hub maintenance

[chris folder]

Hi I have read a few times that turning brompton on its side and dripping oil into hub where gear pull chain comes from keeps bike hub running smooth have anyone tried this on here?

 

[raleighnut]

Earlier SA hubs had a cap on the hub body for oiling, I think the newer ones rely on grease but a bit of oil won't hurt, it may however slowly run out of the hub down the spokes and get onto the rim. This shouldn't be a problem as long as you wipe it off before riding,

 

[mjr]

Not Brompton (I'm not that rich ) but I do similar with a Sturmey Archer hub. I unscrew the gear indicator rod that the gear pull chain attaches to, squirt oil into the hub (I pipette it in), then replace/reset the rod ( http://workingoncycles.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/raleigh-twenty-sturmey-archer-gear.html ), ride it around a little, then wrap some newspaper around the spokes below the hub to catch most of any escaping oil and put a sheet of it under the tyre just in case.

The oil refill caps seem to have stopped being put on some time in the late 1980s. If you've got grease on the gear rod, you can test that with whatever oil you're considering, just to make sure there's no strange reaction - never read of it with SA yet, though. I've read that even the later grease-using hubs are usually better running in oil as long as it's topped up every few weeks.

 

[12boy]

I have done this with a 177% 3 speed and it works very well as long as you you don't mind grease seepage, especially when the bike is not upright. I use synthetic 5-25 oil, and have a vet syringe I can squirt into the axle with. It shifts very well, and is much quieter than it was before the oiling. When it begins to get noisy again I put a little more in. Filling through the axle where the gear indicator chain goes is very effective, but the hub does let oil out, apparently from the seams. I actually went back to my one speed hub because I put my bike in the car fairly often and I don't like getting oil on the interior of my hatchback. Still, I can hook up my 3 speed once again in about 30 minutes if I plan on doing a lot of climbing or going for longer rides.

 

[mjr]

I use synthetic 5-25 oil, and have a vet syringe I can squirt into the axle with.

What a great tip! I've just mail-ordered some vet syringes with blunt needles which should be easier than the pipette, plus I can use another to inject semi-fluid grease into the Shimano one (over on CTC Forums, there are horrific pictures of what the Shimano-recommended maintenance process + UK winter does to their hubs...)

I actually went back to my one speed hub because I put my bike in the car fairly often and I don't like getting oil on the interior of my hatchback.

I find wrapping the rear wheel in a sturdy plastic bag (garden waste sack thickness) suffices to catch what little oil leaks out past the seals during a journey.

 

[12boy]

Yes, mjray, I have another of those oversize syringes which I filled with grease which I warmed a little and poured into the syringe. I use this to apply small amounts of grease when any more would be a mess. Just pull the bag over the chain stays and wheel? I think that next time I convert back to 3 speed I will give this a try. Thanks, Ron

 

[mjr]

Just pull the bag over the chain stays and wheel?

Yep. Bike nappy! I do the same with my derailleured folder. Check the bag for anti-suffocation holes though. DAMHIK

 

[raleighnut]

Yep. Bike nappy! I do the same with my derailleured folder. Check the bag for anti-suffocation holes though. DAMHIK

Did the 'mouse assist' stop working at some point.