Wilderness Trail Bikes Grease Guard

[mimbresman]

Before coming to Venezuela in 2000, I wanted to make my Merlin “tropical proven” so I refit it with WTB Grease Guard components; Momentum GG headset, and New Paradigm GG hubs. This is now considered old school stuff but…

Overall I’ve been pleased being this the verge of 2008 and the bearings seem to be going strong. Last night I found my little grease gun and screwed in a new tube of Pedro’s Syn grease that I had brought down from the USA in August and lubed up the bearings.

It’s a nifty system that seems to have lost favor. I guess sealed bearings seem to do the trick now.

Sometimes I wish I had a GG bottom bracket. Here, a block from the Caribbean, a Shimano BB cartridges last only about 1 year. Is that normal? It seems in the dry air of New Mexico I could get at least a couple of years out of one.

[north20]

When I made the decision to leave the last shop job I had, I bought some of these same parts. Hubs, bbs, and the Suntour XC Pro pedals with the Grease Guard setup. Admittedly, there was a 5+ year period where my bikes saw little use, but now, and in the past, they see regular use in Pacific NW weather and mud. Still as smooth as they ever were.

For the headset I went with Chris Kings ... Even without the grease ports they are the benchmark in durability to my mind. The same may be true of King's hubs as well, but even back then a rear King hub was about a Franklin more than the $200+ I paid for the New Paradigm.