Should I get my Sram Dual Drive hub serviced?

[CliveA]

I'm replacing a worn out rear rim on my Airnimal Joey, and it occurred to me that while I have the wheel dismantled, should this be the time for me to service (or have serviced) the Dual Drive 3-speed hub?

- The hub is working fine, with no problems
- It's had about 3 years of regular use. Mostly commuting. All weathers.

Is there something routine or pre-emptive I should do myself (I am a basically competent, but not expert, home mechanic), or should I have a pro service it?

Or is this a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

Thanks for advice,

Clive

[jb]

http://www.sram.com/sites/default/files/techdocs/sram-techmanual-my10-gearhubsystems-english-reva.pdf

Is that it, page 64?

[hubgearfreak]

Is there something routine or pre-emptive I should do myself
Or is this a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"?

it depends - upon quite what you mean below.....

I am a basically competent, but not expert, home mechanic

i'm also a 'basically competent, but not expert, home mechanic'. it'd do only good to strip it down, clean the bits in parrafin with and old tooth brush and reassemble it with fresh grease
(3rd item down....http://oldbiketrader.co.uk/display_Stur ... ions=books)

[squeaker]

i'm also a 'basically competent, but not expert, home mechanic'. it'd do only good to strip it down, clean the bits in parrafin with and old tooth brush and reassemble it with fresh grease
(3rd item down....http://oldbiketrader.co.uk/display_Stur ... ions=books)[/quote]
Provided no 'foreign matter' is introduced in the process (but that would make one incompetent )
As for the hub grease, is that compatible with

Use only SRAM special grease, part no.
0369 135 200 / ... 201.
Lubricate ball retainers and ball tracks
only with SRAM Ball Bearing Grease. Part
no. 0369.001.01

PS: why did I read this

We recommend
that you have your components serviced
every 2 year or 5000 km

Mine's got about 8000miles on it and has only had a few drops of engine oil down the shifting rod hole every blue moon....

[hubgearfreak]

well researched squeaker did you manage to find reasonably priced shops for those lubes?

[squeaker]

well researched squeaker did you manage to find reasonably priced shops for those lubes?

Er..., no (the point being I'd never looked). I suspect that, although the greases undoubtedly exist (but probably only in SRAM-land), they are as obtainable as rocking horse do-dos in the real world.
It would be useful if someone in the know could give us a clue as to what type of greases they are (and especially why SRAM differentiate between the hub generally and the ball races - probably just a viscosity thing, but who knows).

[hubgearfreak]

It would be useful if someone in the know could give us a clue as to what type of greases they are (and especially why SRAM differentiate between the hub generally and the ball races - probably just a viscosity thing, but who knows).

i don't know. but sturmey internal hub grease has got to be quite close in it's specification to other manufacturerrs hub grease, no?

as for the ball races...the semi liquid grease wouldn't be much use at preventing water ingress...sturmey suggest using standard grease at the balls, at least for an oily hub...iirc

personally i use waterproof grease at the ball races and sturmey grease for any hub, unless it's an old sturmey designed for oil, then it's waterproof grease at the ball races and sae 30 for the gears

[squeaker]

personally i use waterproof grease at the ball races and sturmey grease for any hub, unless it's an old sturmey designed for oil, then it's waterproof grease at the ball races and sae 30 for the gears

Noted: thanks

[CliveA]

Thanks very much for the input, everyone. I shall study the links while trying to resist the urge to just ignore it and hope for the best...

[7_lives_left]

The grease in important. That SRAM grease is black in colour. It is loaded with graphite and molybdenum disulphide additives. You need these because of the very high contact forces on the gear teeth. If you don't use the right grease but use, say, ordinary lithium grease, the hub will literally tear itself apart. I wasn't able to get hold of the SRAM grease but I got some Shimano nexus grease instead. However Shimano have changed the formula. The shimano grease is no longer black but white. I think it must be filled with PTFE. I don't know how good it is. I used it in a SRAM spectro 7 hub but I have done many miles on it since servicing it.