Bearings - how do you get at them to grease them?

[Clogicrogerc]

I have never greased the wheel bearings on a bike - I feel slightly ashamed at this admission, but
there you go.

Should I get someone who's done it before to show me or is it something you can just do fairly
easily? & does one need unusual tools to get at the bearings?

I've got an old racer with 27" wheels if that makes a difference.

RC

 

[Msa]

CLogicRogerC <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have never greased the wheel bearings on a bike - I feel slightly
ashamed at
> this admission, but there you go.
>
> Should I get someone who's done it before to show me or is it something
you can
> just do fairly easily? & does one need unusual tools to get at the
bearings?
>
> I've got an old racer with 27" wheels if that makes a difference.
>
> RC

Do you know the make of the hubs?

--
Mark
______________________________________

"Just ask yourself: What would Scooby Doo?"

 

[Peter B]

"CLogicRogerC" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have never greased the wheel bearings on a bike - I feel slightly
ashamed at
> this admission, but there you go.
>
> Should I get someone who's done it before to show me or is it something
you can
> just do fairly easily? & does one need unusual tools to get at the
bearings?

Quite an easy job.

Assuming you have cone bearings (most likely) you will need a pair of cone spanners, available from
decent bike shops and Halfords (no intention to imply they're not a decent bike shop).
www.parktool.com/repair_help/howfix_hub.shtml explains better than I can. It does show modern hubs
with "freehub" and rubber covers which your bike is unlikely to have but the procedure is the same.

You will also need a chainwhip and freewheel remover (it's unlikely your bike has a cassette that
fits onto a freehub) to remove the cogs from the back wheel,
http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQcogs.shtml explains. One of your problems will be ensuring
you get the correct removal tool for the freewheel as the pattern varies for different
manufacturers.

Pete

 

[Alex Graham]

CLogicRogerC wrote:
> I have never greased the wheel bearings on a bike - I feel slightly ashamed at this admission, but
> there you go.

Theres a first time for everything!

> Should I get someone who's done it before to show me or is it something you can just do fairly
> easily? & does one need unusual tools to get at the bearings?

Nah - just get cracking and its pretty obvious whats happening. Each side of the axle has a cone and
a locknut. You only need to undo one side, and then the axle will slide out. This means you keep the
wheel centred on the axle as well.

You are likely to need an extra thin spanner to hold the cone with. The locknut will be ok with a
normal spanner. If you have one of those evil multispanners that come with halfords puncture repair
kits (a sheet of metal with various cutouts for different nuts) you will probably be able to use
that. The cones nearly always have very narrow flats so a normal spanner is too wide.

Once youve parted the locknut and cone from one side, unscrew them from the axle and remove the
axel. Be prepared for ball bearings to fall out and bounce everywhere at this point. I would advise
popping down to the LBS to pick up a bag of bearings before you do this. The chances are you will
lose at least one ball bearing. Your front wheel probably has 10
3/16" balls either side and your rear wheel probably has 9 1/4" each side. Replacing all the balls
is well worth it at abt a quid a bag which will do one wheel. Just dont mix'n match between the
old and new bearings as they will be slightly different sizes!

The get plenty of old rag and get the cups (the curved surfaces inside the wheel) and the cones
really clean. Then get a tub of your favourite grease and apply liberally to the cups. You can
then stick the bearings into the grease, poke the axle back through and put the other cone back
on. Then see:

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

Once you understand cone adjustment on your wheels you will understand it for bottom brackets,
headsets etc.

> I've got an old racer with 27" wheels if that makes a difference.

Unlikely

HTH

cheers,

--

-Alex

----------------------------------
[email protected]

http://alexpg.ath.cx:3353/cycling.php http://www.westerleycycling.org.uk
----------------------------------

 

[Anonymous]

"Peter B" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> You will also need a chainwhip and freewheel remover (it's unlikely your bike has a cassette that
> fits onto a freehub) to remove the cogs from the back wheel,
> http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQcogs.shtml explains.
One
> of your problems will be ensuring you get the correct removal tool for the freewheel as the
> pattern varies for different manufacturers.

You don't need a chainwhip to remove a traditional freewheel. You may well do to remove the cogs
from that freewheel, but you probably don't want to do that.

cheers, clive

 

[Pete Biggs]

(Asuming bike has frewheel block not cassette)

Freewheels can require a large amount of force to remove (especially if they include large sprockets
and have been ridden by a powerful rider), so make sure remover tool is correct, spanner is big and
long and a 20 stone rugby player is recruited. A vice can help: clamp remover in vice and turn
wheel. Good job for a bike shop.

