Mt.Hoodlum

I have about 2500 miles on my Windsor Wellington 2.0 Road Bike now and have never doen any maintenence with the wheel bearings. Im a total newb when it comes to working on my bike... I was looking into greasing the bearings but dont have the right tools. The shop down the road charges $15 per wheel to grease, is that all that should be done? I would like to do it myself but dont want to screw it up as it is my daily commuter to work. Any advice on how to do this myself or what to ask the shop to do would be great. For quite a while now the wheels just havnt spun like they used to and the bike feels harder to ride, almost like im always riding uphill.....Thanks

Mt.Hoodlum

Oh, heres the bike details if that helps.

FrameKinesis 6061 Series Aluminum, 2xH2O mounts, replaceable rear derailleur hanger, rear rack braze-onsForkDuraForte TaperBlade CroMolyCranksetRPM by FSA ALUMINUM triple 52/42/30T polished black finishBottom BracketSealed cartridge PedalsTraditional Clip and strap Road pedalsFront DerailleurShimano FD2203 for triple Rear DerailleurShimano Sora 8 speed (24 gears total) ShiftersShimano 2200 STI 8 speed (24 gears total) (integrated with brake levers)Cassette/FreewheelCassette 11-28T, 8 speed (24 gears total)ChainKMC IG for 8spd HubsForged aluminum (black finish) with Quick Release SpokesStainless SteelRimsAlex aluminum with aero sectionTiresMaxxis High pressure road 700c, presta valve tubes BrakesAluminum dual pivot black finishBrake LeversShimano 2200 STI (integrated with shift levers) HandlebarKalloy Aluminum alloy black StemKalloy Aluminum alloy quill Tape/GripBlack corkSaddleComfort GrooveSeat PostKalloy Aluminum alloy Micro AdjustSeat ClampMachined Aluminum Alloy with boltSizes47cm, 50 cm, 53 cm, 56 cm, 59 cm, 62cm
These size similar to the Motobecane and Fuji road bikes - center of bb to top of seat tube. Geometry Sizing ChartColorsGlossWhite Detailed Picture Gallery

Lawrence08648

If I bought a new bike or a new set of wheels, I would clean and grease the bearings. You don't want them to grease the bearings, you want them to remove the bearings and remove and clean all the grease from both the bearings and races and then have it greased using synthetic grease. The cost should be the same but a fair price is $20 for the front, $25 for the rear, to completely clean and grease. $15 is just regreasing putting regular grease on top of regular grease.

desconhecido 

Yeah, if the hubs are traditional cup and cone/loose ball bearings, then you want to clean out the old grease and re-lube. If the hubs have some sort of cartridge bearing, then you probably want to ride the thing until the bearings start causing a problem and then replace the berings. I don't think that servicing cartridge bearings makes a lot of sense.

Am I wrong? That's an honest question.

cny-bikeman

No, do not ride until the bearings start causing problem. A properly worn in bearing is much smoother than when new, and to keep it that way you overhaul it and put in new ball bearings and grease when it's still in good shape. When? Depends on lots of factors, but definitely at 2500 miles I would recommend it. Make sure bearings are properly adjusted afterward - some play off the bike, none when mounted.

BCRider

You'll find pictures and a full description of how to do all this at www.parktool.com/repair . Just hover your mouse over one of the wheel hubs so the word "hub" comes up and click. Then go buy a couple of cone wrenches and a basic 8 to 21 mm metric wrench set and carry on with learning.

One thing that may not be properly addressed is how to correctly set the preload on the bearings once it's all cleaned and lubed up. To do this you'll need a couple of thick washers so you can lock the skewer down and squeeze the axle to the correct locking tension. Yes you CAN compress the axle enough to matter. At the amounts of stretch or compression that matter to the bearing preload steel is like rubber. If you can find some 3/16 thick steel and cut out your own "washers" drill one with a hole to fit the skewer and the second with a hole that fits your rear axle. Now you've got a set of home made tools that will aid you with this job. If the one that has the axle size hole can be wide enough (about an inch will do) and long enough to grab easily in a vise to use as a third hand that's even better. The other one has to be skewer size so it leaves the locking nut free to be turned with a wrench. That's why the smaller hole so it stops at the end of the axle instead of going down the axle like the dropout size hole on the other end.

Now play with setting the preload and tightening the locking nut and then remove and spin the axle by hand until you can feel that there is no slop but no drag either. Now tighten a little more so the bearing is smooth but with a slight drag from the pressure. If you go too far it'll start to feel like it's cogging around in a set of detents. Like a the nothces in some mouse wheels. If it feels like that it's too tight. The final range from too loose to too tight is only about 1/8 of a turn in total so it's a bit of fussy work to set them up correctly and find that happy spot. And you must tighten the lock nut each time because it pushes the cone inwards and makes it tighter. You soon develop a way of working the two wrenches on the cone and locking nut where you slightly loosen the locking nut and then turn both together while there is still some tightness drag to aid in making the very small adjustments more easily and predictably.

