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Worn out bearing - performance impact?
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Hi all,

I'm doing a stage race this weekend that includes a time trial stage. I haven't ridden my aero wheels in some time and discovered today that one of the bearings is worn out (just as noisy as can be). I am wondering, does a worn cartridge bearing actually have any performance impact? There's no side to side play in the wheel, just a lot of creaking/clicking noises upon pedaling.

It's too hard for me to tell if there is any added resistance since I seldom ride the wheelsand don't have a reference point- I use my climbing wheels for all my training, so switching to aero wheels feels completely different in general. Can't decide if I should just roll with my climbing wheels for the time trial, which wouldn't make sense if the worn bearings don't have an impact outside of making a racket. Bontrager Aeolus 5.0 acc are the wheels in question.

Thanks
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Re: Worn out bearing - performance impact? [TriBullet] [ In reply to ]
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Give it a spin. How long does it take to stop?
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Re: Worn out bearing - performance impact? [TriBullet] [ In reply to ]
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New bearings only take minutes and stop you from scoring your axle if it momentarily freezes under load.
Why not change them, even if you drop in some $5 cheapies from the local bearing shop you will prevent damage and they will run better than worn out good bearings.
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Re: Worn out bearing - performance impact? [jimatbeyond] [ In reply to ]
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That may not necessarily be a good way to tell. Many times when you put in new bearings the will feel tight, or not spin as freely, but it does not matter due to not being under any load
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Re: Worn out bearing - performance impact? [TriBullet] [ In reply to ]
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Awesome, thanks for the replies. The wheel seems to spin fine not under load, not as freely as my climbing wheels, but those have nicer hubs. I would 100% get the bearings swapped out, but I just found this out today and am racing tomorrow- no shop I contacted could turn it around fast enough/had the right size bearings in stock. I was more just curious that if there is no lateral play in the wheel, if that meant the bearings still worked fine, but just sound terrible and need to be replaced soon. I admittedly do not know much about how sealed bearings work and just didn't want to use them in a TT if I'd have them working against me.
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