Greasing new hubs

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PJ520
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Joined: 23 Mar 2008, 3:49pm
Location: Seattle WA USA

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by PJ520 »

[quote} (which the Yanks call 'zerk fittings' for some reason)[/quote]
Possibly the same reason Brits call pipe wrenches "Stilsons"

A Google search came up with: Origin of
ZERK
Oscar U. Zerk †1968 American (Austrian-born) inventor
First Known Use: 1926

1968 was the year he died.
You only live once, which is enough if you do it right. - Mae West
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by Brucey »

Pete Jack wrote:[quote} (which the Yanks call 'zerk fittings' for some reason)

Possibly the same reason Brits call pipe wrenches "Stilsons"

A Google search came up with: Origin of
ZERK
Oscar U. Zerk †1968 American (Austrian-born) inventor
First Known Use: 1926

1968 was the year he died.[/quote]

sure, (and Brits are likewise prone to use 'Hoovers' and 'Sellotape' instead of 'vacuum cleaners' and 'clear adhesive tape' etc) but note also that ball-sealed grease fittings were not Mr Zerks original idea, for example this advertisement;

Image

predates his patent which (I think) used a different shape which allowed better sealing at an angle.

However I can't help but wonder if (like the ad above does) using almost any other word for these fittings would be preferred simply because it neatly avoids the phrase 'grease nipples' which surely would have been avoided by the somewhat prudish folk in some parts of the world. I note that the perfectly normal British English word 'titbit' was considered far too risqué on your side of the pond and became (deliberately as a part of editorial policy in newspapers and magazines I believe) 'tidbit' instead. I think there are many other examples of similar things creeping into American English, out of some misplaced sense of wanting to avoid any words that could possibly construed as 'rude' in some way.

I recently discovered that all kinds of books written in British English are actually translated before publication in the US... :shock: The Harry Potter books are a case in point. Divided by a common language? Could be!

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
blackbike
Posts: 2492
Joined: 11 Jul 2009, 3:21pm

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by blackbike »

mark a. wrote:I've got a new bike (hurrah!) with Deore hubs. I've heard rumours that it's a good idea to strip and heavily grease even brand new hubs since they don't always have much grease in there.

The advantages of this preventative maintenance means are possibly outweighed by the fact that these are shiny and new and I haven't taken a hub apart for quite a while so might not do the best job.

Do you all take your hubs apart as soon as you get them? Or will the hubs be fine and I can wait until their annual maintenance?


A Deore hub will last for years of normal riding without any attention at all.

So will most hubs.
fatboy
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Location: North Hertfordshire

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by fatboy »

Brucey wrote:I have never known a surfeit of grease cause me to adjust a hub badly, or cause it to run rough or whatever. But anyway you don't need to be adjusting it with that amount of grease in, you can put it in later on.

If you use your grease gun regularly the exact type of grease is less important than normal; it doesn't have to last that long. The only important thing is that it is runny enough to get where it needs to easily, but not so runny that it comes out the hub under its own steam too quickly.

If you find a #2 grease is too sticky, you could try a #1 grease instead. They do vary though, even when they are meant to be the same grade.

cheers


Fine advice. The hub doesn't feel notchy or rough just a bit sticky. Wish I'd greased the hub after adjusting rather than before!
"Marriage is a wonderful invention; but then again so is the bicycle puncture repair kit." - Billy Connolly
PJ520
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Joined: 23 Mar 2008, 3:49pm
Location: Seattle WA USA

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by PJ520 »

Brucey could well be right about the fitting name, using the name could Alemite could well have been a ploy to avoid paying Mr Zerk royalties Seeing as you went on about it at some length another two highly irritating US euphemisms are ass and rooster.

Would never have dreamed a grease fitting would cause a civil war in Syria... or was that Alawite? I'll get my coat.
You only live once, which is enough if you do it right. - Mae West
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by Brucey »

if my understanding is correct the Alemite fittings predate Mr Zerk's patent. just like Mr Hoover wasn't the first with a vacuum cleaner it is no guarantee that a name will or won't stick.

On the whole I don't mind lots of synonyms in the English language (even if their origins are sometimes a little odd); they usually end up with slightly different meanings and therefore add breadth to the language.


BTW Shimano Deore hubs are almost invariably set too tight and benefit from being adjusted correctly. They also have insufficient grease in them. You can easily do a lot better than this if you know what you are doing.

cheers
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531colin
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Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by 531colin »

I am re-considering this.
I have a few Shimano hubs where after several years of just annual greasing via my drilled grease ports, the freewheel starts to get noisy. It sounds exactly like riding with the cassette lockring not quite tight, there is a bit of a rattle when changing gear (upwards). I don't feel any play.
I tried injecting a bit of oil into the driveside ballrace….it obviously gets into the freewheel, because it leaks out the other end of the freewheel (next to the spoke flange) but the freewheel still rattles.
So now I'm directly adding grease to the left hub bearing, and semi-fluid grease to the driveside hub bearing. Early signs are encouraging.
Brucey
Posts: 44454
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Greasing new hubs

Post by Brucey »

I think that a typical #2 grease escapes from the main bearing seals before it gets pushed into the freehub mechanism, if you have a drilled grease port. This is probably just as well, since (having tried packing one with a #2 grease) if a #2 grease gets into the freewheel mechanism, it can cause the pawls to stick.

In a thread some years ago CJ reported long life from hub drilling and greasing freehubs thusly, and I hypothesised that (since he didn't report gross slippage or freehub body failure) the freehub was probably getting lubed by oil that separated from the grease, and that not all greases would behave similarly in this respect.


I've been using SFG in freehubs for some years, in drilled and undrilled hubs. It seems to penetrate to the freewheel mechanism well enough in most cases. If you fill a hub completely with SFG via a grease fitting, it is quite normal for excess grease to splurge out of (usually the LH) end of the hub over the next couple of hundred miles. This is easily wiped away in a standard hub but it might get onto a brake disc if one is fitted.

I think it isn't a bad idea to add a little gear oil to the freewheel mechanism if you have the axle out. Just add the oil where the RH hub bearings go, hold the freehub body in the left hand, and spin the wheel clockwise for a couple of minutes. You can hear when the oil has penetrated the workings by the change in the sound of the pawls. The rate at which the oil then comes out of the freehub body in service is very telling regarding the condition of the freehub body seal (in the LH end of the freehub body). If the RH bearing is then lubed with SFG, the SFG gradually replaces the oil in the freewheel mechanism, and whilst there is enough lube present, the pawls never become (as) noisy again, like they are in a new freehub with bone-dry pawls.

cheers
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