RapidRacerProducts BPET in review
In the “The Lab” we present the latest products and put them through their paces for you. Some undergo long-term tests, while we check others out only briefly. This time we reveal how the RapidRacerProducts BPET Bearing press & extraction tool fared.
Do you have a wobbly back end and a back wheel that has a life of its own? Then it’s time for a frame bearing swap – a job loathed by even the most masochistic of home mechanics. There is nothing more stressful that attacking a sculpted carbon fibre frame with heavy tools, trying to free up bearings that should have been changed many months earlier. Living in Scotland, UK editor Trev is no stranger to a jetwash, and as such, changes the bearings on his bikes more than most. Trev calculates that he has invented 37 new swear words doing frame bearing swaps so was the first to grab the RapidRacerProducts BPET bearing press, a modular kit designed to make extracting and replacing bearings a breeze. The concept is simple, you buy the extraction / insertion press kit, then buy only the bearing adaptors you need to suit your bike. This means that the kit grows as required and you only have the floats that you need. Looking at the list of 20 adaptors, it looks like all the key bearing sizes are covered
The handles on the bearing press are purposefully short to provide more feedback and stop you driving in a bearing incorrectly.
The kit comes with two different lengths of bar, allowing you to get into hard to reach spots with the short bar.
To remove the bearing you simple insert the red male extraction tool onto the threaded bar, run it through the bearing centre, then effortlessly press the bearing out of the frame and into the female adaptor. To install the new bearing you do the reverse using the blue adaptors. No hammering, no swearing, no broken bearing races. The kit comes in a neat box and fits easily into the smallest of tool kits. At first the handle on the kit looks a little short, but in use it all makes sense. There is ample leverage to push out even the most tenacious of bearings, but still enough feedback to stop you pressing in a bearing at an angle. The kit comes supplied with two lengths of threaded bar for different applications, and the shorter bar is perfect for working in tight spaces like inside an FSR or Delta linkage. The extraction drifts are all very low profile, and do not require big flat areas around the bearings, increasing flexibility to work with more frame shapes. After changing the bearings in three frames, a Pole EVOLINK, RAAW Madonna and Specialized Stumpjumper FSR, Trev is converted and the BPET now has a custom space in his toolbox.
Specific bearing presses can be brought as and when you need them, meaning upfront costs are lower and you only have the adaptors you need.
With its modular design, the RapidRacerProducts BPET is an affordable way of building up just the kit you need, and one that will grow when required. Well designed, easy to use and genuinely useful, the BPET earns its place in any tool kit.
Tops
- You only buy the adaptors you need, keeping the kit affordable
- Low profile faces maximise compatibility with different frames
- Small handles stop you driving in bearings incorrectly
Flops
- Still quite expensive if you don't change bearings often
Tester Trev
Duration 3 frame overhauls
Price € 77.99 for the press, adaptors from € 28.99 to € 33.99
More info rapidracerproducts.com