Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Washington County, Vermont, USA
Posts: 3,778
Bikes: 1966 Dawes Double Blue, 1976 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1975 Raleigh Sprite 27, 1980 Univega Viva Sport, 1971 Gitane Tour de France, 1984 Lotus Classique, 1976 Motobecane Grand Record
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Update--just took the hubs apart. Wow! All the bearings were packed--and mean PACKED--full of silt. Should have taken pictures, but didn't think of it. After degreasing everything with mineral spirits, I'll scrub everything with detergent and water and a toothbrush, then reassemble with new grease and bearing balls. Under the circumstances, the cartridge bottom bracket is almost certainly going to be toast--I'll just replace it. Ditto for the pedals and freewheel. I know I could rebuild both but I'm not sure it's worth the time and effort.
I was kind of surprised to find a 7-speed freewheel rather than a cassette--the bike is a nearly-new hybrid, and apparently decent quality. It reportedly cost about $350 last year. The brand name, KHS, means nothing to me. The big unknown to me at this point is the grip shifters. They still work, but with some difficult, so I assume that they're also full of silt. I haven't looked at them closely yet, but I really doubt that there's any way to dismantle them and clean them thoroughly. What's it going to cost to replace them, I wonder?
Last edited by jonwvara; 09-04-11 at 08:24 PM.
Reason: compulsion to edit