What lube to use on a trainer freehub?
02-16-24, 07:06 PM
#1
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What lube to use on a trainer freehub?
My Wahoo Kickr core trainer freehub has started to slip frequently. I have the instructions to remove it, and I should clean it with something and then lube it. What should I use? I wouldn't think anything heavy duty is necessary since it never leaves the house nor gets super heavy use, OTOH, I've never had a freehub slip on a wheel. From what I saw in the pics on the Wahoo website the pawls are readily accessible too. Since I started using Squirt wax lube on my chain I haven't had any other kind of lube around but I don't want a wax lube back there. Should I use a teflon dry lube or something else?
NVM, got my answer on the Wahoo forums. Grease.
NVM, got my answer on the Wahoo forums. Grease.
Last edited by zacster; 02-16-24 at 07:43 PM.
02-16-24, 08:57 PM
#2
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Was the WAHOO answer to use any quality light grease?
02-16-24, 09:25 PM
#3
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Just grease, no qualifiers. I'll use Phil grease because that's what I have. That tube has lasted me a VERY long time. I was in my early 20s when I bought it and I'm 69 now! It is still buttery smooth.
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02-16-24, 09:34 PM
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Yep, a quality light grease will work just fine. Just don't overdue it
You can also use a good lube because the pawls likely have a spring on each and if you use grease or too much or too heavy a grease it could cause the pawls/springs to be a bit slow to spring back.
You can also use a good lube because the pawls likely have a spring on each and if you use grease or too much or too heavy a grease it could cause the pawls/springs to be a bit slow to spring back.
02-17-24, 12:07 PM
#5
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I just did it and it was really easy. The pawls on the trainer freehub are probably simpler than a wheel freehub because of the closed environment. Instead of the pawls and the catch notches being in one unit, the notches are part of the trainer. It took maybe 20 minutes, including the gathering of the tools. I even managed to get all the tools on one trip to the basement, which is good because my bike/trainer is on the third floor. The pawls were definitely gummed up, I'd flip one up and it wouldn't go down or vice versa. When I put it all back together, with all of the micro spacers I made out of plastic sheets so that my Ultegra cassette would have Campy spacing, it all just worked.
A few more things to add now that I've done an hour session on it in Zwift, when I coast I can hear the ratcheting. I also don't hear the clunking sound that it would make when I'd stomp, and the shifting is smoother. It's funny, I'd never let the bike get like that but the trainer I hadn't touched since I bought it 6 years ago.
A few more things to add now that I've done an hour session on it in Zwift, when I coast I can hear the ratcheting. I also don't hear the clunking sound that it would make when I'd stomp, and the shifting is smoother. It's funny, I'd never let the bike get like that but the trainer I hadn't touched since I bought it 6 years ago.
Last edited by zacster; 02-17-24 at 05:57 PM.
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02-19-24, 11:24 AM
#7
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Sometimes I get enough exercise going up and down the stairs that I don't need to get on the trainer afterwards. 
