It claims that there is no need for maintenance through dirt, dirt, strong washing, rain or snow.

Going back to the Eurobike trade show in 2019 (remember when the trade show is still being held?), Cane Creek introduced a bottom bracket made of special bearings developed by SKF. The ink cartridge is not filled with traditional grease, but is filled with a new type of oil-filled solid polymer, which is said to be completely maintenance-free and self-lubricating. Even before this, CeramicSpeed ​​showed something similar to its SLT bearing, although it is unclear whether this can be achieved.

Either way, these claims seem to make sense, because Enduro has now launched its own solid lubricant bearing design.

Enduro's new bearing—referred to as Solid Lube—was originally a traditional bearing housing with the bearing balls fixed in a steel retaining ring and is the same as the 52100 chrome steel housing used by Enduro in its other ABEC 5 bearings. But instead of using typical grease, a special "foam polymer" is injected into the cartridge to fill the entire cavity. Like SKF bearings, the polymer is then injected with oil, so the bearings are basically self-lubricating.

“Although nylon cages can be used, steel cages are more suitable for holding more polymer and covering the ball more completely,” explains Enduro owner Matt Harvey. "For 15 years, we have been working on the right formula. Some solid lubricants are so hard that they can hold the balls so tightly that they slip and feel rough. Other solid lubricants that run smoother are fragile or soft, and will Self-destruct or rupture. We found a balance in our formula, which has a waxy smooth running, but at the same time strong and tough."

The porous nature of Enduro polymer and the injection of oil are clearly the reasons for the self-lubricating ability. However, Harvey said that the tight fit of all components is also one of the key factors in the durability of the bearing's claims. Even if dust or water passes through traditional external seals, there is not enough space for these things to stay inside.

"After 20 hours [on our test machine], our standard bearing race started to show some wear," Enduro owner Matt Harvey explained. "In some cases of the bearings we tested, they failed catastrophically within 12 hours, or severely worn out within 18-20 hours. For Solid Lube bearings, the game was still smooth and as new. Until about 40-50 hours , We will have any obvious wear and tear on Solid Lube. 

"Then we performed the same test with salt spray and acid. This usually cuts the life of the bearing by half because it promotes early wear. Surprisingly, the combination of salt and acid did not change the results."

Harvey said that Enduro has asked various "top gravel, off-road and road riders" to test its new bearings (he could not name them due to sponsor conflicts). So far, "the bearings have been tested in the same laboratory as I mentioned above. The way. We did test them without seals and also vigorously clean them after each ride. In this case, you can finally drain the oil from the solid lubricating oil. We don’t recommend this, but it seems that the simple solution is to add some new light oil. You can use many types of oil-or [DuPont] Krytox, if you want to become more like it."

Enduro currently only introduces its new Solid Lube cartridges in its TorqTite threaded connection press-fit bottom bracket, which makes sense because they are arguably the most difficult and fault-prone bearings on bicycles. As a sign of confidence in its new bearing design, Enduro provides a two-year warranty for these Solid Lube bottom brackets with no additional maintenance requirements. 

The new bottom bracket also uses a more simplified two-piece structure instead of the original three-piece design, with a smaller diameter in the center part, leaving more space for the internal wiring of the hose and shell. 

The retail price is also good, at 129 US dollars / 166 Australian dollars / 94 pounds / 109 euros, and production units should now arrive at online and physical retailers at any time. 

As you might expect, Enduro has other applications pending.

"We will eventually provide MAX type bearings for suspension pivots with Solid Lube, no maintenance and the same warranty," Harvey said. "Ultimately, ABEC 5 bearings for wheel hubs will also offer this option. Due to the promise that they will be maintenance-free for a considerable period of time calculated in units of years, these bearings have some of the same performance characteristics as XD-15 bearings, but the price is only A small part of it."

One of the most promising applications may be headphones. After all, Enduro has made headphone bearings and complete headphones, and as road bikes with fully internal wiring become more and more popular, the service life of headphone bearings is now a higher priority, because once simple replacement is now required You disconnect most (if not all) transmission and brake cables.

But unfortunately, the Solid Lube headphone bearing may be farther than some of us hoped.

"At this point, we cannot manufacture Solid Lube angular contact bearings," Harvey said. "Due to the assembly procedures and limited internal space, we cannot use steel cages for angular contact bearings. When injecting solid lubricants, you cannot guarantee that the nylon surroundings are completely filled and get enough material because it can be properly bonded together. We are able to manufacture MAX type bearings [where the raceways are almost completely filled with bearing balls without cages to obtain a higher load rating, but also have more friction-edit.], but we have to make a special for each size The ball separator is removed before injection. Sometimes due to the force of the injection, the balls move slightly and are not perfectly spaced each time, but it is not a big problem when testing MAX bearings. Molding in angular contact bearings does not hold The solid lubricant of the actuator is something we are considering, but we cannot yet guarantee a uniform ball pitch."

Nevertheless, we will definitely pay close attention to this.

For more information, please visit www.endurobearings.com.