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