Saturday, April 18, 2020

1987 Trek 520: Front Wheel


First off I hope everyone is staying safe out there, wild times we are living in which might explain why have been a bit distracted with the 520.  At the end of march I stripped off the rubber so I could deal with some rust issues on this stock front wheel.


It was time for a little naval jelly treatment of the spokes that showed rust.


Its nasty stuff but it did a great job of eliminating the rust on the spokes.  After doing this the wheel sat for a few weeks until I got off my duff and opened up the hub.


Ironically I bought these gloves to use for bike work but they have been used for shopping safely instead so today I used them as I had intended when I ordered them.





With help of my cone wrenches I had the hub opened up in no time..


After getting the hub opened I used one of my favorite tricks, the bike computer magnet to pull out the bearings so they don't spill everywhere when you try to remove them.



Unlike most of the wheels I have worked on this hub had a rubber cover instead of a metal one so I wasn't able to pop it out with a screw driver as I normally would.  In fact I had no edge to catch even with one of my fancy picks and couple that with a concern over puncturing or tearing the rubber while trying to remove it I decided to leave them in place.  I have some cheap pipe cleaner brushes I will use to clean the cups as well as I can and then add some fresh grease and bearings and seal them back up.

Ride. Wash your hands.Smile.Repeat


6 comments:

  1. I'm going to give you a huge, digital high-five over one of the most tedious jobs I can think of. That being, spreading navel jelly over every spoke nipple then hand cleaning them to remove the rust. Actually, it is almost a certainty that anything with spokes is usually tedious because you have to do it at minimum 28 times. Or 32. Or ::gulp:: 36 times!

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    1. Hey Josh fortunately it was only about 8 to 10 spoke nipples that were rusty but yes it can be tedious, at some point in this process I will be adding a drop of 3 in 1 oil to each nipple to be sure they don't seize up.

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  2. Hi there Ryan, I am in the process of selling a novara randonee, and I can't seem to find much helpful info online as to pricing etc. I was wondering if I might be able to send you some photos, to see if you can tell me what I've got. Thanks in advance.

    -Kyle

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    1. Hey Kyle pricing depends on a lot of things, condition of the bike, the area you are in etc. I sold an 84 Randonee last summer (good market) that I had totally gone through for about $200 but I have not paid much attention to the market since the pandemic

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    2. Thank you, Ryan. That is about what I expected. It's a lugged steel purple one from the 80's in great shape. I wouldn't be selling, especially during these times, but we are moving to Anchorage, Alaska in early June and the bike isn't coming. I wish I was still in Seattle, as I trust the market is better, but will have to make do with the market here in Pittsburgh.

      Thank you for your prompt response!

      Best,
      Kyle

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    3. Happy to help good luck with the bike and the Move, my Randonee is on this blog just search on 1984 Novara Randonee

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