Trouble in adjusting hub bearings



B

BCDrums

Guest
I overhauled my hubs this weekend, lots of fun. I am confident I got the
front hub adjusted properly- no play with skewer locked, just a barely
detectable bit with skewer partly open.

The rear hub, however, (Ultegra 9sp) was difficult. I tried techniques
mentioned in Sheldon Brown's article and on the Park Tool site, but am
not confident I got this one right. I tested the hub several times with
the cones too loose to get an idea what no friction should look like
(chain & cassette off), and I have the hub adjusted so it performs like
that but with no play, skewer locked. When I open the skewer, however, I
get no play either.

Han anyone any tips?

Thanks!


BC
hubba hubba
 
BCDrums wrote:
> I overhauled my hubs this weekend, lots of fun. I am confident I got
> the front hub adjusted properly- no play with skewer locked, just a
> barely detectable bit with skewer partly open.
>
> The rear hub, however, (Ultegra 9sp) was difficult. I tried techniques
> mentioned in Sheldon Brown's article and on the Park Tool site, but am
> not confident I got this one right. I tested the hub several times
> with the cones too loose to get an idea what no friction should look
> like (chain & cassette off), and I have the hub adjusted so it
> performs like that but with no play, skewer locked. When I open the
> skewer, however, I get no play either.
>
> Han anyone any tips?
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> BC
> hubba hubba

It's tricky. The method I use for precise adjustment involves using an axle
vise like this one:

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=18&item=AV-1

This allows you to adjust the non-drive-side with precision, even if it
takes a couple of tries.

No play skewer-open isn't necessarily bad as long as it's still smooth (like
being able to rotate the axle with just the lightest touch of the tip of
your finger on the locknut), but I'm assuming you're striving for
perfection.
--
Phil
 
BCDrums wrote:
> I tested the hub several times with
> the cones too loose to get an idea what no friction should look like
> (chain & cassette off), and I have the hub adjusted so it performs like
> that but with no play, skewer locked. When I open the skewer, however, I
> get no play either.

I always have play with the skewer open. I'd check it again...
 
Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:
but I'm assuming you're striving for
> perfection.

Before I started reading this group I innocently did my headset, crank
bearings, and hubs without worry, but now that I know there is so much
precision in the world, I am frozen with fear and anxiety. I don't even
own a torque wrench, yet have dared to tighten my crank bolts. Greased
tapers, even! Is that legal? ;)

BC
 
BCDrums wrote:
> I overhauled my hubs this weekend, lots of fun. I am confident I got the
> front hub adjusted properly- no play with skewer locked, just a barely
> detectable bit with skewer partly open.
>
> The rear hub, however, (Ultegra 9sp) was difficult. I tried techniques
> mentioned in Sheldon Brown's article and on the Park Tool site, but am
> not confident I got this one right. I tested the hub several times with
> the cones too loose to get an idea what no friction should look like
> (chain & cassette off), and I have the hub adjusted so it performs like
> that but with no play, skewer locked. When I open the skewer, however, I
> get no play either.
>
> Han anyone any tips?

Spend a few $ on an axle vice..easy to then make minute adjustments on
the rear hub. Essential for these shimano ones since right side of the
axle and locknuts are submerged in the freehub body.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> BC
> hubba hubba
 
On Mon, 05 Jun 2006 08:06:43 -0400, BCDrums <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Before I started reading this group I innocently did my headset, crank
>bearings, and hubs without worry, but now that I know there is so much
>precision in the world, I am frozen with fear and anxiety. I don't even
>own a torque wrench, yet have dared to tighten my crank bolts. Greased
>tapers, even! Is that legal? ;)

You can now grease your tapers in every state except New Hampshire
("grease free or die"). In Wisconsin, you have to use margarine. In
Michigan, motor oil is required. In Texas you are required to use gun
grease and in CA you have to use a biodegradable grease.
 
