Originally Posted by
Heptone
The hub could pass as brand spankin' new, at least from a visual inspection. Kind of hard to justify taking it apart when there's barely a speck of dirt on on it.
Not true. The exterior cosmetics are irrelevant. The grease may have solidified over the years and the bearings/races could potentially be damaged if you just jumped on and rode it after several decades of being stationary. I always rebuild hubs, etc with new grease when buying old bikes.