Went through a flood today...

[Brandane]

Was out for a ride today in the (comparatively) good weather we had. After yesterdays storm there was a lot of flood water around, particularly in one underpass beneath a railway line. Had I realised it was quite so deep then I would not have gone into it. It was about 2 foot deep! That was the shallow end, where I stopped. I had to hop off onto the adjacent bank, and then lift the bike out and stick it over my shoulder and carry it back to dry land.

The water was way over the level of the hubs and bottom bracket. My fear now is that water will have got into them as they spent a good few minutes under water while I figured out my escape. The bike is a Trek 6500 MTB so might be more resilient to this than a road bike, but I am wondering if it would be a worthwhile precaution to strip the axles and ball bearings out of the wheels, re-grease them and put them back together. I have done this before (several times) so I know how to do it. Just asking if I am being over cautious and giving myself extra work for nothing?

 

[HovR]

Could have gone worse!

I would personally want to take apart the hubs, dry them out and apply new grease, just to be on the safe side. I would also take a look/dry out the BB depending on if it is of the sealed variety or not.

 

[ian emmerson]

I went through floodwater a couple of years ago and i found traces of water in one hub afterwards , defineatly worth stripping and regreasing.

 

[Brandane]

Thanks for the replies. Guess what I'll be doing this morning then ? Had a rusted/pitted hub bearing face before, resulting in the hub being junked. So well worth an hour or two work.

Edit... So one or two hours turned into 3 hours; but that's it done, and I'm glad I made the effort. Water in both hubs, and a good shout to check the BB as there was water in there too! Took the opportunity to strip down the rear derailleur and clean/regrease the pulley wheels. The downside is I don't want to undo all my good work by going out in the rain now .

 

[Paul.G.]

Suppose really I should do the same looking at the state of my poor old cross bike, youve made me feel guilty now - where is the bucket?