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service of wheel bearings


George Nel

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Hi Guys,

How often should one pack bearings with grease.I've read on a site every 100 miles for a mtb,but that sounds a bit to often.

 

cheers

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I have non sealed Shimano hubs and after a few hundred k's they are looking mucky inside, especially after wet rides. I think it would depend greatly whether or not your hubs are sealed.

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didn't service mine for 6 months and then my rear wheel ripped out of the frame so i would say every 3 months

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Most Shimano hubs, from XTR down to at least Deore, have two seals per side. One labyrinth seal and one contact seal. ON the the very cheap Shimano hubs are not sealed.

 

However, no seal is impervious to operating under water or can withstand pressure washers.

 

Spin your wheel in your hands each time you wash your bike and you'll quickly find a baseline of bearing smoothness. As soon as they start to feel gritty, service them. One cannot put a time-frame to these things. One very bad wet ride can compromise a hub quickly.

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http://www.bike4.eu/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/haunebu_1.jpg

 

is this a hub - or is there more detail I am missing ?

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Just remember to use waterproof grease.

 

Nomal or even high temp grease will not do well for MTB or road bikes.

 

Marine grease is thinner and thus works better.

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correct slobee.

 

All of this make up a wheel. Oh and don't forget the quick release.

http://jimwitte.com/workshops/static/visual/callout.jpg

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Any grease is waterproof... interesting you mention it as I just searched 'marine grease' yesterday.

 

I'm not going into detail about lithium, soap, clay etc. greases, but what works great for most bike apps. is Castrol WB... it's thick and sticky and once BB bearings are packed up with them, water doesn't easily get in.

 

Do a search for boat trailer bearing grease. A few 'marine greases' available, but the Castrol chart even recommends normal CV joint grease (Castrol LM) for marine trailer bearings...

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correct slobee.

 

All of this make up a wheel. Oh and don't forget the quick release.

http://jimwitte.com/workshops/static/visual/callout.jpg

So then two hubs on a bike makes a hubber on a bike ?

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I was being a good little hubber on Friday night and serviced my hubs before the Cullinen race on Saturday.

In a moment of haste, I didn't square off the rotor's lockring and managed to strip the tread...

Lesson learnt: basically same as the age old rule of measure twice, cut once. AND don't do a service the evening before the race because you may find you need a replacement part from an LBS and those tend to be closed after 5pm.

 

So...

 

Does anyone here perhaps have a 32 hole,rear center-lock hub they could donate, sell cheaply or throw at me :unsure:

 

I did write a post about this in the wanted section, but that didn't get any real circulation...

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talking about the grease- i am currently using WB grease but i recently saw some stuff called assembly grease which is an awesome silver colour and a lot thicker than normal grease however it is slightly smoother than normal too. Does anybody know what the manufacturers recommend for these sorts of things? I am seriously thinking of upgrading to sealed bearings as it seems to only have advantages.. any suggestions?

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Guest Big H

"education on"

 

what exactly is meant by a "hub" on a bicycle ?

 

"flame guard on"

 

A Hub is a Wielnaaf. You find them on any wheeled vehicles. On the left hand top of this page next to the words "the hub" you will see one that you find on ox-wagons.

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Guest Big H

I use Park grease on everything including the miniature bearings of my chopper.

 

JB will tell you any grease will work as the low rotational speed of a bicycle does not warrant special greases.

 

It just feels better to use bicycle specific grease on a bicycle.

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Most Shimano hubs, from XTR down to at least Deore, have two seals per side. One labyrinth seal and one contact seal. ON the the very cheap Shimano hubs are not sealed.

 

However, no seal is impervious to operating under water or can withstand pressure washers.

 

Spin your wheel in your hands each time you wash your bike and you'll quickly find a baseline of bearing smoothness. As soon as they start to feel gritty, service them. One cannot put a time-frame to these things. One very bad wet ride can compromise a hub quickly.

Have to agree with Johan on this one, the mud, clay and water at the 24 hour at Rietvlei last December meant that my newly serviced hubs required servicing again right after the race. My philosophy, rather service them more often than not...

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