Paul Andrews asks "What type of oil or other lubricant, if any, is recommended to add to that hole found in Campy NR hubs (circa 1980)?" and Steve Kurt responds "The standard practice is to ignore the hole and regrease the hub in the normal fashion. Rumor has it that the hole was used to add oil, in the case that the owner was using oil lube. Maybe the intent was to freshen up the grease with a little oil, similar to the small oil ports on some older BB's? The fact that you don't see other hubs with the same holes and clips tells you that this wasn't a widespread practice in general (although I seem to recall seeing a Shimano hub with some sort of clip?). Even the Campy track hubs of the day didn't have the holes and clips. Same for the mid level Campy Nuovo Tipo hubs."
Various hubs/models have these center barrel holes like Miche, Bayliss Wiley, Suntour, BSA, Gipiemme, etc. The fact that they are not universally present or absent indicates individual preference for use as Steve said.
Me?.... I like to squirt grease in them with a grease gun to refresh the grease in the ball bearing races from the inside. It adds a bit of grease weight of course, but I do this more often than I would repack the grease by taking the hub apart. Maybe it's not the best practice, but with so many bikes in the collection to service, shortcuts are appealing.
Paul, Searching the CR Archives is always a good first step in finding an answer to your questions. I searched it for "hole" and "hub" and "grease" and below is past CR discussion on this matter from the CR Archives. In the case of your question, the value of searching the Archives as a first step becomes evident since there's more info in the CR Archives than what you've received to date by posting to the list. That's how it works sometimes.....
.......... Peter Brueggeman La Jolla California USA 4peebee(at)peterbrueggeman.com
From: Mark Bulgier <mark(AT)bulgier.net> Subject: RE: [CR]Oilling Ports on Campy Hubs Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 15:58:34 -0700
Tom Dalton wrote:
> You would think so, wouldn't you. I mean, it is common
> sense, but did you ever see a bike mechanic with a grease gun
> before the 1990's? I first started seeing grease guns when
> the WTB Grease Guard stuff came out in the late 80's. They
> got really popular in the 1990's.
Hmm, well maybe I'm the exception that proves the rule, but I had worn out two Var-brand grease pumps by 1980 (or was it one Var and one Eldi?). I was first shown how to use one at the bikeshop I worked at in '72; I don't know how long they'd been doing it but I thought it was not a new thing then.
This doesn't speak to the question of what Campy intended the holes for, just what some people used 'em for.
I'll agree pumping the whole hub full of grease isn't ideal. The main disadvantage is that the grease continues to migrate out for quite a while, making a mess if not wiped off with a rag fairly frequently, like every day at first. However it makes getting fresh grease to the bearings so easy that you'll tend to do it more often, a plus for bikes that get ridden in the rain a lot.
Living in Seattle and being lazy, I used this method a lot. I even bought Campy oil hole covers, and drilled other brands of hub in my fleet. I'd also drill pedal dustcaps, and used to make a homebrew bottom bracket grease injector sleeve before Stein came out with theirs.
I wouldn't do it on a fancy bike though, just because of the potential for mess - race bikes and concours bikes should get the laborious hand-packed treatment. Only daily users get pumped.
Mark "Greaser" Bulgier Seattle, Wa USA
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2002 21:34:25 -0400 Subject: Re: [CR]Oilling Ports on Campy Hubs From: Steven m Johnson <grisha2(AT)juno.com>
On Sat, 13 Apr 2002 15:58:34 -0700 Mark Bulgier <mark(AT)bulgier.net>
writes:
> This doesn't speak to the question of what Campy intended the holes
> for, just what some people used 'em for.
A while back, Larry Black, with authority, stated that the oil holes were not intended to oil the hubs, but to revitalize the grease.
My foggy memory recalls hearing that also, and what I need to do is go back an read over some parts of my C.O.N.I. manual to see if I can find a printed authoritative source. It really makes sense to me though the way the C.O.N.I. manual is written though. You hang up the bike in November after a successful prize winning season, and don't touch a bike until late winter when you start those fixed gear miles. So after sitting all those months, I would bet the grease could use a little shot of oil to get revitalized. Or at least put off doing an overhaul. All this in the old Italian way?
Now in the UK, with wetter conditions, you have have the oil cups in the BB, 3 speed hub and maybe the headset. Oil cups not the same as grease pressure fittings.
Those old road racing bikes from the 30s with the chain lubricating systems built in, mean it must have been thought important. Most roads outside the towns probably were not paved. I recall seeing some pretty dirty bikes in photos of last years TDF, and they were only ridden on pavement.
With Seattle the exception, I think it is hard for most of us fair weather road riders in the US to be happy with our Tenacious Oil and White Lightning and as needed bearing overhauls.
Steven M. Johnson, Who once moved the clip and dribbled some heavy motor
oil into the hole on his Campy hub with a syringe, for no reason other
than he could, Chesapeake, VA
http://www.geocities.com/
From: Tom Dalton <tom_s_dalton(AT)yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [CR]Oilling Ports on Campy Hubs
You would think so, wouldn't you. I mean, it is common sense, but did
you ever see a bike mechanic with a grease gun before the 1990's? I first
started seeing grease guns when the WTB Grease Guard stuff came out in the
late 80's. They got really popular in the 1990's. But I don't think they
were at all common (in the bike world) back when the Record hubs came out.
I also question whether the hole in the hubshell, the one covered by the
OIL clip, was intended for grease injection. Filling the entire hubshell
with grease is not the best approach, though I've overhauled hubs on which
this obviouosly was done. Given that the center hole was almost certainly
intended for oil, not grease, I'll speculate that the same is true for the
dustcap holes.
Tom Dalton
Bethlehem, PA
"m.rawlings" <m.rawlings(AT)verizon.net> wrote: i have been using a grease
gun to lubricate my campy bearings for a couple
of years now. i believe it's the way the hole was intended to be used but i
have no proof. mike 'just common sense" rawlings
shillington , pa.