niliraga 

Now that I find myself without the right wheelset for tourers, I just nabbed a nice looking old wheelset on the 'bay -- has Super Champ Gentleman 81 rims laced 36h to hubs marked only with a red/white "Sealed Bearing" label looped around the barrel. Looking around it seems these were Cyclepro units that likely were made by Miche, and might have actual press-in bearing races. (rather than just a good "seal" around classic cup+cone)

have I found dependable gear for touring, or have I just bought myself a laughable collection of headaches?

niliraga 

pic from listing:

Unca_Sam

I see what look like locknuts and cones...

niliraga 

but also - WRONG FORUM! d'oh -- mods, feel free to move up to regular C&V

unterhausen

Moved here from sales

noglider 

@niliraga, I used to sell these in around 1982. We liked them because they were cheap Campagnolo clones. But the quality is not the same. I have a pair. Granted, I built them back around then, so how long do I expect stuff to last? But I've had to rebuild the rear twice, and it needs another rebuild which I won't do.

niliraga 

good to know - at least they're halfway decent, if not fully decent. I can live with that!

dddd

Those are very strong rims btw, and a millimeter wider than the Mavic E2 as well. Tire mounting can be a challenge in some cases, though eased a bit by using thinner rim tape and higher spoke tensions (and possibly also by avoiding Continental wire-beaded tires).

niliraga 

thanks, also good to know! and meanwhile, the hubs turn out to be exactly what it says on the tin - "Sealed Bearings". Here's what I found when investigating a really gritty front, and I am not sure how I get replacements for this - are these a universal standard and any supplier will know? or do I need to extract the carcass of the bad bearings and match them manually?

niliraga 

the ones you've rebuilt are loose-ball hubs, I'm assuming?

brian3069

Pull off the dust cap, there is a number on the bearing. Those look like specialized hubs to me, possibly a 6001 bearing.

SurferRosa

Sealed in a cartridge.

Unless it feels horrible, I'd take a crack at repacking. Remove the dustcover. Wipe and clean as best you can (without a solvent). Push in some new thick lube. Test it out with the cone.

niliraga 

awesome, I will try that. no solvent, check. And "thick lube" being the thickest oil I have that will flow? (i have a "gun oil" that seems usefully thicker than the 3-in-1 machine oil)

niliraga 

...and do i want to try to remove any cover on the bearing itself, to expose the balls within?

niliraga 

both QR levers are stamped "CyclePro", so I am assuming I (sadly) don't have Specialized hubs here.

brian3069

They're branded "CyclePro", but someone else made them. I'm not positive, but from what I can see in your picture they look identical to Specialized hubs.

niliraga 

interestingly, the very old (still supple!) tires on them are labeled "Specialized TOURING 700x26 95 psi" ... so maybe these did indeed start life as early OEM bits on a Specialized bike?

niliraga 

Update:- with 3-4 drops of viscous gun oil into the gaps behind the steel dustcaps, the gritty front hub loosened up quickly and now spinning free and clear. I wouldn't say like perfect like a buttery professional campy rebuild, but certainly better than most cup & cone hubs.

From what I'm reading on various threads, letting this "sleeping dog lie" might be my best course of action. Rear is pretty darn smooth already, so I think these might be good to go, at least for a season or two.

noglider 

@niliraga, mine were cup-and-cone bearings, so different from yours. You found a good interim solution, the kind I would use. I like hacks. You may be able to replace the cartridge bearings in the future. The shells on these hubs are nicer than the shells of other cheap hubs from that era. That's the best feature.

SurferRosa

No! Lube! Not oil. Oil is used only on the chain ... or to clean components. Thick lube/grease is used to pack bearings. That's why I wrote to "push" it in there.

niliraga 

ahh, ok. I will find a way to get those steel dustcaps off, then pry off the cartridge dustcap that i assume lies behind, and do a more thorough job in there.

Garthr

I have to know how this concluded niliraga, did you get the dust covers off and what kind of bearings were they, cartridge or cup and cone ? I know by the photo they appear to be cartridges, but with these kind of hubs back then you never know what oddities may have taken place in their design. Unless I can rip something apart, I assume nothing !

