krobinson103

My wheels were wobbling on the axle. I tracked the cause down to the hubs. Front just needed adjusting which I did and it works smooth. The back was sticky so it got taken apart, regreased, repacked, and generally worked over. Put it all back together and it was much better.

But, hubs are so annoying! Getting the thing to roll smoothly without allowing the wheel to flex or getting racheting seems to measure changes in millimeters. I got it butter smooth after 7 tries and took her for a ride. Get back and its loose again. I tightened it a little more to see if that helped and I get the smallest hint of binding. There must be some trick to getting these stupid things right...

strock 

You're doing it the way I've always done it. Tighten the cones to the point where you feel some binding, then back them off just a bit. It does require some trial-and-error to get it exactly right, at least for me. If you get a hub right and then it loosens up, it might be that your locknuts aren't tight enough against the cones.

Reynolds 

1 millimeter is plenty when adjusting a hub.

davidad

If it is a quick release hub there should be a small amount of play that goes away when the QR is closed.https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...and-adjustment
I use a nut in place of the bikes dropout to adjust mine. With the QR closed there should be a slight amount of drag indicating preload.

dsbrantjr

The tolerance between too loose and too tight is probably a lot less than a millimeter. If you took it for a ride and it's loose again you have not tightened the bearing cones against the locknuts tight enough. You ned two wrenches, a thin cone wrench and another for the locknut. The final tightening of the two will lock in the adjustment, not tightening the cones against each other. If after tightening them firmly the adjustment is off you will have to unlock them and try again, moving the cone just a few degrees. Immobilizing the axle in an axle vise, either purpose made or improvised, will help by giving you a constant reference point for your adjustments. It often takes several tries to get it right

reptilezs

start with races that are not pitted/damaged

wmodavis

There is a trick. Lots of practice. Keep practicing.

Also +1 on reptilezs comment.

Retro Grouch 

bingo!

HillRider

If it was well adjusted but got loose again after one ride, you didn't tighten the locknuts against the cones adequately. They should be very tight to hold the adjustments. As to adjustment tolerances, a mm is the same as a mile. Hub axles are threaded with a 1.0 mm pitch so a complete rotation of the cone moves it 1 mm. Typically the difference between too loose and two tight is measured in single digit degrees of rotation.

GeoKrpan

Clean the grease off the axle where the cones and locknuts reside. They may be slipping the threads because of the grease on the axle, making it impossible to get them tight against each other. Some cones and locknuts fit the axle loosely and with grease on the axle they will slip the threads.

I adjust hubs by adjusting the cones loosely, tightening the locknuts against them tightly, and then turn the locknuts against each other with a wrench on each one. If you have loose fitting cones and locknuts, this method won't work.

HillRider

I think this is poor technique. I work on one side of the axle only, having tightened the locknut and cone on the other end very firmly against each other so thy are a fixed point.

On the adjustment side, I turn the cone down until it drags a bit against the bearings, run the locknut down finger tight against it and then loosen the cone while holding the locknut stationary. The cone tightens against the locknut until I have the correct VERY slight play and then I tighten the locknut further while holding the cone stationary. An axle vise makes this adjustment fast and easy by not letting the axle itself turn with either wrench.

GeoKrpan

I used to do it the way that you do it until I worked in a bike shop and learned how they did it.
The way that I used to do it usually required multiple attempts. Now, I can usually get it done on the first crack.

reptilezs

clamping the axle or locknut in the vise and working one side is the fast way. takes probably 30 seconds

fietsbob

that is Maintenance .. do that regularly and things work better and last longer.

and that big M, is how you reduce the likelihood of doing that to new stuff..

3alarmer 

Probably 80 % of the bikes you see passing you on the road
and around town have hub bearings that are adjusted to less
than optimum performance. Yet these people still ride around
grinning from ear to ear and feeling good about themselves.

Your bike will ride much better, track much better, and last
a lot longer as you get better at this. Do you have cone
wrenches ? (very thin profile in the proper size to grab the cone
flats.)

On a QR hub, I do the final adjustment with the hub clamped
by the QR in the dropouts for the most precise setting. Mount
the wheel in the drops (if rear, without freewheel or cog cluster),
then give it a spin.....if too tight, use a cone wrench on each
side to back them of a quarter turn at a time or so and that eventually
gets you where you need to be.

If too loose, you'll probably need to pull the wheel back out and tighten
them down to just the slightest bit of endplay, then relock the nut or
nuts................Then remount the wheel and check it again.

To do this really well requires some practice.

krobinson103

It seems they are supposed to be evil little things then. That makes me feel much more confident that the hub is working the way it is supposed to. I must have lucked out on the front to get it right so quickly.