Disposable bikes



Chuckabutty

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2018
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I decided to service the wheel bearings on my Specialized Fatboy and my Schwinn 5th Avenue 700C hybrid. To do this I bought Crystal grease specially formulated for bikes.

The fat bike was easy. Remove the wheels and axles, pop the seals and use a magnet to collect the ball bearings. Dropped those in a tray of citrus cleaner while I cleaned the hubs and cones of old grease. Glad I decided to service the bearings because there wasn't enough grease to keep them in place, especially in the Schwinn.

I was going to tackle one bike each day but because the fatty went so well, I decided to do both bikes. What a nightmare that was!

I know the Schwinn is an el cheapo and we get what we pay for. I expected to do work on it, so I'm not complaining about it. However, I don't think I've ever seen such a cheap and nasty bearing set up. First, the balls just fell out because they were dry. The cones have an aluminum dirt protector pressed onto the cone nut. No sealing at all, and would allow for water to enter if ridden or just left out in the rain. While tightening the cone, the protector moved up so I couldn't get the wrench on it. So off it came, pressed the protector back into place, and finally got the front wheel done after a lot of sweat and struggle. It was so bad that I decided to give the rear wheel a miss.

Then thinking about it, I realized it really needed some grease if it was anything like the front wheel. So off came the freewheel and then removed the axle. Different sized ball bearings on each wheel. 4mm on the front, and 6.3mm (1/4") on the rear.

I know well how to tighten cones so the axle turns freely, and doesn't have any up and down movement. So I adjusted the cones, and tightened the lock nuts as usual. Put the wheel back in the bike and found I couldn't turn the pedals. Completely jammed. So out came the wheel, slackened the cones and put the wheel back in. Still jammed. Now I'm puzzled. So out it came again and found the axle turned freely, but I loosened the cones some more. By time I got this so the wheel could turn, the cones were adjusted so loosely that it made me wince. Plenty of up and down movement, but after tightening the wheel nuts on the dropouts, there was no play in the axle.

I could understand this if it was the first time I've serviced wheel bearings, but it's not, and the fat bike went together without a hitch.

The Schwinn is two years old, now, and I've given such bikes a new name: "Disposable Bikes." Ride 'em until something goes seriously wrong, then dump them. It's as though the makers never intended them to be serviced. Every corner that could be cut, they cut. Perhaps this ought to be a warning to anyone who buys a bike from the big box stores.
 
Well, there's a reason why they're often called BSOs - Bicycle-Shaped-Objects.
I heard someone in the biz refer to them as "100-mile-bikes", based on that being the high average mileage they are expected to accumulate before the health fad that caused them to be bought fades, and the bike being stowed away.

According to Alibaba.com a few years back, you could get them for $23 apiece, if you bought a shipping container full of them.

Your description is a bit interesting.

That method - play prior to mounting - is the recommended method to set up quick-release hubs.

With them, the whole axle is put under compression when the quick-release skewer is closed.
So you set them up a little slack and allow that compression to get the bearings "just right".

It's not supposed to be required on nutted axles, as you only have the tiny bit of inward movement that comes from the added pressure from the axle nuts against the cones.

Next time you might try tightening the cones against the locknuts harder first.
With more preload, axle nut torque should bring less movement.

The parts you refer to as "seals", I've been told are called "dust shields", which is a more apt name.

The better kind has a raised edge/lip, facing inwards.
If lip this runs in a fairly narrow groove in the hub, it's called a "labyrinth seal" and is actually quite efficient.
It's non-contact, so there's neither wear or drag, and does a decent job of keeping contaminants out.
 
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I figured things out. I guess it's necessary to take a different approach to cheap bikes.

Regarding the trouble I had with the rear wheel, and having to loosen the cones, I got that solved, too. Tightening the wheel nuts caused the wheel to tighten so it didn't want to turn. I kept adjusting the cones which seemed to help but wasn't right. I think I was tired from the heat and humidity of Florida, and should have quit after the first bike was done.

The next morning I went out and reexamined the situation with a fresh mind. Why, when I tightened the wheel nuts, did the wheel seize? Turning the pedals backward caused the chain to bunch up and not go around the cogs. Now this is the part I can't figure out. I found the freewheel up tight against the dropout. Did I have the axle in the wrong way? I had dismantled it and kept all the parts in order so they would go back as they came out.

The axle on the drive side had the cone, long spacer and lock nut. I did not remove those parts. I worked from the non-drive side, removing the lock nut, shorter spacer and cone. The lock nut on the drive side extended out just slightly past the small freewheel cog. When it went back together, I noticed the lock nut was now slightly inside the small cog, thus allowing the cog to come into contact with the dropout. How could this happen?

Did I get the axle the wrong way? So I took it apart and reversed the axle. No difference! I knew I had put it back together the way it came out, so I put it back the way it should be, again. But now the lock nut is still inside the freewheel. I knew I couldn't simply move the lock nut out, follow by the spacer and cone, so I put a thickish washer on the axle, next to the lock nut. That now gives me about 1/64" clearance between the small cog and the dropout. Now it all works well.

Another problem popped up when I noticed the front wheel was out of true. I had trued it up and tensioned the spokes several months ago, but now it was out, again. So off came the wheel, and removed the tire and set the spoke tensions, again. That made the wheel, not absolutely perfect, but acceptably true. I noticed the spokes have a little rust on them, which can weaken them. I guess this is something I'll have to do, occasionally. It's a nice riding bike but hardly worth the cost of better wheels.

It's harder servicing a cheap bike than a good one.
 
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