How freely do your Hope rear hubs spin?

[rouxtjie]

Seriously? Never removed a bearing seal before?

hauw

Yea dead serious mnr, the sealed bearings(cant remember the codes off the bat now) are use and moer away units. They are not serviceable....buying new ones will service the hub if you catch my drift. By adding more grease to the hub(pack loads of grease in freewheel and pawl system) you will just attract more grit and grime making it hard to work with when the time come to replace. Most premature failures on hope wheel bearing were because I damaged this exact seal when I fitted them.

[Skylark]

Yea dead serious mnr, the sealed bearings(cant remember the codes off the bat now) are use and moer away units. They are not serviceable....buying new ones will service the hub if you catch my drift. By adding more grease to the hub(pack loads of grease in freewheel and pawl system) you will just attract more grit and grime making it hard to work with when the time come to replace. Most premature failures on hope wheel bearing were because I damaged this exact seal when I fitted them.

 

You've never serviced a sealed bearing in your life?!

 

Hope factory specified and aftermarket(enduro, bearing man etc) bearings come with 2RS/rubber seals and are easily serviceable, pop the seals off, clean and relube.

[Wyatt Earp]

You've never serviced a sealed bearing in your life?!

 

Hope factory specified and aftermarket(enduro, bearing man etc) bearings come with 2RS/rubber seals and are easily serviceable, pop the seals off, clean and relube.

 

Yes, but it's not for servicing.

[Skylark]

 

Yes, but it's not for servicing.

 

I'm not following your logic, care to elaborate why you think not?

[kosmonooit]

I am a recent convert to servicing sealed bearings, especially wheel bearings (like the expensive one on a Lefty hub) when it starts to run a bit rough due to water ingress.

 

Prise the seal off carefully with suitable tools (see below), wash out / clean out the race with degreaser, pack with grease and put the seal back. If its still rough, then it has to be replaced.

 

 

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/p/00/07/61/74/82/0007617482115_300X300.jpg

[Wyatt Earp]

I'm not following your logic, care to elaborate why you think not?

 

Those little balls are so small by the time they need new grease they are not worth servicing.

You seem in good hands, so I wall rather fade away ...........

[JXV]

 

I'm not following your logic, care to elaborate why you think not?

Inclined to agree with Wyatt here. If you are very careful not to nick the seal lip or bend the moulded-in metal backing plate then yes you pop the seals off, clean, repack and replace the seals.

 

However in practice, for a working mechie, the time taken to do all that costs more than putting a new unit in because these bearings are mostly quite cheap. Less comebacks too. If you repack a bearing that has even the slightest bit of play when clean....then it will not last as long as a new one.

 

If you are a home mechie with free time on your hands then go for it. In my experience by the time I can feel play in a bearing on my bike it will be worse after I clean and repack it. Rather just put new.

 

Preventive repacking of bearibg that is still running OK introduces risk of seal damage and ingress of dirt. Run them till they die and put new ones

Edited August 29, 2014 by JXV

[Skylark]

Inclined to agree with Wyatt here. If you are very careful not to nick the seal lip or bend the moulded-in metal backing plate then yes you pop the seals off, clean, repack and replace the seals.

 

However in practice, for a working mechie, the time taken to do all that costs more than putting a new unit in because these bearings are mostly quite cheap. Less comebacks too. If you repack a bearing that has even the slightest bit of play when clean....then it will not last as long as a new one.

 

If you are a home mechie with free time on your hands then go for it. In my experience by the time I can feel play in a bearing on my bike it will be worse after I clean and repack it. Rather just put new.

 

Preventive repacking of bearibg that is still running OK introduces risk of seal damage and ingress of dirt. Run them till they die and put new ones

 

Agree Lbs can't afford to fiddle with borderline bearings but that's about it, many good reasons to service a bearing if only just to take off the seals to apply better quality grease and possibly just greater quantity thereof than factory supplied grease. If you damage a seal then bin the bearing, really not hard to remove a seal though.

[G00SE]

 

 

Agree Lbs can't afford to fiddle with borderline bearings but that's about it, many good reasons to service a bearing if only just to take off the seals to apply better quality grease and possibly just greater quantity thereof than factory supplied grease. If you damage a seal then bin the bearing, really not hard to remove a seal though.

 

Agreed!

And correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the points you're making is that packing new bearings with extra grease can help prolong life, as from the factory they have almost no grease in them.

I wouldn't personally bother repacking used bearings, but it could add value with new ones.

[Skylark]

Bearing manufacturers know exactly what they are doing when they supply new bearings with minimal grease, some end users do not understand the rationale behind that choice.

 

[gummibear]

 

Seriously? Never removed a bearing seal before?

hauw

 

Nope

 

I replace my bearing when they give hassles and forget about them for the next 2-3 years.

 

 

[rouxtjie]

You've never serviced a sealed bearing in your life?!

 

Hope factory specified and aftermarket(enduro, bearing man etc) bearings come with 2RS/rubber seals and are easily serviceable, pop the seals off, clean and relube.

Is die kool die sous werd...???

 

Short answer, on shimano BSA BB's...yes, everything else(headset / wheel / pivot) no.

 

The rubber seals themselves become worn and although you think you are doing a sterling job of extending your wheelbearing's life by packing it with mountains of grease, you are actually just making it messy to work with and a magnet for other dirt and debris. Water is but one enemy in a bearing's life span. Pivot bearings is a classic example where you will "feel" the worn spot in the suspenion travel path with all the air out of the shock...No amount of grease or new seals will solve it.

 

I havent replaced bearings on my current hope hubs for about 2 years...they still going strong with NO additional grease anywhere, I do however make a point of not bringing any clean green(or any concentrated de-greasing cousin) near my bike and don't use a pressure washer either.

[Matt]

Mod note:

 

I've removed a few posts.

 

Let's keep things constructive and on topic.

[Skylark]

Is die kool die sous werd...???

 

Short answer, on shimano BSA BB's...yes, everything else(headset / wheel / pivot) no.

 

The rubber seals themselves become worn and although you think you are doing a sterling job of extending your wheelbearing's life by packing it with mountains of grease, you are actually just making it messy to work with and a magnet for other dirt and debris. Water is but one enemy in a bearing's life span. Pivot bearings is a classic example where you will "feel" the worn spot in the suspenion travel path with all the air out of the shock...No amount of grease or new seals will solve it.

 

I havent replaced bearings on my current hope hubs for about 2 years...they still going strong with NO additional grease anywhere, I do however make a point of not bringing any clean green(or any concentrated de-greasing cousin) near my bike and don't use a pressure washer either.

 

Injecting a bit of grease into a bearing and then putting the seal back on makes nothing messy or a magnet for anything.

The grease is all safely behind the seal inside the bearing and I have yet to see a rubber seal become worn out unless it's donkeys years old or suffered physical damage.

 

Servicing bearings is preventative maintenance not magic, a worn out rough bearing is toast so you bin it and put another one but if it's still good you clean it out and pack in some good grease/lube. Packing a bit extra(within reason) or just better better quality Teflon or whatever grease into new bearing helps keeps things running smoother for longer. Specifically on the headset and BB bearings I service those anytime I take the crank or fork out , they are the bearings I have found most susceptible to getting contaminated.

 

It's not about right or wrong, choose what works for you and do that but there is no issue with opening bearings to add grease or service them. For some people incl the lbs it's less hassle just to roll with whatever grease a new bearing is supplied with and chuck bearings whenever they get contaminated.

 

[rouxtjie]

Injecting a bit of grease into a bearing and then putting the seal back on makes nothing messy or a magnet for anything.

The grease is all safely behind the seal inside the bearing and I have yet to see a rubber seal become worn out unless it's donkeys years old or suffered physical damage.

 

Servicing bearings is preventative maintenance not magic, a worn out rough bearing is toast so you bin it and put another one but if it's still good you clean it out and pack in some good grease/lube. Packing a bit extra(within reason) or just better better quality Teflon or whatever grease into new bearing helps keeps things running smoother for longer. Specifically on the headset and BB bearings I service those anytime I take the crank or fork out , they are the bearings I have found most susceptible to getting contaminated.

 

It's not about right or wrong, choose what works for you and do that but there is no issue with opening bearings to add grease or service them. For some people incl the lbs it's less hassle just to roll with whatever grease a new bearing is supplied with and chuck bearings whenever they get contaminated.

Go for it meneer...

[Wyatt Earp]

Go for it meneer...

 

One time, those seals are worse than the sealing they used on the Titaninc.

 

Good hands meneer Rouxtjie, good hands.