RCMoeur 

I have several sets of similar cartridge bearing hubs either in storage or on active duty with various bikes. The oldest are Sunshine hubs I picked up used in the mid-80s that still spin on my Rans recumbent. I purchased several sets of 36h solid axle hubs from Performance in the early 90s, and some of these are on my primary cruiser and other bikes. I have a set of 28/32 from the early 90s on my racing bike as well. They all look to have come from a Japanese factory - perhaps Taiwanese for newer ones. Usually a nice finish, and never an issue so far with cracking or failure, even with some in continuous service for nearly 40 years.

Some of the hubs still spin like new, while some are a bit, um, crunchier. I don't have a bearing puller / press, so I've mostly left them alone. My past experience with pulling & replacing dust covers with the bearings in place has been a crapshoot - usually success in getting the bearing clean and adding new grease, but removing the covers in a manner that doesn't warp them and allow them to reseat correctly has been mixed.

Garthr

That's what's so "mysterious" about these Cyclepro hubs Richard and the conflicting information I've been reading about them. Some say they those hubs and their cups and cones, others say cartridges. It appears they possibly made both, but they couldn't have the exact same shape if that is so. I'm quite familiar with the original, now vintage, Specialized cartridge bearing hubs from the '80s, I have 3 sets and my now sold '83 Stumpjumper had them also. They are very easy to maintain and totally break down including removing the bearings or simply using an box knife tip to carefully remove the seal of the cartridges along the edge and repack the bearings. What the pictured Cyclepro hubs have in common, at least in the photo evidence, is the pic of the axle and the threaded flat cone(for lack of a better word, bearing shelf ?) the the cartridge spins upon. The Specialized and like branded hubs have that also. So I guess to answer part of my question, these have to cartridge bearings based on that, but I do still wonder about the metal dust shields and if they just pop off like the Specialized, or did the manufacturer do something goofy to make that difficult ? The shapes of the shells are distinctly different, so they're not a rebranded Specialized/Sansin. I've looked at countless of photos and I have never ran across the exact shape of these Cyclepro hubs as another brand. Two things I look for, the shape of the shell between the flanges, and the shoulder width/slope where the bearing sits. Every hub is very distinct when studied that way.

The whole reason I'm asking is I may be able to get a set of these, but save photographic evidence I can't I trust what I've been told about them, that they were cup and cone. The design clearly points to cartridge. I'd like to believe everyone knows what they're talking about in regards to bike parts, well heck, everything..... but.... and I hate buts .... it's just not reliably that way.

Oh, and by the way, Richard mention a bearing puller. Maybe many here seen or own the little Enduro puller, BBT-105 that costs $5 ? Now who hasn't been baffled with that tool ? It's really made for hubs just like the Specialized/Sansin, that the bearings rest upon a shallow bore inside the shell and aren't accessible from the other side easily. They're not like modern cartridge hubs that use oversized axles, these use regular 9/10mm x 1 threaded axles so the bearings can't just be tapped out easily from the inside, unless of course, you have that Enduro tool. How it's supposed to be used is approach the bearing from the outside, squeeze, place it inside, release and let it expand, where it will catch the inside of the bearing body. Now the real kicker here is how ingenious this tool is, you place your axle end inside the shell from the other side, and lightly tap the bearing out ! That why the plastic ends of the Enduro tool are flat, they designed to be tapped(lightly) upon from within. I found this out when I bought a vintage set of new Specialized hubs that had a pamphlet inside on how to completely break down and service the hubs, including using that specific tool to remove the bearings, as well as how to reinstall them easily. The screwdriver method I've heard of and tried works if(that's a big if) you have just right kind of screwdriver, but the tool was never ever meant to be used that way. The metal tongs are there only for the positioning of the blunt plastic ends against the bearing, not be hammered upon by a screwdriver ! It sure would be nice if that Enduro tool came with a diagram to give the users a clue on it's use.

RCMoeur 

The photos show axle "cones" with flat parallel faces, which I don't think can be used with anything but cartridge bearings. Also, the machined inner race clearly indicates the presence of a cartridge bearing (in a cup-and-cone hub, we'd be seeing loose or raced balls).

I was not aware of the Enduro BBT-105. I may have to pick one up someday so I can tap out and replace the bearings on the "crunchier" hubs. But then I might feel the need to go back in time and warn my earlier self that those hubs won't live up to their promise of being "100% maintenance free."