Originally Posted by
Lonesome rider
I've heard few claims by fellow cyclists that some new BBs (not those disposable cartridge type and not necessarily Campagnolo) come with little to no grease at all, so it's up to the person to disassemble, grease up, assemble and install what has to have "slap it and ride" attitude. Why would manufacturer do that?
That would be as expected.
If you have a hub, it is completely assembled.
The old cup and cone style of bottom brackets were not. They may look like one unit in the photos, but they completely disassemble into parts, and must be disassembled to install. The sleeve is merely to keep dust out (many bottom brackets have holes to let water out).
One can probably keep it cleaner by limiting the final greasing to the assembly stage.
Of course, a new bike should have the proper amount of grease.
I like to pack as much grease as I can into stuff, but perhaps one should limit the grease to what is needed to fill the races. Certainly with a bottom bracket, there can be a lot of empty air space with no reason to fill it from side to side with grease.
I bought what are supposed to be NOS caged bearings from Campy, and they appear to be pre-greased. I will have to clean it all out before installing.