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My commuter bike (a gravel bike with guards and a rack) had started to get a bit squeaky the past few weeks when freewheeling. Repositioning the the brake calipers and adding another layer of lubricant to the chain hadn't helped, so this weekend I took the rear hub to bits and cleaned and re-greased it, including the freehub and cassette.
This morning a blissful commute in (almost) silence. The front mudguard was rubbing a bit, but other than that everything was working perfectly.
I have to say that it does get neglected. At the moment I'm running the drive train into the ground prior to replacing it, and moving to wax lubrication. There's only so much time that I'm prepared to spend on bike maintenance, and my mountain bike gets the majority of it. However when my commuter bike is running well, I do enjoy it.
As an aside, there was some scoring on the (Alex Rims) freehub body (HG). Are freehub bodies standardised, or do I need a specific Alex Rims one to replace it?
so this weekend I took the rear hub to bits and cleaned and re-greased it, including the freehub and cassette.
Mrs_OAB's new Marin had developed a dry rear hub seal - it was squeaking like anything last week on holiday - so I horrified her while waiting for a ferry by whipping out the wheel and seal and cleaning out the dust - and popping some dry lube in there. Silent bliss!
As an aside, there was some scoring on the (Alex Rims) freehub body (HG). Are freehub bodies standardised, or do I need a specific Alex Rims one to replace it?
You'll need a specific one, but it's probably a Novatec, Formula or some other OEM make with an Alex sticker on it, and of course there are numerous specific ones for each make. Finding out exactly which one can be a bloody nightmare. By scoring, do you mean chunks where the cassette has bitten into the freehub? It's not necessary to replace the freehub for that usually, happens to all alloy ones. If you do replace it though, try and get a steel one, (which will be considerably heavier) as they are more resistant to this damage.
By scoring, do you mean chunks where the cassette has bitten into the freehub?
Yes I do.
It’s not necessary to replace the freehub for that usually, happens to all alloy ones.
Good to know, thanks.