Service Interval

imatfaal
imatfaal Posts: 2,716
edited April 2015 in Workshop
I am sure this has been discussed before - but I cannot seem to find it. I picked up some oldish shiny Dura Ace hubs (HB 7700 and FH 7850) last year which I built up into wheels that I am inordinately fond of - they are running perfectly at present. But how long (kilometres / months) should it be before I strip them down, clean, regrease etc?

I don't want to leave it so long they risk getting damaged - but I am also loath to start fiddling with a pair of hubs that spin true, silently, and almost forever.

Love to hear ideas, opinions, and guidance

Comments

  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    In my experience it depends on what kind of conditions they are ridden in. If it's dry miles only they'll probably be OK for years between servicing. Ridden through a typical UK winter I might clean and regrease them in say October and again in March? New ball bearings if there's a hint of corrosion.

    My RS10's have lasted 8 years so far with an annual service, and only just replaced the bearings. I'm assuming your hubs will have better seals...
  • imatfaal
    imatfaal Posts: 2,716
    Just checked Strava and I did about 5000km over the autumn and spring on them - not so much over the real winter as I had a big off and stopped riding for three months
  • dgunthor
    dgunthor Posts: 644
    i'd do a regrease and bearing change then if you want to look after them well
  • imatfaal
    imatfaal Posts: 2,716
    Thanks to you both. I think I will probably do so - much as I hate to tinker with something that is working, I would be so pissed off if I left it so long that I started doing damage
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    That's the dilemma with cup and cone bearings. If you leave it till they are feeling rough it's sometimes too late. Most of the time with my RS10's when I stripped them I found they still contained plenty of grease and shiny balls / cones / races. Only this spring did I find the rear drive side had some corrosion so I've replaced the ball bearings. Time will tell if I caught it in time; feels smooth enough though. Maybe the seal on that side is starting to wear and let water in...

    With cartridge bearings you just run them till they fail, then replace them. No cones and races to damage; you're replacing the whole shebang, so in theory the hubs could last indefinitely.

    I prefer the adjustability of cup and cone, and the cheapness of loose ball bearings. I am a tinkerer and a Yorkshireman though. If I was trying to maintain a fleet of bikes I might prefer the simplicity of cartridge bearings.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Have a look at Sheldon Brown's webpage on cup and cone hubs; he shows a modified axle that lets you adjust cones while the QR is clamped shut; very simple to set them up first time without keep sticking the wheel back in the dropouts and clamping it to see if you've eliminated play at the rim without causing binding in the bearings.

    http://sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html

    harder to describe than do
  • imatfaal
    imatfaal Posts: 2,716
    Well I just pulled the front hub and I think timing was about right. Suggestions of a muckiness in the grease one side but not the other - so I guess just that first bit of ingress on one side. Bearings and cones shone like new with a bit of wiping. Will do the back when I have a spare moment.

    Sheldon Brown's device does make sense - although after a lot of back and forth I think I am happy with the tightness

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