refers to a Boost hub. Puzzling.

 

[steve_sordy]

I believe that I have sorted it out. (If anyone sees any howlers here PLEASE let me know).

Thanks a lot @Shy Ted I could not have got here so quickly without your assistance.

The rear hub (D162SB SL B12) is a Disc brake hub, with Sealed Bearings, has a SuperLight body and a Boost axle that is 12mm dia
It requires two 6902 bearings 15x28x7 (15mm internal dia, 28mm external dia and is 7mm wide).

The front hub (D041SB-B15) is a Disc brake hub, with Sealed Bearings and a Boost axle that is 15mm dia. For some reason that particular hub does not appear on the Novatec website, only the non-boost version (the one I found with the almost identical code number). So it is 10mm shorter. The web page quite clearly says it has two 6902 bearings. But 6902 bearings have an internal diameter of 15mm. I found that confusing because how can that be with an 15mm dia axle?

The answer was revealed when I found the drawing for this hub (link below). It shows that the axle is in direct contact with the inner race of the bearing. That is why the 15mm dia aspect works. The bearings are item 3 in the drawing and are denoted by the symbol "X"

http://www.nguide.eu/sites/default/files/mysite/hubs/282/documents/D041SB-15.pdf

Here is a link to 6902 LLU MAX bearings from TrailVision. They are their "Blue Seal" bearings specifically designed, grease-filled and sealed for use on bikes. They have been recommended on here before and I have them in my headset.

6902 LLU MAX | 15 x 28 x 7mm | Blueseal Bike Bearing™

2 x 6902 LLU MAX 15 x 28 x 7mm ABEC 3 Full Complement Bearings. Blueseal Bike Bearings™ are designed specifically for bikes and contain close contact rubber seals and a full fill of Mobil XHP 222 grease. Designed For The Extremes!

trailvision.co.uk

PS: The bearings are £9.99 for a pair, they are sold in pairs so for 4 individual bearings you need to select two when ordering. Delivery is free 1st class.

 

[Shy Ted]

I believe that I have sorted it out. (If anyone sees any howlers here PLEASE let me know).

Thanks a lot @Shy Ted I could not have got here so quickly without your assistance.

The rear hub (D162SB SL B12) is a Disc brake hub, with Sealed Bearings, has a SuperLight body and a Boost axle that is 12mm dia
It requires two 6902 bearings 15x28x7 (15mm internal dia, 28mm external dia and is 7mm wide).

The front hub (D041SB-B15) is a Disc brake hub, with Sealed Bearings and a Boost axle that is 15mm dia. For some reason that particular hub does not appear on the Novatec website, only the non-boost version (the one I found with the almost identical code number). So it is 10mm shorter. The web page quite clearly says it has two 6902 bearings. But 6902 bearings have an internal diameter of 15mm. I found that confusing because how can that be with an 15mm dia axle?

The answer was revealed when I found the drawing for this hub (link below). It shows that the axle is in direct contact with the inner race of the bearing. That is why the 15mm dia aspect works. The bearings are item 3 in the drawing and are denoted by the symbol "X"

http://www.nguide.eu/sites/default/files/mysite/hubs/282/documents/D041SB-15.pdf

Here is a link to 6902 LLU MAX bearings from TrailVision. They are their "Blue Seal" bearings specifically designed, grease-filled and sealed for use on bikes. They have been recommended on here before and I have them in my headset.

6902 LLU MAX | 15 x 28 x 7mm | Blueseal Bike Bearing™

2 x 6902 LLU MAX 15 x 28 x 7mm ABEC 3 Full Complement Bearings. Blueseal Bike Bearings™ are designed specifically for bikes and contain close contact rubber seals and a full fill of Mobil XHP 222 grease. Designed For The Extremes!

trailvision.co.uk

Hi Steve, it’ll be interesting to see a picture of all the bits lined up once you’ve got the new bearings......after all, a picture tells a thousand words.

