Have I just ruined my hub?
 

I just bought a cheap second hand pair of wheels (Maddux RD 2.0). I put the rear on my bike and noticed their was some side to side play. It happens these are cup and cone, so I tightened it up a bit. I expected the spinning to feel a little bit rough after tightening, but it didn't, and there was still some knocking - so I tightened up some more. Still spinning smooth, still knocking. Repeat a few times, same situation. Feeling that something was wrong here, I put the wheel back on the bike. It could barely spin.

I'm very tired today, and I made a very stupid mistake as a result. Instead of testing the spinning/knocking by holding the actual hub, I was holding the quick release skewers. So I massively overtightened the cup and cone. Obviously I loosened it at that point, but now I can't seem to get it to spin smooth. Have I toasted this thing? Or is there hope that I can get this running without replacing the hub body?

Thanks

Step 1: Take it apart to see the condition of cups, cones, ball bearings and grease.

You'll have to remove the axle cones and check the bearing and hub bearing races for pitting or damage of some sort. Could be that nothing has been damaged but make sure you have the correct size and number of bearing balls and enough clean grease and since the balls are cheap I would just replace them.

Thanks guys. Stepping away from the wheel for a little bit for now, will unpack the bearings later and hope the races are alright.

Well, having unpacked it, all seems to be well except for the pitting on this cone.

That's obviously better news than a race being pitted. How do I go about getting a replacement part for this? Are all cups and cones generally interchangeable?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...856ab46ae1.jpg

That was likely damaged before you bought the wheels. The previous owner loosened it to the point of having side play either to make it spin more smoothly, or to hide the damage when you bought them. It happened to me before on a used bike, only the races were also shot. Hopefully someone here knows which cones you can buy to replace them.

They are fairly common, one needs to have matching threads. Even with common threads you have the dustcover on the cone, that may be a difficult to find one which the cover fits on.

Yeah, the locknut wasn't even tightened, something was up before I got my hands on this wheel. Previously I've checked the axles when buying second hand wheels, didn't think of it this time...

I was thinking much the same. It would take a heckuva lot of force to tighten down a wheel enough to do that by tightening alone - it that's even possible for a normal human. My guess is that it would also trash all the races, not just one cone.

If you can't find OEM cones, the best replacement cones are from Wheels Manufacturing.

https://wheelsmfg.com/products/hub-parts/all-cones.html

If you only need 1 or 2 cones, your LBS may have some.

They where cheap. I would just grease and set them as good as you can and then ride it.
If you don't notice it when you ride then it's good and will likely stay that way for a long time.
When it becomes noticeable get another cheap wheel.

Looks like you have a broken axle too. Bummer.

Yes, looks like it.

Luckily they look like standard axle and cones, cheap to replace and if you have a suitable old wheel lying then you may just have to buy the cones. I usually buy at least half a dozen cones at a time as they are so frequently needed if you are buying/servicing wheels regularly.

My only concern would be the bearing surfaces in the wheel itself.

sorry to hear about these woes. why did you originally want a cheap second hand pair of wheels? I only ask cuz when I had an issue w/ my rear wheel, I asked a shop about it & they determined the sealed hub was trashed & I should replace the wheel w/ new. it has been soooo nice to have the new rear wheel & hub. here's hoping you get the parts you need & get rolling agin soon! :thumb:

Ha, thanks! The story is that I just bought a second hand Spa Cycles Elan Ti. The idea was to convert it to a very off-road focused gravel bike - wide flared bars, big old tractor tyres, clutched rear derailleur. But I rode it around a bit pre-conversion and loved it as a roadie.

So I thought I'd get a cheap pair of road wheels in addition to the gravel wheels I already have so I could have it as do-everything bike, with a view to getting a better pair of roadies if I find myself still getting a lot of use out of them next spring.

As it stands the rear wheel is horribly rough when spinning. Haven't taken it out for a ride yet, but I'm pretty sure it'll be noticeable.

ah nice. I've fantasized about extra wheels for 2 of my bikes, for studded winter tires to same me swapping out the 4 tires each year

Finding replacement cones is difficult for anything not shimano (and still a little difficult sometimes). I'd advise you to go to an older, service oriented shop at an off peak hour (like in the morning on a weekday) and hand them at least the old cone and axle if not the whole wheel and ask them if they can find a usable match. They'll have to match the axle diameter and thread pitch as well as the shape and width of the cone. If you came into my shop I'd give you 50% odds. Expect to pay for their time digging thorough parts and tip well if they're not charging you much for the cone itself.

Your bike and your hide, so do what you want.

But as others have observed, it looks like you may well have a cracked/bent/broken axle as well as a trashed cone. (The crack/bend/break appears to be near the bottom of the portion of the axle shown that's shown in the photo you posted showing the trashed cone.) Personally, I'd be very hesitant to ride a wheel I knew or suspected to be in that condition.

I've never been on a bike when an axle bent or broke under load, so I can't say from personal experience exactly what would happen if it did that while you were riding it. But I don't think that's something I'd want to experience firsthand.

It seems as if every department store MTB I encounter has a bent axle. I've never been certain they weren't made that way. I've gotten pretty good at straightening them.

Roll on a smooth surface. Find the high/low spots, add lock nuts or cones to protect the threads, and whack with a hammer.

But, if it is a QR type, just replace the axle.

Nothing is that expensive. Perhaps $10 or so for the cones, and $10 for the axle. But, it does add up. Solid axles may be sold in a set with axle, cones, lock nuts, etc.

The front wheel on my Raleigh felt loose. This is what I found. I'm putting it back into service and hoping for the best. Next time I get to an LGS I'll see if they have replacement cones. Maybe balls, too. The cups look fine. This thread told me just what I needed to know. Thanks.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...445db08e17.jpg

Good noticing! I had to go back and look again to see it.

Dura Ace FH-7700/HG 9sp-130mm, I need the right cone and haven't inspected the cup well enough to know. I've searched the forum pretty well and think a used XTR cone the best replacement that I might be able to find.