Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
The repacking advice goes back to a day when we had user serviceable bearings, and no seals. In the old days you disassembled your headset, bb and hubs, cleaned them and repacked them.
Today, most people just run their sealed cartridge bearings till they drop then replace the cartridge bearings. Sealed bearing headset might need replaced once in your lifetime. BB once every 15-20 thousand miles. Hub bearings, I don’t know because I don’t have any sealed hubs with over 30,000 miles.
Bike bearings just don’t need maintenance lik they used to. Easies, and if you pay a shop for maintenance,certainly the long run cheapest, is run them till they drop and replace
This.
On two bikes, I've replaced the lower headset bearings. One just felt rough and the other literally fell apart - I pull the bikes apart every year and check everything. Upper bearing was fine in both cases. For BBs, I've had to replace my BB30 bearings a few times over the years. That is not uncommon as the design kind of leads to bearings wearing faster. Also, one set was ceramic, and it only lasted about 6 months before it started feeling rough.
As for jockey wheels, I've had the plastic crack before the bearings go. Replacing with aluminum ones solved the problem.
Regarding wheels, the only set I've had issue with is a DA7600 track wheelset, which still uses loose bearings and cones. It's also a 30-year-old design. Mavic freehubs sometimes start squeeling, but that just means they need to be lubed.