Originally Posted by
Smithston
I replaced the bearings cleaned the cone and everything. Packed new grease in set new ball bearings in place and packed grease on top. Now I've been trying to just screw it back together for a good hour and I can't seem to get it at that sweet spot. What am I doing wrong???
Some (low quality) hubs can either be a bit loose, or a bit rough.
Decent quality ones (Shimano and the likes) can be set to turn smoothly, without any play.
For full axles (not hollow) - keep tightening until you loose any play with the last 1/8, or even less of a turn of the cone (then locking it).
For quick release (hollow) axles - there should be some play, that gets eliminated with the QR lever locked using the appropriate force (not too tight, but enough to leave a mark on your palm when tightening).
Quick way to test for this is to use old spacers at axle ends, before installing the quick release. So you can test without mounting the wheel on the bike (
how I set the hub bearing preload).