Mavic Crossmax SL Freehub bearing

[SuperWinner]

Hi eveybody,

I was wondering, does anybody know if a bronze bearing in the freehub is original?

Found a lot of info regarding a “plastic” bearing. There is the Hubdoctor on ebay who is selling them. But is the bronze bearing original? I don’t know the age of the wheels, they came with my Hei Hei 2009 are silver colored and stickered Mavic Crossmax SL SSC)

What I did to get rid of the play the hub had, was sanding down a spacer in between the freehub and the wheel bearing. I had to do it a few times but now the play is all gone. Replaces the freehub bearing for a Abec5 bearing I had laying around from some inline skates. Had to swap the seals from the old bearing (rubber) to the new bearing (metal, low friction seal).



But still wondering if it’s a good thing to leave the bronze bearing for the side to side play in there. Of order the fancy new plastic one.

I don’t do a lot of hardcore mountainbiking, more biking in the woods and enjoying the nature.
(there are for sure no mountains in the Netherlands )

 

[mdvineng]

Suspect it is someone's home brewed version of the plastic one, which failed a lot.

 

[SuperWinner]

Suspect it is someone's home brewed version of the plastic one, which failed a lot.

I was thinking the same, and although a nice solution I’m afraid the weak part is now no longer the bearing but the hub/housing. Because that’s aluminum and I think the bronze is harder wearing.

 

[mdvineng]

Bronze is very hard comparatively.

 

[Mikey08]

I have Crossride FTS with the same freehub. Got them secondhand and there was a fair bit of play in the freehub. I ordered a new nylon bushing from Hubdoctor and its got rid of most of the play. There's still a tiny bit of play which may be from the outer bearing, or from the new inner nylon bearing not being super tight. But then if it was super tight there would be a lot of friction when freewheeling. I would say if your going to do it go the whole hog with the hubdoctor 'pro' cartridge bearing mod. The kit comes with a replacement outer bearing too. That way your guaranteed no play, minimal drag, and a smooth running freehub that should last years.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-HUBD...551435?hash=item360060658b:g:GMUAAOSwwbdWK7JP

 

[SuperWinner]

I was already drooling over that conversionkit. Looks very nice, and very overengineered (what I like about it).

was not shure if it will fit my wheels..

 

[Mikey08]

Does your freehub body look like this?

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Ma...kYp4oeLTCuNNZgS4Jg0aAujuEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Woz]

Another early Crossmax fan here. Pretty sure the bronze bush insert would be home brew, and better removed ASAP.

In a way, what Mavic did was clever - the plastic bush only operates when freewheeling. The speed of wear can
be fast though if you do not clean and re-oil the freehub on a regular basis (I think it is every 50 hrs). They are
performance race day wheels and this is a downside. Fortunately though it is about a 15min job.

If you don't maintain regularly, what actually happens is that the pawls and AL anodizing in the freehub hub create very fine metal
deposits in the spent oil. This lethal blend acts like a grinding paste on the softer nylon bush, which creates the freehub slop.

 

[SuperWinner]

Does your freehub body look like this?

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Ma...kYp4oeLTCuNNZgS4Jg0aAujuEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Not sure, have to take it a apart again to check .

 

[SuperWinner]

Thanks for all the tips and info. Ordered a ceramic bearing kit and now my freehub is like new again. Also replaced the wheel bearings so the wheels are like new again.

It was a pain in the behind to remove the homemade brass bearing, but after carefully grinding to remove the tension O could take it out.