New bike, Wheel bearing grease

[Scott C]

Took my new Trek 300 out this weekend for my casual ride - when home I decided to check out break
grease and wheel bearing grease. These simple breaks are easy to disassemble and check. One break
had no grease on it at all.. used some Schwinn synthetic I had on all break pivot points, and took
the front wheel apart down to the bearings.. some grease there, not much, put in more and readjusted
the housing. Does feel smoother now when holding the wheel and spinning by hand. Have not done the
back wheel yet

Questions: How often to lube the breaks / bushings, and how often to re-lube the wheel bearings?
These bearings have a rubber lid over the bearing housing, preventing dirt from freely entering this
area. I'm thinking every 6 months, with rides on weekends only.. not harsh environments.

Thanks

sc

 

[S. Anderson]

>Scott C" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Took my new Trek 300 out this weekend for my casual ride - when home I decided to check out break
> grease and wheel bearing grease. These simple breaks are easy to disassemble and check. One break
> had no grease on it at all.. used some Schwinn synthetic I had on all break pivot points, and
took
> the front wheel apart down to the bearings.. some grease there, not much, put in more and
> readjusted the housing. Does feel smoother now when
holding
> the wheel and spinning by hand. Have not done the back wheel yet
>
> Questions: How often to lube the breaks / bushings, and how often to
re-lube
> the wheel bearings? These bearings have a rubber lid over the bearing housing, preventing dirt
> from freely entering this area. I'm thinking
every
> 6 months, with rides on weekends only.. not harsh environments.
>
> Thanks
>
> sc
>

In general, low-mid priced bikes have borderline lube in the hubs. On the one hand, I figure these
guys manufacture the hubs and know how much to put in, but if it were my bike, I'd disassemble and
re-lube with my personal preference grease and put quite a bit more than they do from the factory.
As a matter of fact, I think any good bike should be disassembled totally and re-assembled with
grease etc. by a qualified shop. Ask Vecchio's about this policy. Maintenance-wise, for your type of
riding, once a year is plenty. The biggest problem is contamination and if you're riding in good
conditions with rubber seals of some type, you should get little contamination. Once a year
depending on your mileage, maybe once every 2 years.

Caliper brakes don't require disassembly. Just spray with teflon lube once a month or so and wipe
clean and you're good to go. Cantilever brakes should be disassembled and re-greased the same time
you do your hubs.

Cheers,

Scott..