I'm trying to take the spacers and wheel bearings out of my 3EN2 front wheel so I can send it for powder coat and then fit some bearings with a wider internal diameter to take a thicker thundercat wheel spindle for the T-CAT forks I'm chucking on.

The problem is, I can't get the bearings out. - So far, I've removed the rubber dust seal that was present on one side and I've put a flat blade screw driver through from the other side, till I can feel the lip of the bearing where it meets the spacer. - Then I've wacked it a few hundred times with a hammer. - Nothing has moved at all....

I've tried some small pliers to pull the bearing out of one side, but again, no movement. - As far as I can see, there is nothing else fitted, no speedo ring clip, nothing.

.. Am I missing something, any advice would be appreciated.

get a long flat screw driver and from the top slide the driver down and just before the bottom bearing move the inside spacer to oneside and then find the edge, and tap the bearing out carefully... if you give till 2mro i will photo copy the bearing removal section for you.....

heat the wheel not the bearing - the added heat makes the wheel's metal bigger losening it marginally.

When you fit the new ones leave them in the fridge overnight. warm the wheel and drift the bearings in with a piece of wood over it. then hit it in at 12, 6, 3, 9 o'clock

lube it up and give it wacks evenly i.e as ec0 says around the clock
when i say lube i mean penetrating oil
the front one of the VFR were a wee bastad, but i lubed them and left them over night, threw a heated gel pack (the sort that go on injured body parts) and they popped out with a bit of persuasion.
i had new ones so wacked them good and hard, you should defo do the same. they are cheap

Well, thanks for your help all, last night while the board was down, I entered into an epic battle twince man and bearing. Wrecked the sealed side of the bearings, but got the buggers out with brute force and the handle end of a socket wrench. - Which is now also wrecked after beating the other end with a metal hammer! - job done though and as you say, bearings are cheap enough to replace. - Sadly a new socket wrench will cost a couple of quid more, but I"ll invest in some drifts for next time! :D

A socket extension bar bout 8" long does the trick too! and you can get em pretty cheap and give em a good wack if needs be!