Campy (Ultra-Torque) SR Crank Service

[Tony T]

What is the "specific oil" referred to in the Campy instructions, and how can I do this myself?

"• SUPER RECORD 11S crankset: Periodically bring the bike to a specialized mechanic to lubricate the hub bearings and ball bearings with specific oil for bearings (approximately every 5.000 km - 3.000 miles).
Campagnolo® Super Record 11S bearings are in Cronitect® (advanced solution by FAG) and the balls are ceramic."

[oldpotatoe]

What is the "specific oil" referred to in the Campy instructions, and how can I do this myself?

"• SUPER RECORD 11S crankset: Periodically bring the bike to a specialized mechanic to lubricate the hub bearings and ball bearings with specific oil for bearings (approximately every 5.000 km - 3.000 miles).
Campagnolo® Super Record 11S bearings are in Cronitect® (advanced solution by FAG) and the balls are ceramic."

I use grease, lots of it inside the cup and around the bearings. They are talking about a ceramic specific oil but that's silly, since it dribbles out, from the hubs or BB.

[Tony T]

I use grease, lots of it inside the cup and around the bearings. They are talking about a ceramic specific oil but that's silly, since it dribbles out, from the hubs or BB.

Thanks. What about the service interval? Assuming clean, dry roads, 3,000 miles seems quick (for me that's 2x a year).

Also, I used Phil's green grease on my old Bianchi, what would you recommend?

Tony

[oldpotatoe]

Thanks. What about the service interval? Assuming clean, dry roads, 3,000 miles seems quick (for me that's 2x a year).

Also, I used Phil's green grease on my old Bianchi, what would you recommend?

Tony

3000 miles cuz oil dribbles out. If dry, 'maybe' once per year if it was installed with lotsa grease to start with.

Grease is oil in soap, any grease, it just doesn't matter.

[AngryScientist]

i used Mobil-1 grease, because it's relatively cheap and comes in a big tub at any auto parts store. for a bottom bracket application, it's as good as anything bike specific out there.

3k miles is a pretty good rule of thumb i think. i just pulled the UT crank on my Serotta, to swap it out with a Rotor crank. That crank probably had about 2k miles on it, and i was surprised to see just how nasty the grease was in my BB. bearings were still packed well, and nice and smooth, but a lot of crap had gotten into the area one way or another, and i was happy to be pulling it apart.

best is to check it out at 3k for yourself, and based on the conditions you find, adjust your interval based on that. that's a pretty safe bet.

[Tony T]

best is to check it out at 3k for yourself, and based on the conditions you find, adjust your interval based on that. that's a pretty safe bet.

Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'm at 2,500 now. I'm glad I d/l'd the instructions from Campy (I always try to get the service manuals). I had my LBS do the build, and when I asked about BB maintenance, he said that there was no need for it (didn't sound right to me). He also said that the hubs in my HED wheels didn't need maintenance. HED doesn't have any manuals, and when I contacted HED, they said that they don't have any std miles for maintenance. On the hubs on my old Bianchi, I used to grease them after about 2,500mi.

Is there anything special about these newfangled hubs, or is the Park instructions sufficient?

Thanks.

[AC0]

Super Record use CULT bearings and can use oil instead of grease. Of course you can still use grease if you want.

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=98956

AC

[srice]

I just took my cranks off and added some grease this afternoon. To be honest, I wish I had regular bearings instead of these silly ceramic things on my SR cranks. I've gone the oil route for the past 2 years and I have grown tired of taking my cranks off to add a few drops of oil to quieten the bearings - those things are really loud and obnoxious when they are dry.

(BTW - I bought the SR cranks instead of the Record to match the group - if I had to do it over, the cranks would be Record)

[Tony T]

Super Record use CULT bearings and can use oil instead of grease. Of course you can still use grease if you want.

Interesting. Didn't know about CULT, googled and found this:
http://www.campagnolo.com/repository/tecnologie/logo_big/CULT-marchio.gif (http://www.campagnolo.com/jsp/en/tech/id_7.jsp)
Friction of the wheel and crankset is extremely reduced thanks to the minimal lubrication system required by CULT™: only a thin film of oil in the place of the grease traditionally used.

[oldpotatoe]

Interesting. Didn't know about CULT, googled and found this:
http://www.campagnolo.com/repository/tecnologie/logo_big/CULT-marchio.gif (http://www.campagnolo.com/jsp/en/tech/id_7.jsp)
Friction of the wheel and crankset is extremely reduced thanks to the minimal lubrication system required by CULT™: only a thin film of oil in the place of the grease traditionally used.

Altho hardened steel cones and cups, ceramic is still really hard. A wee bit of crud in the non sealed CULT bearings and they DO go south. Grease is a lubricant and also a great seal to keep the 'outside' crud 'outside'.