Hub Maintenance

The only hub maintenance required is lubricating the bearings.  If they are not contaminated, that could be as long as 10,000 miles.  If they are (power hosing in a cross race) they should be immediately relubricated.  The process is to remove the seals that are on the sealed cartridge bearing.  Above is a rendering of the inside of the seal showing two seals. One  on the upper and and one on the lower edge.  The upper seal is a press fit into the outer bearing race.  The inner seal is the contact seal that slides over the inner race.  There are different kinds of seals but they all provide a minimal amount of contact.

Removal of the seals should be one on the lower contact seal using a pen knife or something similar to get under the seal and lift it off.  When replacing the seal make sure the two seals face inward.  Lubrication should be a light grease.  The lighter the grease the less resistance it will have and the less it will lube the bearings.  In cold climates heaveir or even lighter greases can freeze.

Pro’s in time trails sometimes remove all contact seals and use a light oil to remove as much resisance as possible.  There is no measureable benefit to it but when everything counts, everything counts.

Front Hub:  Remove end cap with 5 mm allen key. Remove seal, lube.  The end of the axle is broached so use an allen key in the end of the axle to unscrew the other side and do the same thing.  Use a small amount of grease on the threads of the end caps and just tighten to a snug fit.  Don’t overdo it - the quick release holds the end caps on anyway.

Rear Hub:  Remove the end caps with a 5 mm allen key.  The rear axle is broached for a 10 mm allen key.  Do the same thing as on the front hub.  The cassette body has two bearings.  The internal bearing is not serviceable without removing it - which cannot be done without special bearing presses.  Since it’s internal there is little change of it getting  contanimated.  There is a seal on the outside that needs to be removed before you can access the outboard bearing.  Remove it the same way you remove the bearing seals.