nomo4me

My new wheelset arrives this week. Reading reviews of the Dura Ace Hubs over at RBR, several people commented that new DA hubs appear to be under-greased when new.
The set I bought was built by The Wheelsmiths, I don't know if they open the hubs and inspect for proper lubrication.
Should I worry about taking a peek inside and checking the amount of lube applied to the bearings?

If they appear to be under lubed, can I simply add more grease to what's there? I have some Pedro's Syngrease to use.

Thanks,

Mike

phidauex

As a compulsive gearhead, I open all new bearing surfaces that I get and repack them. However, don't open them up unless you feel confident that you can adjust them properly when you reassemble them. Dura-ace doesn't mean anything if it isn't adjusted right.

If you are a good hub adjuster, pop those suckers open and repack them, just for good measure. However, let me warn you, if you mix two greases from different manufacturers, it is likely they will EXPLODE as you ride down the road! Actually, its just fine, mix away.

peace,
sam

Raiyn

Couldn't have said it better myself.

nomo4me

Eh, I've read the instructions for packing a rear hub on Park's site. Seems like the only tricky part is proper adjustment during reassembly.
Those instructions are pretty thorough, but I can't help but think of the adage about a little information being dangerous.
Mechanincally I should be able to handle it, and my perfectionist nature will see to it that I get the adjustment right during reassembly.
So I've got to think this over a bit.
Thanks for the warning on the exploding grease. I'll wear safety goggles and a kevlar jock on my first ride on the new wheel set.

phantomcow2

well if Dura ace hubs are anything like my 240's, it should only take you 10-15 minutes to do a repacking and basic stuff like that

phidauex

Adjusting a hub isn't super difficult, and its a good skill to have, you just need to follow the directions closely. The Park directions are good, and if you have the correct cone wrench (it really helps) and follow the directions closely you'll be fine. Just realize that when adjusting a cone, 1/16th of a turn of the wrench is a 'large' adjustment. You really need to make MICRO adjustments to dial it in. And remember that your quick release will compress the axle, so you need to have a tiny bit of play in the axle before you tighten, and no play after. Then you are golden.

If you feel up to it, I'd say go for it. Like I said, its a good skill to have, and its not hard, just delicate.

peace,
sam

nomo4me

Thanks for the post. I picked up a Park hyperglide wrench today to remove the cassette, can you provide a link to the correct cone wrench? Any other special tools one can't be without to do the bearing lube?
My neighbor has a chain whip, if that's what you call it, so I don't need one of those.


I'm only considering doing the rear hub. Should the front be done as well?

Mike

rmfnla

Do them both; nothing soothes the soul like freshly-packed wheel bearings.

Besides, if you think mixing greases causes a bad explosion, wait 'til you see what happens when you ride with only one wheel repacked...

ryder47

Actually grease compatability is a serious issue for our industrial customer base. Incompatable greases when mixed together will equal sludge.

Please see this website for compatability chart. https://www.mindconnection.com/librar...easecompat.htm

Doctor Morbius

An old chain will work in a pinch.

robo

Looks like sticking to Lithium-based greases should be safe though.. since they are standard i'm sure whatever is in the hub is compatible with them.

nomo4me

Thanks for the chart. I've bought the part hyperglide tool to change out the cassette, so I'm commited to changing out the wheelset myself. Just have to decide whether or not it's overkill to grease these new hubs.

ryder47

For the hub style where the balls are compressed between a cup and cone I couldn't speak for what the hub manufacturer used, (although I would bet it's cost effective). For the "sealed cartridge" type ball bearings such as the 6000 and 6200 series bearings the widely used grease from the bearing manufacturers is Polyurea type greases.

This question comes up periodically and I give them the chart along with this advice.

"If your not sure what grease was used last then thoroughly clean out the bearings and cavities and repack with the grease of your choice. Then standardize your plant on one type or group of types and make records to help prevent contamination."

Now keep in mind i'm dealing with customers some of which have electric motors as large as 400 hp or more, or conveyors 200-300 feet in length. Some of these places run 24-7 and these types of issues can make a huge difference in their facility. Technically the issues are the same for our bikes, however the scale from both an engineering and economics standpoint is quite different.