~PB (so glad I don't use these blimmin things anymore; modern cassettes are so much nicer)

 

[Patrick Herring]

Alex Graham wrote:
>
> CLogicRogerC wrote:
> > I have never greased the wheel bearings on a bike - I feel slightly ashamed at this admission,
> > but there you go.
...
> The get plenty of old rag and get the cups (the curved surfaces inside the wheel) and the cones
> really clean. Then get a tub of your favourite grease and apply liberally to the cups. You can
> then stick the bearings into the grease,

I'd recommend against the "liberally". The first time I did this I had grease extruding from every
orifice (on the wheel bearing that is, ha ha) presumably due to the twisting action of the ball
bearings creating a pumping action, and the fact that the axle itself had no actual air around it
(yep, must have been a whole tube of the stuff). The wheel turned rather sluggishly too. It doesn't
take that much - you're only lubricating the places where metal touches metal. So now I use that
lithium grease that comes in a tube with a fine nozzle. I put a line of that along the wear line
where the ball bearings touch the cups, and that is sufficient to hold the ball bearings until the
cone nut goes back in.

--
Patrick Herring http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/cgi-bin/makeperson?P.Herring

 

[Peter B]

news:[email protected]...
> "Peter B" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >
> > You will also need a chainwhip and freewheel remover (it's unlikely your bike has a cassette
> > that fits onto a freehub) to remove the cogs from
the
> > back wheel, http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQcogs.shtml explains.
>
> You don't need a chainwhip to remove a traditional freewheel. You may well do to remove the cogs
> from that freewheel, but you probably don't want to
do
> that.

Only year without a freewheel and I've forgotten already, doh!

Pete

 

[Pete Biggs]

> I'd recommend against the "liberally". The first time I did this I had grease extruding from every
> orifice (on the wheel bearing that is, ha ha) presumably due to the twisting action of the ball
> bearings creating a pumping action, and the fact that the axle itself had no actual air around it
> (yep, must have been a whole tube of the stuff).

Or just the parts closing together and squeazing the excess grease out. Shouldn't cause any harm.
Just wipe it off.

> The wheel turned rather sluggishly too.

They soon settle in.

I think it's better to use too much than too little. A small amount may not last long enough and
it's difficult to know exactly how much will do. Hubs with grease ports are designed to be stuffed
with grease. If it's good enough for them, it should be good enough for all hubs - which are
basically the same things without the holes.

~PB

 

[Patrick Herring]

"Pete Biggs" <pLime{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote:

|
| > I'd recommend against the "liberally". The first time I did this I had grease extruding from
| > every orifice (on the wheel bearing that is, ha ha) presumably due to the twisting action of the
| > ball bearings creating a pumping action, and the fact that the axle itself had no actual air
| > around it (yep, must have been a whole tube of the stuff).
|
| Or just the parts closing together and squeazing the excess grease out. Shouldn't cause any harm.
| Just wipe it off.
|
| > The wheel turned rather sluggishly too.
|
| They soon settle in.

Yes, come to think of my Shimano 9-speed felt much the same when new. Presumably it was packed with
grease, albeit in a sealed environment. And it gradually got less silent.

| I think it's better to use too much than too little. A small amount may not last long enough and
| it's difficult to know exactly how much will do. Hubs with grease ports are designed to be stuffed
| with grease. If it's good enough for them, it should be good enough for all hubs - which are
| basically the same things without the holes.

I'm sure you're right but I've also had good experience with the way I described. On reflection I'd
agree that my way is probably more vulnerable to jets of water etc washing away what grease is
there, but perhaps also having continuous grease between the metal and the external world could be
more vulnerable to grit etc making its way towards the bearing surfaces. Dunno.

--
Patrick Herring, Sheffield, UK http://www.anweald.co.uk

 

[Andrew Sweetman]

Pete Biggs <pLime{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> (Asuming bike has frewheel block not cassette)
>
> Freewheels can require a large amount of force to remove (especially if they include large
> sprockets and have been ridden by a powerful rider), so make sure remover tool is correct, spanner
> is big and long and a 20 stone rugby player is recruited. A vice can help: clamp remover in vice
> and turn wheel. Good job for a bike shop.
>

A vice is by far the best option - the last time I used a spanner, it was a 15-inch ring spanner,
had 13.5st of me stood on the end of it, and it didn't shift until I started bouncing up & down.

Fortunately you don't need to take the freewheel off to regrease the bearings - undo the locknut and
cone from the non-freewheel side of the hub and pull the axle out of the freewheel side. It makes
getting the balls out, cleaning, regreasing and putting the balls back in a bit more fiddly, but
that's a small price to pay for not having to get the block off.

Andrew

 

[Gary Knighton]

On Mon, 17 Mar 2003 05:34:46 -0000, contributor Pete Biggs had scribed:
> Freewheels can require a large amount of force to remove (especially if they include large
> sprockets and have been ridden by a powerful rider), so make sure remover tool is correct, spanner
> is big and long and a 20 stone rugby player is recruited. A vice can help: clamp remover in vice
> and turn wheel.
>

A big long ring spanner which fits the correct freewheel removal tool and a big hammer together with
a Mr Angry mood has been the case when I am faced with that task. Removing a cassette from a freehub
has deprived me of such moments!

Gary

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