How often to rebuild bearings

Have dura-ace gruppo bike from 1993, beautiflly sealed bearings etc, hubs
seem to have viscous drag still, pedals spin freely. Just wondering as
dura-ace is so well sealed how often would you guys recommend just
rebuilding for the sake of rebuilding hubs/pedals, etc? The sampson
stratics ti BB is sealed cartridge so i'll leave it given the PITA a BB is
to service. If i regrease everything i could use the same ball bearings as
they are already polished from use as long as they never went dry?

On Jul 24, 11:42*am, "Phillip Mcracken" wrote:
Have dura-ace gruppo bike from 1993, beautiflly sealed bearings etc, hubs
seem to have viscous drag still, pedals spin freely. *Just wondering as
dura-ace is so well sealed how often would you guys recommend just
rebuilding for the sake of rebuilding hubs/pedals, etc? *The sampson
stratics ti BB is sealed cartridge so i'll leave it given the PITA a BB is
to service. *If i regrease everything i could use the same ball bearings as
they are already polished from use as long as they never went dry?

Regrease as needed. On a bike from 93 that would probably be now. ;-)
Check the races for pits. Reuse the bearings if you want, but they're
cheap enough to make degreasing them not really worth it.

On 24 July, 17:42, "Phillip Mcracken" wrote:
Have dura-ace gruppo bike from 1993, beautiflly sealed bearings etc, hubs
seem to have viscous drag still, pedals spin freely. *Just wondering as
dura-ace is so well sealed how often would you guys recommend just
rebuilding for the sake of rebuilding hubs/pedals, etc? *The sampson
stratics ti BB is sealed cartridge so i'll leave it given the PITA a BB is
to service. *If i regrease everything i could use the same ball bearings as
they are already polished from use as long as they never went dry?

The ballswill become elliptical so change them at 100 000 miles or
whenever you feel like. If you have access to a vernier micrometer
you could find that ellipses.

here, the grease goes away with dirt at 1500 miles or evaps just
sitting over 2 years - good grease.
buy extra cones, use 25 balls - USA balls maybe from Harris ect. cheap
25's are less chromium 25's or not all 25's are what ?
if cones are worn then cones are on hand for replacement.

AHA !

used looking (buy eyeball not glass ) cones are best greased with
castrol marine grease also excellent for deray jackey wheels.

sealed means, please correct or start arguement, grease doesn't get
out not dirt doesn't get in.
or grease only gets out at 3AM....

or....

On 25 July, 02:42, "Phillip Mcracken" wrote:
Thats what i'm thnking, why not just re-use the already polished balls. *In
the old days didn't racers dismantle their hubs etc and clean out the
grease, pack with some toothpaste and by hand rotate the spindles and polish
the bearing surfaces? * Then clean out the toothpaste, pack with grease..

Burnishing cream. Er T-cut for instance. Adjust cones tight and turn
axle using a buffer wheel on a drilling machine. Run for an hour or
two. Use a pale (gum colour semi-transparent)grease and add a little
castor oil. Track riders would be silly and try to run bearings on
paraffin oil (kerosene). Then WD (also silly). Baby oil (probably
good if renewed often). Almond oil, not sure (good watch lubricant).
Best, I think is to treat with Molyslip, then regular bicycle oil with
its high antioxidant loading.

There is more to this vegetable oil thing. Its only because of the
petrochemical industry being able to tailor their relatively poor
lubricant to a specification (lower than veg oil) at an economical
price and market it well that we ave lost the knowledge of lubricants
of old. The price for petrochemical lubes now typically excedds that
of veg oils when the veg oils remain superior for certain
applications. Mixing of oils to custom recipes was common before the
extensive use of mineral oil. Fish oil and castor oil I seem to
recall were the important modifiers used on a cheaper base oil. So if
you are ever around the site of an old bike shop look on the wall
above the workbench for an OIL MIX recipe.

and off course, sperm oil for cycling in colder climes.

I post back caws wanted to add that repacking at 1500 (or 2250) miles
with new bearings/cones/lube gives only one more use period from the
hub as the hub wears out - inner hub outer hub hub of...and off course
spoke holes wether or not yawl lube flanges with Finish Line dry lube
(with a ball bearing in the bottle) or not.
he second use period is shorter than the first.

Off course, the maintenanceformaintenancesake driven mechanic now has
a tight no slop rear hub/axle assembly maybe less friction, faster,
lesss energy waste, 5 more miles...

Maybe not with a cassette hub. Depends on the mechanic. My cassette
hubs roll with far more friciton than my freewheel hubs so more than
sometimes i wonder if cassettes are worth the extra friction.

Check yours when done against a freewheel and the shop's elite Italian
rebuild.

Could be better installing a new hub.

On 27 July, 03:29, datakoll wrote:
and off course, sperm oil for cycling in colder climes.

I post back caws wanted to add that repacking at 1500 (or 2250) miles
with new bearings/cones/lube gives only one more use period from the
hub as the hub wears out - inner hub outer hub hub of...and off course
spoke holes wether or not yawl lube flanges with Finish Line dry lube
(with a ball bearing in the bottle) or not.
he second use period is shorter than the first.

Off course, the maintenanceformaintenancesake driven mechanic now has
a tight no slop rear hub/axle assembly maybe less friction, faster,
lesss energy waste, 5 more miles...

Maybe not with a cassette hub. Depends on the mechanic. My cassette
hubs roll with far more friciton than my freewheel hubs so more than
sometimes i wonder if cassettes are worth the extra friction.

Check yours when done against a freewheel and the shop's elite Italian
rebuild.

Could be better installing a new hub.

oiling hubs, seriously lengthens bearing track life. Whatever ##fins
(could be oleofins, not got lube book with me) that lard contains is
what you want in your hub lube for it minimises shear without
degredation itself. This prolongs the fatigue life to some
astronomical figure when servicing is frequent. It prevents the
pulling at the track surface which exists with a low grade lubricant,
this is why I choose a cycle specific oil, that and the fact it should
be excessively loaded with antioxidents. Mmmm, vit E is contained in
abundance in corn oils. Wheatgerm for instance. Doesn't ring a bell
as part of a bicycle oil recipe. I can only think of barley, maize
(indian corn), wheat and rye for the grass/cereal crops. Olive oil
also high in antioxident? This could be the main filler as it is a
good lube without additives. Inf act salad oil is a mix of grain oil
and olive oil and would only need the small amount of castor to
stabilise it.

datakoll wrote:

and off course, sperm oil for cycling in colder climes.

Hardest part (so to speak) is getting it in a squeeze bottle.

Bill "slow night" S.