View Single Post
Old 07-21-21, 10:30 PM
  #1  
Kokiafan
Newbie
 
Join Date: Jul 2017
Posts: 52
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 29 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times in 6 Posts
Ultegra Hub Overhaul Went Bad!

I have been wrenching my bikes for 40 years, and I have never run across this issue before.

I have a set of Ultegra hubs and axles, and finally decided to do an overhaul, after 2000 miles of wet weather riding.

I pulled the axle out, degreased everything, then dried it all out. I regreased the bearings with phil wood grease, and reassembled.

These are the 6800 ultegra hubs, and they use the preload bearing setup where you adjust one side of the axle to get everything snug on the hub.
I tightened it down properly where it felt snug but not binding, and I assembled it all back together. I put the wheel on the bike and the wheel was looooose on the hub. I mean it moved a good quarter inch at least at the top, and it was not doing that before I regreased everything.
I took the axle back out, made sure everything was properly assembled, and put it back on again. I tightened the cone all the way down, and it felt like it was binding. I put the wheel back on and sure enough, no play. I took the wheel back off, and turned the adjustment out a quarter turn. It still felt like it was binding, and I put the wheel back on anyway...and it had slop again.

I do not know where to go from here. The wheel never had slop before, and it turned smoothly before I regreased the bearings.

What am I missing? If I put it back on when it is tight enough to not slop, it feels binding. If I make it spin smoothly in my hands, it slops around when I put it on the bike. Aaaahhggg! Help!
Kokiafan is offline