Hub Overhaul Workshop Review

Our first workshop was held on Thursday, 4/3/2014, at the West Seattle Tool Library as part of the Fixers Collective.  We offered an opportunity to learn how to overhaul a bike wheel hub.  The best part?  It was free!

Bicycle wheel hubs are the hardest working part of your bicycle.  They support your loads, turn the fastest and are closer to the elements such as street grime, dirt and water.  Leaving them unattended results in bearing surface wear that can make your hubs unusable.  The hub overhaul workshop focuses on front and rear standard ball bearing hubs.  DIY Bikes provides the tools, cleaning products, replacement bearings, grease and procedure to get your hubs running smoothly again.

We ended up having 10 people at the Tool Library participating in the hub overhaul workshop.  Some showed up from outside of West Seattle.  Definitely a great turnout!  There were hubs, tools, and cleaning supplies provided.  Some even brought their own wheels and tools.

The scope of the workshop was to work on cup-and-cone bearing hubs.  Within 2 hours several people had finished taking apart and putting back together some hubs, along with overhauling a kid’s bike coaster brake rear wheel!

We followed some of the recommended maintenance procedures that can be found on the Park Tool website.  The links below are for hub and freehub maintenance.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-overhaul-and-adjustment
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/categories/hub-service
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/freehub-service

Most of the tools that were used can be found at the West Seattle Tool Library.  Becoming a member ($40 annually) gives you access to these tools.  You can become a member here:
http://wstoollibrary.org/membership

DIY Bikes is planning to continue offering free workshops for bike repair and maintenance in conjunction with the Tool Library and as part of the Fixers Collective, so check our calendar for upcoming events!