Campag Khamsin wheel bearing play

[KGB]

I noticed tonight what I'm pretty sure is a little bit of play in the hub bearings of the rear wheel. Anyone with experience here? I'm 99% sure they are sealed bearings so I assume they aren't serviceable and I just need to rip them out and replace.
The wheels have roughly 8,000-10,000km on them. I'm a lightweight weakling who generally looks after my gear very well. I'm a little surprised that they have issues although can't really complain since they've performed admirably for the grand price of $187 shipped from Wiggle a couple of years ago.

I'm confident I can sort this myself, just looking for any special tips that might be out there. Hopefully they'll use a generic bearing size that I can get cheaply, unlike UT cranks which use a narrow bearing that I can't find ANYWHERE except the genuine ones.
I'll post back with the outcome and part numbers, costs etc in case anyone is interested.

[KGB]

Update: I had the wheel off today as I got my first puncture in I-can't-remember-how-long. The bearings are nice and crunchy when turning the axle by hand so they are definitely spent. Google tells me that they use a 6001 RS bearing (rubber seal on outside, no seal on inside). I ordered some cheap 6001 2RS (rubber seal both sides) from fleabay so will fit them and update again - hopefully to confirm the problem solved.

[Nikolai]

Please do update. Have had the same problem with mine. Great wheels but bearings die too soon. I clock ~20k a year and used them for 3 seasons. They still good except for the bearings. I used to be able to tighten them up with axel nuts but now they're shot for good. I would be curious to know how you get the bearings in and out.

[KGB]

No problem Nikolai, I have a couple of approaches to getting the bearings out but can't tell you the best way until I open it up and have a look. If I can get bearings out of a 1980 Kawasaki wheel I'm confident I'll get these out!
I actually ordered a pack of 10 bearings, they were cheap enough that once I included postage it wasn't much more than just getting a couple. If they are decent, I'll send you a couple of spares when they arrive here.

[silentbutdeadly]

Bearings come out easily from these hubs using a blind bearing puller...though there are other 'methods'. Getting them back in without damaging the cups is key to the long life of these hubs - a proper bearing press tool is highly recommended.

Any bearing shoppe has the 6001 bearings and they aren't expensive - even the good ones. Both the Campag and Fulcrum wheels suffer from cheap rubbish bearings straight from the off...

Another source is the local Enduro bearing distro, DIYMTB. They have the standard 6001 for $4.50, the ABEC5 version (called 61001) for $11.50, the ceramic version for $23.55 and ceramic hybrid version for $40.81. Personally, I'd run to the ABEC 5 version rather than go ceramic. Especially if your rear hub has four bearings in it!!!

[Nikolai]

Thanks KGB Makes me wonder why wouldn't they use good bearings in the first place? They got everything else right with these wheels? Make them 20 bucks dearer and they still cheap, good wheels. What happened to Campagnolo?

[KGB]

Thanks for the info silentbutdeadly. I'll have a look at the bearings I've ordered when they arrive and see how they feel. Otherwise, I agree that ABEC 5's would be the best compromise in this situation and might end up getting some if my new bearings are nasty.