Looking after your bearings
Its summer. You have owned your bike for a while in all likelihood. It saw use over winter. There is slight play in the bearings?
Please remember that our bearings and bushings are adjustable. Grub screw on one side, and a bolt on the other. By undoing the grub screw you can tighten the bushing in the frame and remove lateral play as the bushings wear. The grub screw should then be GENTLY tightened up again to lock off the bolt and stop it coming loose. Doing this on an occasional basis keeps everything free of play, makes your bike ride better, and prolongs the life of the bearings. A couple of times a year it’s worth completely removing the caps to check the condition of the bearings and ensure everything is still well greased.
Look after your bearings like this, and stay away from the evils of the jetwash, and you should get several years of out of a set of bearings and ensure the frame is not damaged. Run them loose and you risk damaging the mounts and will spend a lot more on servicing.
When after doing the above you still have some movement then you have a couple of options. We always recommend letting your dealer do the service work as they know Nicolai frames well and will be able to check the whole bike over (and why not bring them soem doughnuts whilst you are there – amazing how much quicker work gets done!). However, we can sell you the tools to do it yourself if you feel technically competent. Current price for tools (fitting/removal tool for bearings and another for the axles) and bearings, bushings and axles kits is on our pricing page. More details here. Exploded diagrams for all of the pivots are available from the main Nicolai site service area.
