DT Swiss Hub Bearing Tools

This page gives a guide as to the tools used to service DT Swiss hubs.  

Hubs, no matter the manufacturer, tend to be one of two basic designs;

- The 'over-axle' design, in which case there is an axle protruding through the bearings that can't be removed until after the bearings are removed.  This axle prevents access to the inside of the bearing with an expanding puller.  Instead, the bearings can be removed by tapping on the axle with a soft mallet or block of wood, or by using a wind-out over-axle bearing remover.  The new bearings then have to be pressed in over the protruding axle, using tube-shaped over-axle press drifts.

- The 'non-over-axle' design, sometimes called a 'spacer' design, in which case, after removing any end caps, there is nothing protruding through the bearings.  The inside diameter of the bearing is therefore freely accessed by an expanding puller, and our regular press drifts can be used.

All of our regular and over-axle press drifts, as well as the 'wind-out over-axle bearing remover' can use the same threaded rod and T-bar handles, so if you are ordering more than one item, select the first item with the handle option 'with T-bars' or 'with nuts', and then the rest can be 'drifts only'.  Make sure that it is the over-axle press that is selected with the handles/nuts, as it comes with a slightly longer threaded rod than the regular press.

DT Swiss Front Hubs

DT's front hubs come in a large variety of designs, some over-axle and some non-over-axle.  Even one model, like the 240 front hub, can come in a multitude of versions, using a variety of different bearing sizes, and with a mix of over-axle and non-over-axle designs.  This makes it quite hard to offer advice as to which tool are needed. 

Whenever possible, the best approach is to remove the hub's end caps and confirm the bearing size and whether it is over-axle or not. 

The bearing number may be printed on the bearing seal, but if in doubt, if you can measure the ID and OD we can identify it for you.  If you are unsure if the hub is over-axle or not, if you can remove the end caps to expose the bearing, and send us a photo of what you see, we should be able to help.

DT Swiss Rear Hubs

DT's rear hubs all tend to be 'over-axle' designs. 

DT use several different clutch technologies; 3-pawl, Ratchet, Ratchet LN, Ratchet EXP, Ratchet EXP OS and Ratchet DEG. 

Fundamentally, the 3-pawl, Ratchet, LN and DEG are all quite similar when it comes to servicing the bearings, though the size of the bearings and tools varies a bit.  After pulling off the end caps and the freehub, it is usually necessary to remove the ratchet (or pawl) lockring using a special splined tool, like this or this before the drive side bearing can be removed.  Owing to the larger ratchet ring it may not be necessary to do this to change the bearing on the DEG models.  

The bearings can be removed by tapping on the axle with a soft mallet or block of wood, or for a more controlled approach, the 'wind-out over-axle bearing remover'.  The new bearings can be installed using the appropriate size of over-axle bearing press.

The EXP and EXP-OS are a bit different to the others, requiring an extra stage and tool to remove the drive side bearing from the ratchet ring.  In the EXP design the drive side bearing is actually pressed into the ratchet lockring, and after removing the lockring from the hub body you need to use this combined 'wind-out over-axle bearing remover and EXP lockring tool' to remove and then re-install the drive-side bearing.  The non-drive-side bearing can be removed using the same tool and the new once can be installed using the appropriate size of over-axle bearing press.

DT's rear hubs feature a seal to prevent dirt and water ingress between the hub body and freehub.  Sometimes this seal is installed on teh freehub and sometimes on the hub body.  Often this seal has a fragile metal backing which is easily damaged during removal.  Installation of the seal is much easier with our seal drift, which can be used in conjunction with an over-axle press., but please check the part number to usure our tool is compatible with your hub.

DT Swiss Freehubs

DT's freehubs generally use a pair of 6802 bearings in a non-over-axle arrangement (though some freehubs, more commonly the 3-pawl freehubs, seem to use the larger 6902 bearings).  The bearings can be removed either using our expanding bearing puller, or our wind-out blind bearing puller.  The new bearings can be installed using our regular press drifts. 

DT Swiss Bearing Tool Selection

The following table identifies the tool type & size recommended for each DT Swiss hub type.  There is a lot of variety in DT's designs, even within one product name, and while we present this info in good faith it is possible that there is an error, so we always recommend confirming the bearing size and design type (over-axle or not) on the hub before ordering.