Wheel water tightening

yeachan153

I've got myself a new pair of Planet X Model B's, but I read somewhere the seals aren't the best and water can get in. What is the best way to waterproof the bearings/hubs inside?

ShutUpLegs

Not to go out in the rain

yeachan153

ShutUpLegs wrote:

Not to go out in the rain

nice one

rpd_steve

Pretty much nothing you can do to improve it after the design/build stage. Make sure you clean them well using a water displacer (WD40, GT85, TF2...) after any wet action and you should be fine.

You can also put a film of grease between the seal and hub which will stop 90% of it, but will add a bit of drag when you spin by hand, though IMHO it is next to nothing when on the road.

desweller

RPD Steve wrote:

Pretty much nothing you can do to improve it after the design/build stage. Make sure you clean them well using a water displacer (WD40, GT85, TF2...) after any wet action and you should be fine.

DON'T do this around the hubs. These products all contain solvents that will dissolve the grease in your hub bearings.

On the Model B the weak spot is the outermost freehub bearing. There is a seal, but it's assembled dry. I can't remember if it touches the axle or not, but you can help this whole area by carefully removing the seal (i.e. without nicking or scratching it) and applying a smear of bearing grease to all the surfaces within. This will help water run off the surfaces and protect the steel bearings from oxidising (like paint only sticky and mobile).

Obviously, over time this grease layer will wash away so it's worth checking periodically (much as we used to do with conventional bicycle wheel bearings).

The non-drive-side bearing is much better protected; there is a proper o-ring on the bearing protection cap.

Edited to add: You can use WD40 etc. around bearings if you spray onto a rag first and then wipe, but deffo don't spray directly onto the bearings or apply so much that it is running off the parts.

rpd_steve

Yeah as above - I didn't mean spray/blast the bearings directly but just use externally to make sure there is no surrounding moisture.

yeachan153

Cheers desweller, when you say Outermost freehub bearing is that the rear wheel, the front wheel or both? How can I tell which side is the freehub bearing side too? Any help you could offer in removing the seal could be great too. Thanks for the link to the grease!

Edit: when you say around the bearing, is that the same as the outermost freehub bearing? Also, can i just use wd40 for the Outermost freehub bearing? Got some lying around.

desweller

Rear wheel. The front is welll protected.

There is an exploded drawing of the hub here.

To remove the left seal (4), you'll need to undo the right side cap (2). There is a hex socket in the other end of the axle that you can use to stop it rotating, obviously you will need the appropriate cone spanner to undo the cap.

WD40 will only leave a very thin film of light oil on the surface. That won't hang around for long. You really are better off investing in a pot of grease; that tub I linked to will cover all your cycling needs for the next 50 years I should think.

yeachan153

Thanks DesWeller, I'll get the pot of grease then. I assume undoing 1 & 2 will be pretty straight forward. Could you please tell me in numbers which ones I would need to apply grease to? I am not entirely sure which ones constitute of the outermost freehub bearing as a whole, and the diagram does really help with perspective

desweller

You will only be able to reach one bearing in the freehub, unless you take the freehub off.

yeachan153

Take out the ball bearings and grease them individually? Is that all that's needed?

godders1

yeachan153 wrote:

Take out the ball bearings and grease them individually? Is that all that's needed?

A bit tricky with cartridge bearings.

yeachan153

What am I lubricating then if not the axle and the bearings?

desweller

The purpose of the extra grease is not to lubricate the bearing but to encourage water to run off. That's why you should use a fairly heavy grease (silicone grease is perfect but bearing grease will be OK).