What Are My Options If Uniglide F/Hub Is Shot - Want To Keep 6 Gears?

[woodbine]

When you have a 25 year old bearing/ratchet, it's not really about mileage. Rather it is about grease drying out. Yes you could try dripping some oil inside, but the risk is that any dirt around the opening is carried into the bearings.

Good point about the grease. Would this also mean that the new, old-stock Uniglide Freehub that the bike shop is fitting for me may suffer from dried up grease? The part looked as new as the day it was made on the outside, but could sitting in a drawer for a decade or two mean the grease is now no good? Or does use and being exposed to the environment cause the problem?

Hope I'm not looking too deeply into this!

 

[Gravity Aided]

I should think fitting an NOS hub would include re-greasing of the hub bearings, if necessary. Most grease problems are environmental, I think. Mix soap and a bit of oil, and you have grease. Grease can wash out, or get gritty, and sometimes these environmental factors make it absent from the bearing, and a dry bearing will accelerate wear on the races, as will a gritty bearing.

 

[woodbine]

I should think fitting an NOS hub would include re-greasing of the hub bearings, if necessary..

When you say hub, do you mean freehub? They're taking the U/G freehub off the NOS complete quick-release hub axle and swapping it for the freehub on my existing non quick-release hub axle which will have new bearings at the same time.

 

[Smurfy]

Good point about the grease. Would this also mean that the new, old-stock Uniglide Freehub that the bike shop is fitting for me may suffer from dried up grease? The part looked as new as the day it was made on the outside, but could sitting in a drawer for a decade or two mean the grease is now no good? Or does use and being exposed to the environment cause the problem?

Hope I'm not looking too deeply into this!

If you are concerned about it you need to speak to them, although I doubt you'll persuade many cycle mechanics to dismantle and regrease a freehub. I don't know much about greases and oils, but if it was stored in a sealed plastic bag maybe the grease hasn't dried, oxidised, or otherwise degraded. This is where being a home mechanic helps, as I can take my time deciding what to do, and dismantle if I feel like it.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I was thinking of hub axle, the freehub would be a real piece of business to get into. Here's how it's done.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaBQHCU9TDw


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9gIEG1db0s


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCG7f6naJsQ