Bicycle Mechanics - dura ace track hubs...adventures in overhauling!!

It's been about two years of riding in the rain and snow, on my poor high flange DA track hub...And I've been putting off overhaulling it for quite some time. Tonight, I decided, was the night.

So I disassemble the hub, clean all the parts, cones, bearing races on the inside of the hub, and the bearings. I inspect everything for pits, deformities, anything outside of normal wear and tear. Everything appears to be clean, I re-lube everything, put it all back together, and it's a little crunchy, and nowhere near as smooth as the newer, front hub, which I did not take apart. I take it apart again, check for wear under BRIGHT light, see nothing on the cones aside from the line where the bearings run, it's not a divit, just a little line. A few of the bearings have a little line running all the way around them, but there's nothing I can do about it at the moment, so I slather everything in grease, put it all back together, and it's a ltitle smoother, but still not as smooth as it used to be...

Everything is adjusted properly. (Can anyone BELIEVE the tiny-ass slots for the cone wrenches on these things!? They're like, thinner than a dime!!!) OH!, and when I opened up the hub, it was clean. There was only a little grease in there, but no road grit at all! So...My conclusion and questions from tonight's exercise are:

1) I should replace all of the axle hardware, and the bearings, rather soon, given that they have been abused by the harsh Boston winter weather.

2) Does shimano use some kind of super grease when they send their products out from the factory?

3) Should I procure this uber-grease and use it in the future (I use the Park Poly-lube, which I've heard is pretty good from just about all the shops i've been to)?

4) Should I put even more grease in there, just in case, or leave it alone? I put A TON of it in there, i mean, really...I've heard that you can't really put enough lube into the hubs, but really...this really seemed like enough...

I really hope my hub is not shot. It would really make me sad. this was my first real track wheel, and I've grown rather attached to it...I'm thinking that as soon as I have the money though, I'm going to just buy some phil woods.

Sorry if this is a little long, i tried to include all the info that i possibly could...

You could have dirty grease... at shops we have one thing of grease for everyday use and one thing of grease for bearings and overhauls.

Just a thought.

Did you check the roundness of the ball bearings? Sometimes if you take apart a hub you realign the balls such that they are not sitting in their orientation anymore causing grinding, if the bearings are out of round.

arsbars: the grease came right out of the tube, so i don't think it was dirty...unless it picked up some grit from my hands...i think it's more likely the bearings themselves...like i said, i will try to replace them and the cones as soon as i can afford to, i've been out of work for the last few months.

the grease that was in there to begin with was clear and sticky, that's why i was wondering if shimano uses some kind of special grease...

You have to be meticulously clean when you repack bearings. I use a tool that has been magetized to transfer the bearings. I use clean dishes to hold the clean parts. Do not put the axle, cones or anything on a rag. It may look clean put there are particles on them.

Once you clean all of your parts do not touch anything with your hands or fingers. Wash your hands very well but still do not touch anything. Use clean tools and new clean grease.

One little grain of sand can be felt when you spin the tire, with the axle resting on your fingers, if it gets between the bearing and the race.

i was pretty careful about dust and grit and particles and such. i did use my hands, but i did the same thing on a different hub a few weeks ago and it came out silky smooth.

i have a magnet that i could use for the bearings, but how do you get them off the magnet and into the wheel? i mean, don't they just stick to the magnet? these hubs also have evil dustcovers from hell on them that i don't think are removable. i had a really hard time getting the bearings in using my fingers, let alone if i tried to use a magnet...

the wheel still spins longer than any other wheel i own, maybe the grease just needs to get worked in a little more...?

i think maybe the bearings need to be replaced anyway...two years is a long time, and a few of them looked pretty worn (lines worn into them and such).

oh, and thanks for all the advice...i keep forgetting to say thankyou!

You could just replace the bearings at this point, I know what it is like to be unemployed i'm in same situation right now for past month. Bearings should only run you maybe $5. Since you actualy can visibly see damage to them, I would suspec them first.

I use poly lube for seatposts and such but prefer Pedros for bearings. It seems smoother to me. If you can see no pitting on the cones or races just replace the balls with some Campy/Duraace quality bearings (grade #25)
I also spin the mess out of the wheel in the axle vise before final adjustment. They often feel grainy if you just reasemble and adjust it. The spinning lets everything get in place good.

Alot of good advice here. The only thing I'll add is that maybe your adjustment is a little tight. I think Shimano may use a grease you cant buy over the counter but that will not make difference in smoothness when you spin it by hand.

yeah...i should maybe take the bike out, ride it around a bit, then readjust the bearings. it's tough though, cause i have so many other bikes, and i really don't want to ruin these hubs, so i haven't been riding the bike since i repacked the bearings...on top of that my rear tire is rather thrashed, and needs to be replaced pretty soon...oh well...maybe i'll take it out later tonight.

thanks for all the really excellent advice!