Shoutout to the simplicity of old cup-and-cone bearings

I mean, back in the day, cup-and-cone bearings were standard on most bikes. You could service them with basic tools, and they lasted forever if you kept them clean. These days, it's all about sealed units that are meant to be replaced, not fixed. Idk, maybe it's just me, but I miss being able to really take care of a part.

3 comments

3 Comments

thea6921mo ago

My buddy still rides his dad's old ten speed from the 70s. Last year we heard this awful grinding from the front wheel. Took it apart on his porch, and the cup and cone in the hub was just full of old, dried grease and some sand. We cleaned it all out, repacked it with fresh grease, and adjusted it. Thing spins smooth as butter now. That bike will probably outlive both of us, and all it took was an hour and some basic stuff from a hardware store. You just don't get that with the sealed cartridges they put on everything now.

taylor_garcia1mo ago

Honestly that's so true. My old Peugeot from the 80s has those same cup and cone hubs. Had to do the exact same thing last spring, just cleaned out the gritty old grease and put new stuff in. Tbh the feeling when you get the adjustment just right and the wheel spins silent is the best. They really don't make stuff like that anymore, where you can fix it forever with a five dollar tub of grease.

mary_johnson521mo ago

Sealed cartridges aren't always a dead end when they wear out. You can usually knock the old one out and press in a new bearing cartridge pretty easily. They're just meant for a different kind of repair that saves time for lots of people.