HillRider

I notice the bike details the OP posted give every spec except the type and make of hub. I'll have to assume they are cup-and-cone hubs so BCRider's reference to the Park tool web site and his follow up description are a good start.

desconhecido 

Aren't a lot of inexpensive hubs these days configured with cartridge bearings? I don't think that Shimano has any hubs that are not cup/cone/loose ball, but if this bike had Shimano hubs, I'd think it would say so in the specs. If it does have cartridge bearings, is there anything you can do for maintenance (other than replacing them)? I've read about people taking them apart and lubing them, but it doesn't make sense to me -- they're pretty cheap, aren't they? I mean the bearings are inexpensive -- I know that some very expensive hubs use this paradigm.

HillRider

In my experience, very good (Shimano and Campy) and very cheap hubs use cup-and-cone bearings. Cartridge bearings seem to be used in middle range and upper range hubs, not the cheapest. I'd be VERY surprised if the OP's bike has cartridge bearing hubs.

BCRider

And if by some chance he comes back and indicates that they do have cartridge bearings then it's easy enough to add on the suggestion to just ride them until they feel or sound crunchy and then replace them....

desconhecido 

Ok, I didn't know that. I thought the least expensive hubs would have cartridge bearings, but I don't have any direct knowledge of that.

fietsbob

Go to Powell's and buy some bike repair books, they have several titles, and educate yourself.


Even cartridge bearings have a range of quality, Depending on the source.
and then there is the machining tolerances of the hubshell they are pressed into.
in short : YGWYPF

ValVal

Back when i was roller skating, i used to overhaul my bearings about once or twice a year : took off the flanges, soaked them in solvent, dried and regrease them. It made a HUGE difference, i don't see why it should be different on bike hubs, is it ?

Mt.Hoodlum

Thanks for the great advice everyone, especially BCRider. I will pick up some tools, and I am pretty sure I already have some washers that may work. If not I will just stop by the hardware store and get what I need. Gonna print out that park tool now. Thanks again.

Mt.Hoodlum

1 last question.....on the Park Tool website when I hover over the front hub its shows "hub service" and from there I printed off "hub overhaul". When I hover over the rear hub it shows "cassette and freewheel service" and from there I printed off "cassette and freewheel removal".

Are the front and rear hubs the same as far as internals go minus the cassette on the rear wheel? Quickly reading through the instructions just now it says generally you work on removal from the left side and it states in step 1 "for rear hub removal", mentioning nothing of the front hub. I am just wondering if there is a difference in the front and rear wheel hubs as the site does not show "front" hub removal, only "rear". There are bearings in your front wheel right?.....

fietsbob

freewheel rear wheels have a long spacer between the cone and the locknut, that's why you remove the locknut and cone on the left side.
Cassette hubs move the right bearing race to the outside end of the cassette driver, but still works to dis assemble from the left end. cassette driver comes out of the rest of the hub , fixed together with a sleeve bolt . 10mm allen wrench to remove said bolt.

BCRider

Yes, both wheels have bearings in them. Although SOME bikes may come with a mixed set of hubs. I've had a couple where the front used cartridge bearings but they went with a Shimano hub in the rear with cup and cone. But generally both ends will use the same type of bearings. The front with a C&C setup comes apart the same way as the rear but because both sides are the same it doesn't matter which you take apart.

BCRider

While this would greatly increase the life of the bearings most of us just don't bother. If you buy your bearings from a bearing supply house they are cheap enough that it's not worth the time to do all that. But if you enjoy knowing that they are clean and lubed that often go for it. What you described will work for bicycles every bit as well as your roller skates.

Mt.Hoodlum

This is exactly the info I was looking for, Thanks!

HillRider

There was a posting here quite a while ago by a bike rider who was also a competative in-line skater. He wanted to upgrade his skates so he went to a bearing supply house and asked for "the best bearings you have". The counter guy asked how many he wanted and he answered 16 (apparently 4 wheels per skate and two bearings per side). The counter guy then says "OK, for that many it will be only $80 EACH".

After the shock wore off the buyer asked what those bearings are intended for and the answer was 20,000 rpm at very high loads and temperature. So after asking about bearings appropriate to his use he got them for about $10 each. Be careful what you ask for!

DMF 

10$ each is still highway robbery.

BCRider

Not for a premium quality bearing that is pertinent to a bicycle or inline skating. But I agree that no one would feel the difference between these $10 bearings and ones costing $3 to $4 each.

djb

I'm surprised at that, as when I used to take apart my hubs more often, I used new bearings from the packages of bike bearings that I bought from Bike Nashbar for a paper sac of 50 or a 100 for I dont remember, maybe $10 or less for each sac of 100--my hubs have stayed in quite good shape with these ones, and I cant imagine wheel bearings at $5 each...but correct me if I am wrong. Just seems like a lot....

davidad

The hubs are most likely Joy Tech cheapies. Any bearing should recieve regular maintaince. The only way yours are goin to slow you down is if they have come out of adjustment.
I over haul mine every 2500 t0 3000 miles. My fronts have radial bearings and the seals can be removed and the bearing cleaned and repacked.
You will find that the cones will have pits in them. It is a problem with cheap hubs. Wheels Manufacturing makes a better quality cone for these hubs.