12
My uncle told me I was wasting money on sealed bearing hubs for my bike wheels
He insisted cup and cone bearings were just as good if you knew how to adjust them right, so I tried his way for a season and ended up replacing the whole front hub after 6 months of gritty rides. Has anyone else had a relative swear by an older method that totally backfired?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
barbarah191mo ago
@grace89 hit on something important about conditions. My own uncle once swore by repacking a hub with axel grease from a can that looked older than me, and I ended up with a gritty mess that sounded like a coffee grinder every time I coasted. That's about when I learned that some older methods work great for dry climates but utterly backfire in the Pacific Northwest muck. Did the uncle in your story ride mostly on smooth pavement?
2
anthony_campbell881mo ago
Really depends on your riding conditions though, most people don't ride enough to wear out cup and cone that fast.
1
grace891mo ago
My buddy Mike put about 2,000 miles on his old Shimano 105 hubs last summer and they still spin smooth as butter. I think a lot of people just don't put that kind of distance in, or they ride in dry conditions where grit isn't eating away at the bearings. It's rough when you do wear them out though because replacing the whole hub or wheel is way more expensive than just swapping bearings. I feel for anyone who has to deal with that, especially if it's their main commuter and they're stuck without a ride for a bit. Do you usually catch the wear before it gets bad?
6