Inside the hub

I pulled the hub apart last night. One side was filled with a rusty mess of water-contaminated grease. On the other side the grease looked ok but the cup was discoloured and worn in a peculiar pattern. It looked as though part of the cup had actually been pushed inwards. Anyway, I replaced the bearings and repacked and adjusted them. The hub still sounds and feels pretty rough but it's better than it was and the play is much reduced. Pretty much gone in fact. It was a busy day so I didn't get a chance to test ride the bike. I'm off to Toronto for a week-long course tomorrow morning so I won't be able to try things out until next Saturday. I'm hoping for the best. This wheel shouldn't have to last too long. I have to get the real winter bike (a Specialized RockCombo set up as a fixed gear) sorted out soon. I think the cartridge bearings in the rear hub need replacing and if I'm feeling ambitious I'll try to overhaul the Nexus dynohub that's seized almost solid. Once the winter bike is going I can deal with the problem of a 700c front wheel to fit the Nokian tire more or less at my leisure.

I'm not looking forward to a week without cycling. Unfortunately, Via Rail makes it impossible to take a bike from Ottawa to Toronto by train. Canoes are out too. I should have bought that old Norco folding bike I saw in Value Village last year.