I called sports authority to ask for a freewheel/cassette socket and some guy I talked with told me that the bearings are very hard to get to and to not even bother trying to clean and re-grease them. I told him that I have rode hundreds of miles and hear a slight squeak with my back tire so I think I should re-grease it. Also sometimes I get rained on.I don't really buy what he is saying judging from what seems to be common sense and also vids/stuff I have read.Thanks for any info
Not true. Clean and repack grese at 2,000 miles or once a year.
a squeak could be 25 different things those bearings are not it and it isn;t your ''tire'' wle
Depending on what hubs you have the bearings may be easy or difficult to service. The easiest are ball and cone bearings. They have either loose or caged bearings that all you have to do is to remove the cones and the axle for access. Clean out the gunk, regrease, and reassemble. If your bike is from Sports Authority, that is probably the style you have. (Do they even sell a cassette tool? Really?) When you adjust the cones and jamb nuts one has to have a lot of practice to set the tension on the bearing properly. You want the point of no play, yet no drag. The jamb nuts must be tight enough so the bearing doesn't either loosen or bind in service. A good pair of Park Tools cone wrenches are in order. Probably a 13/15 cone wrench. The more difficult and type that should be left to a professional are sealed cartridge bearings. They need much less service than ball and cone. Many bearing manufacturers recommend leaving them alone until it is time to replace them. The bearing has to be pressed out, the seal pried off carefully removed, clean and regrease the bearings, reinsert the seal, then press the bearing back in place. Cartridge bearings are usually on more expensive wheel sets. The third type are hubs with seals with cone and ball bearings. You have to remove and reinstall seals in the process of disassembly and assembly.
