Spaghetti Legs 

Last year I built a nice set of wheels with Record hubs and NOS G40 rims. Now I’m used to some wobble in free wheels and cassettes and never worry about it too much, but this wheel has way more than I’ve ever experienced. I kind of wonder how it affects shifting; I cant say for sure to this point after a few rides. At any rate, I initially thought the threading on freewheel or hub was ****ered but on closer inspection I thought it was the hub and confirmed it today when I took off the freewheel. Curious what you folks think might have happened here. I’d had this hub a couple of years before I built it, don’t really remember where I got it. I’m sure I thought it was a good deal at the time. Luckily I have another hub to replace, so I’ll rebuild the wheel with that. The hub wobble is seen best in the last 10 seconds of the second video.

due ruote 

Weird.
I guess I would start by pulling the axle out and rolling it on a dead flat surface.
If the axle checks out, then I would reassemble and thread on a single cog, put the wheel in the frame, and use a dial indicator to measure the runout. But honestly if it’s not the axle, I don’t see much chance of repairing the hub.

scarlson 

I don't see how it could be the axle, because the axle isn't turning. Looks like the hubshell is bent, and likely sometime after it was machined. But how?

SJX426 

I don't see it on the hub, 2nd video. The tracking of the threads make it difficult The "unwinding" makes the space where the threads start look like it is off but if you look at the outside edge of the hub, it doesn't move. You need to place a fixed reference both radially to the thread and lateraly. Amoving camera doesn't help either.
It definitely is not the axle.
The wobble of the freewheel is often found. I have a new IRD that does that. It is all about the machining tolerance of the freewheel body and the portion that the sprokets mount to. Small changes in wear of the tooling can cause this sympton.

SurferRosa

I watched both videos and don't see much of anything to worry about here. I would remove the freewheel and check for play in the bearings. Overhaul the hub and ensure the axle is straight. If you do find that the hub flange is warped, maybe look for another hub to exchange.

Spaghetti Legs 

It more obvious to me at the end. It’s also much more obvious in person than video. Here are a couple more after putting some actual effort into it. My theory is there some kind of wheel pretzel/big axle bend affecting the hub, then the axle was replaced.

Spaghetti Legs 

Yeah I have one to trade out and I’m ready for a new project. I think functionally it’s probably OK, but it really bugs me.

Dylansbob 

Probably while removing a freewheel, maybe with loose-ish spoke tension.

due ruote 

I feel like, on the new videos, I can see wobble in the center of the hub; more so than what I can detect on the flanges, although I'm not saying it's not there.
How did the hub feel when you repacked it? I would think that if the body itself is bent, that would put the bearing races out of parallel planes, and it would be difficult to adjust to normal Record standards.

gugie 

It's clearly due to the massive torque you're applying.

Mad Honk 

Legs,
When you do replace the hub let me know. I am looking for a few donor hubs to harvest the organs for transplant. Let me know what you want and the cost of shipping. Thanks, MH

bark_eater 

I'm just parroting info I've read here, but I believe that the cups on some Campagnolo hubs are replaceable. Its there a chance a hub cup is installed incorrectly?

Spaghetti Legs 

I overhauled it before I built the wheel last year and I don’t recall any issues. Probably about 100 miles on this wheel, it spins very smooth.

That was my first thought, but then my other bikes would have the same problem.

Will do, the “wheels” of progress turn slowly in my shop though.

steelbikeguy

do you know the history of the hub?

That weird deformation reminds me of the stories of people trying to get freewheels off of hubs that were cut out of a wheel. Some folks clamp the left (NDS) flange in a vice and start torquing on the freewheel, with the unfortunate result of twisting the center of the hub.
... I suppose if that happened, you'd be able to detect it by checking if the spoke holes in one flange lined up between the holes in the other flange... although the wielder of the wrench might have noticed and twisted the hub shell in the other direction to compensate??

boy, there's not a great solution. Either you just ride it and keep an eye on it, or find a new hub or hub shell.

