Problem with front axle after regreasing hub bearings
04-13-20, 10:40 AM
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Problem with front axle after regreasing hub bearings
Regreased the front bearings on my 85 Sequoia. When I put the axle back in and adjusted it so there was no play and it turned freely but
it would not go back on the bike.The locknuts were out on the axle too far and wouldn't allow it to seat on the forks. I tightened the locknut slightly
so it would go on the fork and while it turns smoothly it doesn't turn quite as easily. Before the wheel would spin so the valve would stop at
the bottom. Now it doesn't. Could it just be the new grease is slowing it down slightly?
it would not go back on the bike.The locknuts were out on the axle too far and wouldn't allow it to seat on the forks. I tightened the locknut slightly
so it would go on the fork and while it turns smoothly it doesn't turn quite as easily. Before the wheel would spin so the valve would stop at
the bottom. Now it doesn't. Could it just be the new grease is slowing it down slightly?
04-13-20, 11:03 AM
#2
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The grease makes a difference as well as adjustment with a QR.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html
04-13-20, 11:31 AM
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Regreased the front bearings on my 85 Sequoia. When I put the axle back in and adjusted it so there was no play and it turned freely but
it would not go back on the bike.The locknuts were out on the axle too far and wouldn't allow it to seat on the forks. I tightened the locknut slightly
so it would go on the fork and while it turns smoothly it doesn't turn quite as easily. Before the wheel would spin so the valve would stop at
the bottom. Now it doesn't. Could it just be the new grease is slowing it down slightly?
it would not go back on the bike.The locknuts were out on the axle too far and wouldn't allow it to seat on the forks. I tightened the locknut slightly
so it would go on the fork and while it turns smoothly it doesn't turn quite as easily. Before the wheel would spin so the valve would stop at
the bottom. Now it doesn't. Could it just be the new grease is slowing it down slightly?
If you are using loose bearings, do you have too many bearings in one side or the other or just too many bearings in both sides? Did you include a spacer that shouldn’t be there? Did you inadvertently use a wrong cone? Check all these to make sure.
A tip that I learned from Park Tool and now teach my Mechanics class students, as well as anyone in the Fix-Yer-Bike shop, is to use a zip tie to keep all the parts together when you take the bearings apart like this
This keeps the parts in the proper order so that you don’t lose track, misplace, or add extra parts.
Finally, I disagree with the idea that grease would play any role in the inability to turn the wheel. You can load a crap ton of grease into a hub and it will just squeeze out.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
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04-13-20, 11:32 AM
#4
Sr Member on Sr bikes
When you say the locknuts were too far out...by how much? Like a 1/16 of an inch, or a 1/2 inch? The fork can be spread/flexed out a bit to compensate. One-sixteenth surely. Not 1/2 and inch though.
Dan
Dan
04-13-20, 11:33 AM
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Someone posted a video recently showing a mechanic using two cone wrenches on opposite sides used to turn simultaneously, essentially moving the cones out with teeny tiny microadjustments while the locknuts stayed fixed. I used the technique the next day and liked it. You can get the cones pretty tight against the locknuts.
I wish I would have bookmarked the video somehow, but I hope the description makes sense.
I wish I would have bookmarked the video somehow, but I hope the description makes sense.
04-13-20, 11:41 AM
#6
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If it won’t go back into the dropouts, I’d suspect something wrong with the assembly. You shouldn’t need to tighten the locknuts to get it to fit. Are you using caged bearings? Are they in the hub in the proper orientation? If you’ve got them upside down, that could cause the cones to be too far outboard and would account for the extra width.
If you are using loose bearings, do you have too many bearings in one side or the other or just too many bearings in both sides? Did you include a spacer that shouldn’t be there? Did you inadvertently use a wrong cone? Check all these to make sure.
A tip that I learned from Park Tool and now teach my Mechanics class students, as well as anyone in the Fix-Yer-Bike shop, is to use a zip tie to keep all the parts together when you take the bearings apart like this
This keeps the parts in the proper order so that you don’t lose track, misplace, or add extra parts.
Finally, I disagree with the idea that grease would play any role in the inability to turn the wheel. You can load a crap ton of grease into a hub and it will just squeeze out.
If you are using loose bearings, do you have too many bearings in one side or the other or just too many bearings in both sides? Did you include a spacer that shouldn’t be there? Did you inadvertently use a wrong cone? Check all these to make sure.
A tip that I learned from Park Tool and now teach my Mechanics class students, as well as anyone in the Fix-Yer-Bike shop, is to use a zip tie to keep all the parts together when you take the bearings apart like this
This keeps the parts in the proper order so that you don’t lose track, misplace, or add extra parts.
Finally, I disagree with the idea that grease would play any role in the inability to turn the wheel. You can load a crap ton of grease into a hub and it will just squeeze out.
04-13-20, 11:42 AM
#7
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04-13-20, 11:59 AM
#8
Blamester
Check the orientation of the parts again. With the wheel isecure in the frame. Hold the wheel at the rim or tyre and spin it back and forth.
How does it feel. Rough or smooth. any play. keep. If it is o.k ride it and keep an eye on it.
How does it feel. Rough or smooth. any play. keep. If it is o.k ride it and keep an eye on it.
04-13-20, 12:28 PM
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I think it is just the fact that the hubs had never been serviced before and after 35 years there wan't much grease in
them so they turned easier.
04-13-20, 12:30 PM
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I think it is just the fact that the hubs had never been serviced before and after 35 years there wan't much grease in
them so they turned easier.
04-13-20, 12:34 PM
#11
Blamester
It will run in anyway.
