littleal

Hi
I'm 6' and 250 lbs.
I've been commuting 15 mile R/T for a year and a half now.
Upgraded from a cheap Next folder to a TREK 820 with slicks and now
a Novara Safari. The first 2 bikes I broke lots of stuff all the time.
Cheap I understand. Bought the Safari and did the Southern Tier last spring.
Brought it back home and am using it for my commute and fun rides.
The problem is the rear hub needs replaced after only 5000 miles.
Is that normal?
Do we Clydes wear stuff out that quick?
Or is 5000 miles about normal for stuff we Clydes use?
Please help here.
Thanks a million.

Mr. Beanz

What kind of hub? I have a rear Ultegra hub ($50) on my roadie with 11,000 miles no problems. 240 lbs.

CastIron

There are simply a ton of variables, weight being the only one we know. Maintenance is usually a deciding factor. If you rode those hubs 5k with no work on 'em in poor conditions, then yes, 5k may well be all you get. Most do far, far better though.

Why, exactly, does the hub need replacing?

Mr. Beanz

I have Shimano tandem hubs on my tandem. Combined weight of over 420lbs. I had the bearing replace and repacked with grease for $12.

hammond9705

Do you ride in wet conditions? Or hose down the bike? This will hurt the life of the hub.

pv0463

Can't wait any more...all else being the same, at the time Shimano wears out, Campy is simply considered 'broken-in'...
Personal preference aside, a hub should give you more than 5K. Make sure there is no free-play, putting more movement on the bearings, thus wearing out the races in the hub. Lack of grease (too much will squirt out, too little is obviously not enough), and direct exposure to water--all items mentioned earlier

Wogster

I would think a rear bub should, with proper maintenance, should last around 25K, clyde or no clyde.

1) If you ride in all weather, hubs should be built with waterproof grease, best is the stuff they use in boat trailer hubs, since those get submerged on a regular basis, then hauled behind a car for long distances at high speed.

2) Conventional hubs need to be rebuilt every so often, probably best is when you need to pull off the cassette to replace it, given a chain is good for around 1000 miles, and your replacing the cassette every third chain or so, this would mean rebuilding the rear hub every 3000 miles or so. Basically rebuilding means taking everything apart, cleaning all the internal parts, then putting it all back together with fresh grease and new bearings. If your rebuilding the rear hub, then the front one should be done too. Sealed bearing hubs, like cartridge bottom brackets don't need maintenance as often, but should still go close to 25K......

Tom Stormcrowe

One question.....

Is it the hub or the cassette? Just making sure we're talking about the same thing here.

The bearings wore out in your hub or the gear cluster wore out (Cassette)

littleal

From what the LBS told me it's the hub worn out.He showed me the play in it after he
pulled the cassette off.
The hub btw is a Shimano M475.
Unfortunately I have to wait until Monday to drop off the bike because of Chinese New Year here.
Everything closes for a week!
Even the postal system.
At least I have a spare to ride round on.
What kind of regular maintenance can I do besides repacking the hubs every couple thousand miles?
Thanks

ronjon10

Replace it with an ultegra hub. You shouldn't have to do any maintenance (at least I never do) and they'll last going on forever.

CastIron

It's a Deore hub at the lower end of the food chain. Shouldn't have failed, but since it has, then upgrade to an XT model and stay on top of maintenance. Every year or few thousand miles (the lesser), re-pack it and adjust it. You might wish to keep the old hub and have a second shop inspect it without telling them why. I'm a little suspicious.

How are you cleaning around the hub when you clean the bike?

Swimjim

I have 11,000+ on my 105 equipt Klein. It's on it's second cassette and I put its third chain on a few hundred miles ago. Other then that, it's just been tires, tubes and brake pads. I took the Park Tool class after I bought this bike and have performed all of it's maintaince. It gets a full going over after coming off the trainer each year before it hits the asphalt. Everything gets cleaned lubed and adjusted. The bike rocks.

Jim

littleal

Normally I clean around it with a water hose. I spray some simple green on and let it set and then hit it with a brush and water hose. I try to keep the spray away from the hub as much as possible though.
I'll take the old hub and have the other LBS check it out and see if it can be rebuilt.

CastIron

Stop using a solvent to clean your bike. Try something a bit more gentle like glass cleaner. That may be contributing to the problem. Also, avoid using a hose unless you're going to re-pack your hubs and BB. It's one of those things that may be harmless but has needless risk.

Take a look at PARK TOOL's website to better understand your bike, too.

Halthane

Check out the stuff on hub maintenance at www.sheldonbrown.com also. 5000 miles seems appropriate for a total rebuild of the hub but not a replacement, even for a lower end deore hub, unless it was never regreased/adjusted.

Schwinnhund

MY parts wear out frequently!

My bikes, on the other hand, do really well. Just general upkeep.

Semper Fi!

andymac

Hub maintenance is easy and cheap but a little messy. Get yourself some cone wrenches and some grease and take the things apart once in awhile and you will likely get more than 5000 miles out of them. I have at least 15000 miles on one rear hub that is the same model as the one you have and I ride that particular bike through snow, slush, rain ..etc. as it is on my winter commuter.

I repack the hubs on that bike once or twice a month, which is approximately every 300~600 miles, it is so wet around here in the winter that water gets in the hub no matter what I do to try to prevent it, slush is the worst as it packs in around the hub and sits there for the whole ride. I can do both front and rear in 20 minutes so it is not a big deal.

In my experience the Deore level hub doesn't keep the water out as well as the LX level and up but none of the hubs I have used have completely kept out water and I doubt any do. There are numerous discussions about hub seals on the net with many people convinced that one manufacturer is better than the next but the conclusion in most cases is that the only truely effective seal is a labyrinth seal and even that will let in water if submerged.

Halthane

Phil Wood, White Industries, and Paul Components all make hubs with cartridge bears that will take a pretty serious pounding, but submersion is pretty tough no matter how you look at it.

jitenshakun

On my SC Superlight I blow through an UN72 every season Before that I used to go through an XTR crankset a year on my Ti Dean. The giant BB never gave out, but the splines on the crankset rounded like butter.

-J