Steve in Peoria

repechage

If one of the wobbly freewheels you tried was a Classic Regina- extra, extra Oro, even GS Course- most of it will be in the freewheel
the tolerances of the bodies were notorious.

I am in the camp of I am only watching the machined land of the threaded section- watching the threads will not help. There Might be some movement - a feeler gauge needs to be placed and held steady against the machined surface. The moving camera not helping my assessment.

Reynolds 

FWIW, I recall Hinault's mechanic saying how before building wheels he would test new hubs (Campagnolo Super Record of course) and reject those that didn't meet his standards - like being too wobbly...

alo

Mine is similar. I think it is a poorly manufactured freewheel, made in China. The bike functions ok, but it does make a bit of noise. I think it is the chain rubbing up against the next sprocket when the hub is in a certain position.

I could be wrong. I noticed it after replacing the freewheel. I had to use a lot of force to get it off, so I may have bent the hub slightly. I have also broken the axle, so there is a possibility it got bent them. But I don't think so.

Most likely I will just use it until it needs replacing. If the new one runs straight, I know it was the freewheel.

With the amount of mud and dust my bike gets exposed to, it is not possible to keep it in as good a condition as many others. I have a lot of fun, and plan to continue doing so. My bike is to be used, not to be kept in pristine condition.

dddd

I've always thought that removing spokes could potentially bend or twist the hubshell if no attention were paid to evenly releasing high tension.

That said, I've seen hubs end up bent after a wheel got knocked badly out of true. Worse than this one.

I feel lucky to have never built up a bent hub only to discover something amiss.
But I've built a few wheels where the rim turned out to be no good.

unterhausen

This theory has no evidence to support it, other than I have a wheel with a bent front Campagnolo hub. I think the wheel was built with the spokes out of phase by one hole and the hub bent when it was brought to tension. You can prove/disprove this theory by laying a spoke across the flanges to see if the holes line up as you expect. If it's bent, they will be even, instead of clocked by half of the distance between the holes.

Spaghetti Legs 

Spent a little more time with it, took the wheel apart today. There is definitely warpage in the shell when I roll it across the workbench, compared to smooth roll of the replacement hub. Sorry my video skills failed me on this one! The axle is straight. I’m goIng with steelbikeguy on this one. There are these marks on the flange with a couple of less obvious one on the opposite side. When I put a spoke through to align with the Campagnolo logo it touches just to the side of the opposite hole, rather than directly in between the two opposite, so I think the shell got twisted removing a freewheel.

Live and learn. If I was a more experienced wheel builder I might have picked up on that when I was lacing the wheel.

Reynolds 

The axle couldn't cause the wobble, as scarlson said, because it doesn't spin. Maybe those ugly marks were made by someone trying to straighten the hub?

francophile 

I came here to say: If you watch that last video (below), about 1cm to the right of the oil cover, you can clearly see the wobble is there, but it's straight as an arrow 1cm to the left of the oil cover, so it has to be the shell.

I hate building wheels, but when I had to, one of the older guys at the shop I spent time in would flog you if you didn't roll the hub across the shop floor to look for wobbles. Likewise, one of the other older dudes would slap you upside the head if you didn't roll axles across the floor when repacking, ease-of-reassembly-by-leaving-one-cone-intact be damned.

Sorry to see your luck You need a replacement? PM me.

repechage

Brutalized it has been.

SurferRosa

I recently switched out a Campy Record hub for another one in a wheel, and found the spokes way too short. I had no idea this could actually happen between what I thought were identical hubs. I bought some pretty long nipples to correct this, and it built up normally and has stayed true. But, I guess, be forewarned...

Spaghetti Legs 

Yeah, you have to double check the flange to locknut distances, which can differ between hubs by owner/mechanic preference. My replacement hub’s axle was too short, so replaced it with the old axle and everything is good to go.