Now, when you strip down the rear hub don’t be tempted to remove the seal from the freehub to service that, especially as yours has been good for the two years you’ve had it........you’ll recall all the issues many of us have had with these this past year.....you have been warned!!!?
Best of luck with the fix.

 

[steve_sordy]

.............Now, when you strip down the rear hub don’t be tempted to remove the seal from the freehub to service that, especially as yours has been good for the two years you’ve had it........you’ll recall all the issues many of us have had with these this past year.....you have been warned!!!?
Best of luck with the fix.

Thanks for the warning. I wimped out and got my LBS to do it!
I passed on your warning and he understood immediately.
All four bearings were gritty. One front brg was very gritty, the other was "on the way". Both hub brgs were a bit gritty, probably could have lasted a bit longer, but who knows? It cost me £20 for him to do it and he did it the same day I rang him up. Brilliant service.

He was much taken with the five-pawl freehub. He noticed that they were not evenly spaced. One of the gaps was bigger than the others. Anyone know why?

 

[Shy Ted]

20 quid! You can’t get nuffin for twenty quid nowadays, I’d say you got a bargain there Steve. The only downside being you didn’t get the experience yourself, but, I dare say (hopefully) it’ll be another two years or more before they need doing again. Plus you didn’t have to spend £40 or more for the bearing removal/insertion kit. I presume for that price you provided the bearings?!
I think focus tried to cut some costs by going from the 5 pawl to 3 pawl freehub.......and got caught out.....or Novatec just didn’t build them well enough to cope with northern climes.
Happy biking ??

 

[steve_sordy]

Yep, £20 is cheap. And yes I supplied the bearings.

I served a full mechanical engineering apprenticeship as a youth for a power transmission company. Everything there was in mechanical power transmission: gearboxes, variable speed drives of various types, clutches & couplings of all types, chains, chain wheels, belt and belt drives. You name it we did it. We did everything from components and spares all the way through to complex solutions. We did small, we did huge and everything in between. We had a brass foundry, an iron foundry, a steel foundry, pattern shops to serve them all. Also a big mechanised iron foundry, metallurgy labs and so forth. We had massive design offices, jig and tool design offices and all the other office stuff. I served time in pretty much all of it. Happy days.

The crazy thing is that I used to build gearboxes and also fit the bearings into them. The biggest bearing I remember fitting was a 10" diameter Timken taper roller bearing, although most bearings were either ball journal or angular contact, sometimes in combination with roller bearings. So why didn't I fit the tiny wheel bearings myself? I'm sure that all I needed was a hammer, screwdriver, some mk1 common sense and a bit of mechanical sympathy.

Lazy I guess, especially when the LBS price for the job is so low!

 

[Shy Ted]

That will certainly explain how you could look at the breakout diagrams of the hubs and explain what the differences were; and take it way beyond my ‘O’level technical drawing from way back when; see, I told you you were an expert.
But, I was still confused over the 12/15mm issue but maybe won’t be if when I say the front skewer therefore acts as the axle as it’s in direct contact with the internal ring of the bearing (the rear just as something to hold the wheel to the frame - like normal QR skewers)......have I finally got it or am I barking up the wrong tree......put me out of my misery, I need to be able sleep tonight without 15mm 12mm bearings skewers buzzing around in my head! aaaarrgghh???

 

[steve_sordy]

That will certainly explain how you could look at the breakout diagrams of the hubs and explain what the differences were; and take it way beyond my ‘O’level technical drawing from way back when; see, I told you you were an expert.
But, I was still confused over the 12/15mm issue but maybe won’t be if when I say the front skewer therefore acts as the axle as it’s in direct contact with the internal ring of the bearing (the rear just as something to hold the wheel to the frame - like normal QR skewers)......have I finally got it or am I barking up the wrong tree......put me out of my misery, I need to be able sleep tonight without 15mm 12mm bearings skewers buzzing around in my head! aaaarrgghh???

No expert, still a drip under pressure!
Yes, the inner race of each front bearing is in direct contact with the 15mm through axle. If you look down the hole, the bearings can be seen.