portland, or + loose ball hubs = mistake?
 

so i'm building myself up some new wheels. i wanted a lightweight and reasonably priced wheelset so i decided on 28h velocity aeroheads to dura ace low flange track hubs. i didn't realize that the dura ace hubs weren't sealed until after i ordered them.

so i live in portland. it kinda rains a lot here. i'm wondering whether it's a terrible idea to ride these hubs in the rain and how often i should expect to need to repack them. these are going on my nicer bike rather than my daily commuter so it's not like they'll be going through heavy storms on a daily basis. but they'll definitely see a bit of rain. any thoughts?

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.

I always had loose ball hubs when I commuted in Vancouver, not by choice, just happened that way. Never had water issues with them. Service once a year or so, maybe less.

Moving to Pac Northwest from SSFG.

+1. I've never had problems with Shimano loose-ball hubs. Problems with rim brakes, maybe: http://home.comcast.net/~jeff_wills/...s/rites042.htm , but not with hubs.