Front vs Rear wheel rolling resistance

[aldocg]

Hi all,

I recently bought my first road bike and I noticed something "odd", if I spun both my wheels the rear wheel would stop much sooner and when it reached very low rpm it would kinda skid to a stop without rocking back and forth. The front wheel would go on and on; coming to a very smooth stop.

I took it to servicing and they completely disassembled the bike and lubed everything, cleaned it and adjusted the hubs etc. They told me it would fix the problem.

I went back for it and the mechanic wasn't there but said it was guaranteed. I still have the same problem, the rear wheel stops very soon and oddly.

It's not the brakes or anything like that, I am just wondering if it's usual that the rear wheel has way higher rolling resistance or something.

Thanks.

 

[frenchyge]

I think the ratcheting action of the freehub would add friction within the rear wheel. This may or may not be what you're seeing.

 

[Videomaker]

Check that your quick release that hold the wheel on the frame is not too tight when locked because that can cause the wheel to spin more slowly.

 

[BHOFM]

Is this with the chain on or off??

With the chain off mine spins free and stops very slowly.
With the chain on it stops much sooner.

 

[aldocg]

Check that your quick release that hold the wheel on the frame is not too tight when locked because that can cause the wheel to spin more slowly.

great tip, thanks.

 

[alienator]

What kind of wheels do you have?

 

[aldocg]

What kind of wheels do you have?

Weinmann SP-17, absolute cheapest kind.

 

[alienator]

How many miles do you have on the wheels? As frenchyge said, the rear will have more friction because of the freehub ratchet and increased number of bearings (over the front hub, that is). Another popular source of increased friction in the rear is the use of either too much grease or the wrong grease in the rear hub's ratchet. A fair number of rear hubs have noticeable friction when new but then see that friction decrease as the hub gets some use.

 

[aldocg]

It has few miles, in the hundreds barely.

I had it serviced from inside out. I will see if it improves over time; thanks.