I know after a quick Google that the 525 hubs are not the best in terms of being fit and forget.

Should they really be worn out after about 300 miles over the space of 18 months on a brand new bike thats hardly been used ?

LBS say the races may have gone in which case its a new hub @ £30 & wheel rebuild @ £30 they will have a look in the morning and let me know.

Can anyone suggest if its a good idea to have it rebuilt as above, & if so is there any information on the maintenance / servicing and intervals or can anyone suggest another wheel & hub combo around £100.

I know to some of you it will be second nature servicing stuff, but I’m just surprised at this bearing problem after such little mileage so would like some preventative advice.

300 miles could be 300 miles of mud and grit and water. Shimano freehubs love water. Just did a mates XT rear hub and it was just pure silt in there and ground away the freehub after a year of riding. New freehub ( has a new race for the bearings that side) and new bearings and a bit of wet and dry on the damaged cones and back together. Shimanos do like a bit of maintenance. If you dont, find a new wheel with a less maintenance regime incorporated.

Anyone got a link to a video or anything to show how to maintain these hubs ?

Cheers

I’ve never had a problem with M525 hubs.

Wack M525 in the search bar at http://techdocs.shimano.com/techdocs/index.jsp for schematic.

try parktools for help. To service is pretty easy but once the races are damaged it is terminal. You can nurse them and get a bit longer though.

There is endless debate on here but if you don’t do regular maintenance you won’t get on well with cup and cone. Once you notice a problem it is too late. Cartridge is where it is at for fix it when it breaks as you knock out the whole bearing and put in a new one to get a like new hub.

I prefer the later and never got on with shimano hubs off road.

Buy another deore hub.Swap the freehub body,swap the axle/cones.Get a big hammer and drift out the non-driveside cups out of both hubs (hit it HARD!It is possible,Al told me.So I did one).Press the new one into the hub (and when that does’nt work,hit it HARD!!).
Will at least save a wheel rebuild.
Edit.When re-assembling use as much grease as humanly possible.

Unhelpful post alert!

Put grease in before they poop themselves. Deore hubs just need a little more TLC to keep them slick.

A rebuild is ok but you can pick up complete wheel from Merlin for the same price as you’ve been quoted.