I had Suzue hubs that were loose balls, and I live in Vancouver. I believe the climate is fairly similar between Portland and here. I had it on my old SS rain bike, I repacked them two or three times in a year. If they are going to go on your nicer bike, I imagine that you wouldn't use it as much on rainy days. I actually really liked those hubs for some reason, I guess I just like to get my hands dirty when I repack/regrease them.