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Just took the bearings out of a Hope Pro 4 rear hub.
It was notchy as heck. Turns out to be the drive side bearing but changed them both.
Popped the seals on the Hope branded bearings I removed and they were clean but almost grease free.
Is this normal for Hope bearings?
Replaced with stainless steel ones from QBikes on eBay but cleared out grease and filled with the blue Mobil stuff everyone seems to use on here.👍
Wheel bearings don't need packing and only need a very small amount of grease .but yes the blue stuff they use does seem to be used sparingly.
Never pack bearings to death you end up with the small bearings floating inside the race rather than being able to spin .
I tend to fill the cartridges up to be honest.lol
I'm thinking that if the bearing is full of grease it won't let water/ muck in as readily?
Same here. MTB is a low speed, high load, very dirty environment for a bearing so I go with something like a 70-80% grease fill.
Agree that they don't want to be stuffed full or they'll slip rather than roll but the more grease there is, the less room you leave for muck and water which is what normally kills them first.
Wheel bearings don’t need packing and only need a very small amount of grease .but yes the blue stuff they use does seem to be used sparingly.
Never pack bearings to death you end up with the small bearings floating inside the race rather than being able to spin.
Aye, if you use cheap shite bearings with cheap shite tolerances that allow the balls to 'float'.
You won't overpack a bike bearing, overpacking is only an issue at high speeds, ie 3000rpm, the friction due to overpacking causes heat which causes grease to break down.
MTB wheel bearings will do 200 odd rpm tops.
I've never felt the need to pop the seals and add more grease to the bearings on any of my bikes. My Solaris has had Hope Hoops for all of the five years I've had the bike, they are still on the original bearings and they've been through a lot.
I thought Hope sourced their bearings from a Swiss bearing company so presumably they, not Hope, add whatever grease they think is required.
My original Hope rear hub used to gobble hub and freehub bearings at the rate of a set a year, I've no idea why the bearings lasted such a short time.
I thought Hope sourced their bearings from a Swiss bearing company so presumably they, not Hope, add whatever grease they think is required.
They do, it's INA.
I love bearings, wonderful things and bloody everywhere but amazes me how they last in some things, washing machines used daily, Shimano hubs and then can only last months in some other places ie Hope hubs. Though must be at least ten hope hubs here and many have lasted years, some though are replaced on a par with chains or pads. Always keep a few in the shed stock.
Ps often wish I’d become a Tribologist...
I am of the school of thought that says - don't take the seals off - that allows water in as you will damage the seal and lead to premature bearing failure
Like whitestone above I have no issues with longevity with bearings and I never repack them
that allows water in as you will damage the seal
Aye, of you're a gibon fisted nitwit.
I've done ultrasound analysis of new bearings running and then listened whilst grease is injected, it's quite incredible the difference.
The hope bearings that fail early are down to poor hub machining IMO.