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Worn Hub?

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Old 12-05-18, 03:52 PM
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FrenchFit 
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Worn Hub?

I have a couple of older wheels, fronts, with cone adjustments that feel fine off the bike, just the right amount of friction. But when I put the wheels on a fork I get side to side play, I can almost rattle the front wheel back and forth between the brake pads. I'm scratching my head, why are those wheels acting loose only when in the forks? I've tighten the QRs down pretty hard.

Worn hubs?
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Old 12-05-18, 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by FrenchFit
I have a couple of older wheels, fronts, with cone adjustments that feel fine off the bike, just the right amount of friction. But when I put the wheels on a fork I get side to side play, I can almost rattle the front wheel back and forth between the brake pads. I'm scratching my head, why are those wheels acting loose only when in the forks? I've tighten the QRs down pretty hard.

Worn hubs?
‘when the wheel is securely clamped in the forks (with the quick release skewer or axle nuts), the fork or rear triangle really isolates the axle and bearings much better than when you spin them in your hands.

Usually the (slight) axle compression applied by the quick release skewer will make a perfectly adjusted hub start to bind slightly. Depending on the design of the hub, you may be able to do final bearing pre-load dynamically in the frame using your cone wrenches on opposing sides of the axle to subtly tighten the cones another one sixteenth to one quarter of a turn. If you can’t do this while mounted on the bike, then just remove the wheel, loosen on of the locknuts while keeping the cone steady with your cone wrench then tighten it the required amount before snugging up the outer locking nut against the cone once again. Then check it again after remounting I the frame and your previously coarse axle adjustment will now be approaching that ideal where it spins perfectly freely yet has (next to no) perceptible play.
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Old 12-05-18, 06:29 PM
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Originally Posted by masi61


Then check it again after remounting I the frame and your previously coarse axle adjustment will now be approaching that ideal where it spins perfectly freely yet has (next to no) perceptible play.
Brilliant answer, thanks.
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Old 12-05-18, 10:35 PM
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Tightening the QR REMOVES play in the bearings.
It sounds like you have the opposite problem, which frankly, doesn't make sense. You'd have to have a bent axle that straightened when clamped or something odd like that.
Did you describe the problem "backwards"?
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Old 12-05-18, 11:10 PM
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No answer of even speculation but a comment about bearing adjustment and tightening in the frame/fork. It's well known that a QR skewer compresses the axle and causes some adjustment preload increase. JA Stein makes a tool for adjusting the hub bearings with a preload as will be the case when the wheels are in the frame. Here's the link. https://www.steintool.com/portfolio-...ub-axle-vises/ With nutted axles the compression is only between the lock nut/cone and the axle nut. There is no compression between the bearings, no change in adjustment.

One mistake I have made that resulted in weird adjustment and spin issues is to have one too many balls in the bearing. This even makes the rim look out of true, but at a changing location that's half the period of the wheel's rotation. Andy
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Old 12-06-18, 12:08 AM
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Possible the hub cups are loose?

Seen this happen with old cheap Suzue hubs....basically the adjustment is fine, just that cone / balls / and cups are floating with hub shell free to wiggle a tad.

=8-)
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