Commuting - If your bike feels slow, repack your hubs!

Just did this for the first time yesterday and my bike feels like its brand new!

It did take me most of the day though (first time).

Commuting on a bike is dirty business.

How long had it been since you'd repacked the hubs? (Or, alternatively, how old is the bike?)

Haven't repacked my hubs in about 10 years.

Bike feels fast.

Just sayin'

I agree that hubrepacking is the quickest approximation to that new-bike smell.

It's probably about time I looked into doing this as well. Thanks for the prompt.

http://www.notquitewrong.com/rosscottinc/comics/2009-03-30.gif (http://www.notquitewrong.com/rosscottinc/2009/03/30/the-system-177/)

I'm having problems understanding this... does this imply that a wheel can last ten years? Wow. Like, wow.

I'm having problems understanding this... does this imply that a wheel can last ten years? Wow. Like, wow.

what's hard to understand?

Usually when my bike feels slow it's because I've been eating too much pizza.

I would wonder if you didn't just get the bearings tightened less or something- it shouldn't feel that much different.

Lots of wheels last way more than 10 years. Look at all the old bikes from 30, 40, 50 years ago- probably the majority of them have the original wheels. Maybe they weren't used continuously the whole time, but they're there.

When my bicycle starts to feel slow, I repack my lunch box. LOL

Whats's a "hub"? :twitchy:

Whats's a "hub"? :twitchy:

You can plug a bunch of USB devices into a hub. Do not grease the hub. :thumb:

Whats's a "hub"? :twitchy:

http://www.nexternal.com/icycles/images/m563hub.jpg

Does anyone use Synthetic Grease?

Been thinking of overhauling my 20+ yr Raleigh with nothing but Synthetic's. It hasn't seen the road in that long also. :eek:

Usually when my bike feels slow it's because I've been eating too much pizza.

Just the opposite for me. When my bike feels slow, it's almost always because I haven't eaten enough.

You should xpost this to the 30 year clunker thread. Those old bikes always need some grease.

Don't even need to repack the bearings most of the time. Often, simply adjusting them properly makes a world of difference. Usually, out of the box, most hubs are too tight.

How much would an LBS charge to repack my hubs on my 20 year old bike

http://www.nexternal.com/icycles/images/m563hub.jpg

no, this is a hub:
http://www.procycleworks.com/images/chris_king_hubs_orange.jpeg

my lbs did my hub once standing up with one hand in 5 minutes and charged me very little. iI suppose someone else might charge $15

If I can life my wheel and spin it, and it keeps going for a minute and doesn't make any noise, somehow I doubt that there's anything wrong with the bearings that I could possibly notice while riding.

when I wash my car it drives so much more smoothly. really!

but seriously this is regular maintenance, and it's a good idea to check your cone adjustment.

changed my kids tires this weekend and discovered one wheel on each bike where the cones were too tight. one wheel was so tight I think it would have been noticable to have ridden it before and after the adjustment.

so some of you are being a little critical, so i will explain myself a bit more.

i have a 4 year old Gary Fisher lower-end mountain bike i have been trying to commutify for the past year.

i've had semi-regular tune-ups on it since i bought it, but have been getting more into doing the maintence myself (especially since my roommate is a big bike buff).

i added new tires and switched out the fork on the bike. it helped a little bit, but it still felt sluggish.

one day my roommate picked up my bike and spun its wheels. compared to his bikes, it was obvious that the moving parts on my bikes all had a significant amount of resistance that were keeping it slow.

last week i spent a whole day cleaning and repacking the bearings in my wheels and it made a PHENOMENAL difference.

after lurking on this forum for over a year now, i just want to share what i feel is a neglected and easy solution to "commutifying" a bicycle (proper maintenance).

no, this is a hub:
http://www.procycleworks.com/images/chris_king_hubs_orange.jpeg

If you've ever ridden behind one, you know it's not a hub - it's a beehive. :D

Huh. I have a crappy $300 bike with 18000 miles on it. I replaced the rear when the axle broke at 15000 miles, I replaced the front when I went to discs up front at 13000 miles. It's got about the cheapest components on it I could get, and when I took the axles apart when I retired them, they were still fine; I'd never done anything to them. They had a good amount of grease in them, there was just the tiniest bit of unevenness in the cup, and the cone tension was still perfect (they'd spin for a minute before stopping but there was no play).

I'd have to get a whole lot better commute times to make up for losing a whole day to screwing with bearings.

no, this is a hub:


No, this is a hub:

Cheers to the Phil Wood hub. My Dad wore out a set of Phil wood hubs over 20 years. Phil replaced the bearings last year. No charge.

As to repacking, I have 15,000 miles on my hubs. Yep, they have been submerged about 6 times. *shrugs* They still feel fine to me.
Yep, I run synthetic grease. It is hard(er) to find synthetic grease light enough for bike use. Mobile 1 is just too stiff for low RPM bike use. Oh yeah, and no way my IGH shinamo spins for 1 minute. More like 3 revolutions.

Originally Posted by meanwhile
I'm having problems understanding this... does this imply that a wheel can last ten years? Wow. Like, wow.

what's hard to understand?

That a wheel can last ten years.

That a wheel can last ten years.

Hub, yes; Wheel, maybe.
I bought my Phil hubs in 1997.
They are now on their 2nd bike, and their 4th set of rims.
They have never been cleaned, lubed, nor adjusted, and they are still as solid and smooth as new.