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Hadley Hubs in wet weather

dovbush66

Monkey
Aug 27, 2018
195
218
Ireland
I previously asked questions about these hubs but then deleted the thread. Here's roughly what I know about getting them prepped for proper riding :)

Disassembly guide : https://www.sicklines.com/tech/howto/hadleyoverhaul/
The hub in this guide is older. Newer ones will have a different freehub body seal.
http://cdn.coresites.factorymedia.com/dirt_new/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/hadley-ratchet.jpg

still the main freehub seal isn't the best out there. it's not a standard size either, so buying spares from hadley or a distro is the only option - you'll get ganked on postage costs when buying spares in europe
.
I've gotten the seal in mine to work a bit better by packing it with a bit of stendec fork seal grease (our slick honey analog)
Similarly using this stuff on the seals on the endcaps will probably seal it up a wee bit better.

The vulnerable parts is the needle bearing and open ball bearing in the freehub body, which will rust and seize up if water gets in.
Hadleys used to come filled with oil, but nowadays they use semi fluid grease, like on a trailer hub. Either way this stuff doesn't do in the wet. NLGI viscosity of the stock stuff is either 0 or 1.

I used Castrol moly grease (viscosity rating 2) to pack the freehub internals.
The needle bearing will be a bit draggier but when riding this doesn't matter. Be generous with grease.
The pawls will need some thin smears to stop them from sticking.

It seems to hold up good when done this way. last did mine a good 8 months ago and it still doesn't need work.

If you don't have a 21mm cone spanner you can clamp the endcap in a vice and unscrew the pin spanner side.
Definitely get one though. The endcaps needs to be proper tight. Otherwise your cassette might pop off when taking the wheel off.

There's a plastic nut in the freehub body that covers the ball bearing there. It might need adjusting so the cassette lockring has enough thread

Dead on hubs imo. nice to work on too.
Only downside is them not having a european presance... Northwest mountain bike center in the UK used to do spares for them a year or so ago, but not anymore.