Greasing Durham Bullseye Pulleys

[* * Chas]

Putting together an old Colnago with retro gear. Looking through my junk
(retro treasures) I found a set of 30 year old Durham Bullseye Pulleys.
The grease feels a little dry. I was thinking of trying to inject some
new grease through the rubber seals with a hypodermic needle.

Anyone have any experience with this?

I've had a set of Durham Bullseye Pulleys on a first generation Suntour
Cyclone since 1975. The derailurer has been on a number of different
bikes but still works flawlessly. I like these pulleys because of the
smooth feel of the chain across the aluminum teeth versus noisy plastic
teeth.

Chas.

 

[Nick Payne]

You can carefully pry the seals off at the inside lip with a small
screwdriver (try not to bend them), flush out the old grease with solvent,
repack with grease, replace the seals.

Nick

"* * Chas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Putting together an old Colnago with retro gear. Looking through my junk
> (retro treasures) I found a set of 30 year old Durham Bullseye Pulleys.
> The grease feels a little dry. I was thinking of trying to inject some
> new grease through the rubber seals with a hypodermic needle.
>
> Anyone have any experience with this?
>
> I've had a set of Durham Bullseye Pulleys on a first generation Suntour
> Cyclone since 1975. The derailurer has been on a number of different
> bikes but still works flawlessly. I like these pulleys because of the
> smooth feel of the chain across the aluminum teeth versus noisy plastic
> teeth.
>
> Chas.
>
>
>
>
>
>

 

[Robin Hubert]

Nick Payne wrote:
> You can carefully pry the seals off at the inside lip with a small
> screwdriver (try not to bend them), flush out the old grease with solvent,
> repack with grease, replace the seals.
>
> Nick
>
> "* * Chas" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> Putting together an old Colnago with retro gear. Looking through my junk
>> (retro treasures) I found a set of 30 year old Durham Bullseye Pulleys.
>> The grease feels a little dry. I was thinking of trying to inject some
>> new grease through the rubber seals with a hypodermic needle.
>>
>> Anyone have any experience with this?
>>
>> I've had a set of Durham Bullseye Pulleys on a first generation Suntour
>> Cyclone since 1975. The derailurer has been on a number of different
>> bikes but still works flawlessly. I like these pulleys because of the
>> smooth feel of the chain across the aluminum teeth versus noisy plastic
>> teeth.
>>
>> Chas.

A better pry tool is a utility knife. The sharper/pointier the tip, the
better.


Robin Hubert

 

[* * Chas]

"Robin Hubert" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Nick Payne wrote:
> > You can carefully pry the seals off at the inside lip with a small
> > screwdriver (try not to bend them), flush out the old grease with
solvent,
> > repack with grease, replace the seals.
> >
> > Nick
> >
<snip>

> A better pry tool is a utility knife. The sharper/pointier the tip,
the
> better.
>
>
> Robin Hubert

Thanks guys. I thought of that but I was concerned that I might no be
able to replace the seals.

I've seen suggestions about replacing the bearings using an arbor press
but I'm not up for tying to find the correct bearings.

Chas.

 

[Peter Cole]

* * Chas wrote:
> Putting together an old Colnago with retro gear. Looking through my junk
> (retro treasures) I found a set of 30 year old Durham Bullseye Pulleys.
> The grease feels a little dry. I was thinking of trying to inject some
> new grease through the rubber seals with a hypodermic needle.
>
> Anyone have any experience with this?

I don't think it would work with a syringe, but you can get needle tips
for grease guns. I've found these to be extremely useful. You can apply
grease through rubber seals or just through tiny clearances.

 

[Chalo]

Chas wrote:
>
> I've seen suggestions about replacing the bearings using an arbor press
> but I'm not up for tying to find the correct bearings.

The seals will usually have the bearing's designation imprinted on
them. You can get inexpensive replacements from a place like
http://vxb.com/ (though you might have to buy 10 bearings at a time,
which makes a single bearing swap much less economical).

Chalo

 

[* * Chas]

I used a dental pick, 3 of the seals popped right out. The 4th had
hardened and started to break so I left it in place. After cleaning and
repacking them with grease they're good as new again.

Chas.