Question about rebuilding a Shimano hub after a shop visit in Portland

Saw a mechanic at River City Bicycles completely skip greasing the pawls on a hub rebuild last month. He said it was faster and the grease just attracts grit anyway. Has anyone else run a hub dry like that and had it hold up long term?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair9901d ago

Yeah, the "grease attracts grit" thing is what got me too. I used to be pretty militant about packing everything with grease, but after watching a buddy's XT hub last three years completely dry on the pawls I had to change my mind. Now I just put a tiny film of lightweight oil on them, basically just enough to keep them from rusting. The real game changer was learning that Shimano's freehub bodies are designed to shed water through the gaps, so gunking them up just traps moisture inside. Have you ever pulled a heavily greased freehub apart after a wet season and found rust pits on the ratchet ring?

wells.evan1d ago

Wait, did he put anything on the freehub body or just leave it bone dry?

rose_clark811d ago

100 bucks says he left it completely dry. @wells.evan I bet he's out there right now with a can of WD40 acting like he's a pro mechanic.