CharleyFarley
Senior Member
- Location
- Japan
I'd guess other cyclists have done this in the past.
Slightly over a year ago I had a BB adapter with new 30mm bearings installed in my Specialized Fat Boy by a bike shop. Yesterday a squawk sounded with each turn of the cranks. I'm hard of hearing but I had no trouble hearing it .The squawk stopped when I stopped pedaling. Could the bearings be going dry after about 1,500 miles?
So today I removed the chain and cranks, picked the blue dust seals out and stuffed White Lightning grease into them with my fingers. The squawk is now stopped, permanently I hope.
This isn't the first time I've had bearings get noisy so quickly. Three years ago I bought an Electra cruiser from a bike shop. As I wheeled it out, one evening, for a ride, it didn't want to roll, and the wheels were grinding. It only had 600 miles on it yet the bearings were shot. I installed new ball bearings and had no more trouble with it in 4,500 miles. It seems that some manufacturers are trying to save money by using hardly any grease in their bearings. If I'm ever in need of new sealed bearings, I'd stuff them with grease before installing them in the bike.
Slightly over a year ago I had a BB adapter with new 30mm bearings installed in my Specialized Fat Boy by a bike shop. Yesterday a squawk sounded with each turn of the cranks. I'm hard of hearing but I had no trouble hearing it .The squawk stopped when I stopped pedaling. Could the bearings be going dry after about 1,500 miles?
So today I removed the chain and cranks, picked the blue dust seals out and stuffed White Lightning grease into them with my fingers. The squawk is now stopped, permanently I hope.
This isn't the first time I've had bearings get noisy so quickly. Three years ago I bought an Electra cruiser from a bike shop. As I wheeled it out, one evening, for a ride, it didn't want to roll, and the wheels were grinding. It only had 600 miles on it yet the bearings were shot. I installed new ball bearings and had no more trouble with it in 4,500 miles. It seems that some manufacturers are trying to save money by using hardly any grease in their bearings. If I'm ever in need of new sealed bearings, I'd stuff them with grease before installing them in the bike.