Bob wrote:
> On Mon, 05 Jun 2006 08:06:43 -0400, BCDrums <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >Before I started reading this group I innocently did my headset, crank
> >bearings, and hubs without worry, but now that I know there is so much
> >precision in the world, I am frozen with fear and anxiety. I don't even
> >own a torque wrench, yet have dared to tighten my crank bolts. Greased
> >tapers, even! Is that legal? ;)
>
> You can now grease your tapers in every state except New Hampshire
> ("grease free or die"). In Wisconsin, you have to use margarine. In
> Michigan, motor oil is required. In Texas you are required to use gun
> grease and in CA you have to use a biodegradable grease.

The religious right is pressing for a constitutional amendment banning
greased tapers (formally known as the Protection of Dry Tapers Act). No
longer will those activist judges be in a position to legislate from
the bench and enable those taper greasers!
 
Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
> Spend a few $ on an axle vice..easy to then make minute adjustments on
> the rear hub. Essential for these shimano ones since right side of the
> axle and locknuts are submerged in the freehub body.

If you're a frugal freak like me, you can get a nut at Home Depot that
fits your axle, and hack saw it in half, across two corners. File off
the burrs and try to get the thread valleys burr-free. Then you can
hold this on the axle end, and slide it into your vise. If the vise is
w/in 1/16" of the right width, the nut will not fall off as you tighten
it up.

Since the saw kerf removed material, the nut will clamp the axle when
clamped in the vise.

Cheaper yet, keep the nut that comes off your kid's bike when you yank
the training wheels (assuming it fits).


$12. Bah!

;)
 
On 5 Jun 2006 07:31:38 -0700, "Mike Reed" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>If you're a frugal freak like me, you can get a nut at Home Depot that
>fits your axle, and hack saw it in half, across two corners. File off
>the burrs and try to get the thread valleys burr-free. Then you can
>hold this on the axle end, and slide it into your vise. If the vise is
>w/in 1/16" of the right width, the nut will not fall off as you tighten
>it up.

You can do this but the threads of the axle would have to be perfectly
aligned with the threads of the nut or you will damage them. The
advantage of an axle vise is that the clamps are aluminum and since
they are softer than the axle, are not as likely to damage it.

Practice shows that you want to make sure the vise is very tight since
you can still much the threads if the axle spins.
 
hubba hubba

yeah. me to. when i had a freewheel(s), adjustment was simple direct
good bearing feel and a good thing caws every 3-4 weeks the axle would
bend into a u needing straightnin.
then enter the freehub - and frankly the adjustment is rather vague
rather like the headset (still OLD) - get it vaguely in the middle of
what could be the right area and say expletive deleted and tighten the
assembly down (itsa hit!!) getting it right as in Jobst Brandt's
preload( see brown i guess) is not right if the assembly rumbles.
one thing you can do is wander over to the first class rebuild bike
shop and roll wheels on his customers pick up rack.
have you tried tapirs with a piquant mango sauce?
 
Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:

>> Han anyone any tips?
>
> Spend a few $ on an axle vice..easy to then make minute adjustments on
> the rear hub. Essential for these shimano ones since right side of the
> axle and locknuts are submerged in the freehub body.

I have a sort of axle vise, something I got from Third Hand in the
previous century. It is a small rectangular steel plate with two
axle-sized holes in it. You clamp it on one end of the axle (freehub
side for rear) with the skewer, then clamp the plate into a bench vise.
This is to allow you to adjust the cone with the axle under compression.
However, I cannot detect very small amounts of play with it.

The Park tool web site tells you to use the skewer to clamp the wheel to
the left dropout on the outside of the frame, giving you compression
similar to the tool above, but I found that there was too much wiggle in
the whole thing (wheel, frame, work stand) to feel any fine play.

Thanks for the help.

BC
righty tighty
 
> have you tried tapirs with a piquant mango sauce?

I dunno, but I hear that cavemen like roast duck with the mango salsa.
--
Phil
 
Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:
> > have you tried tapirs with a piquant mango sauce?
>
> I dunno, but I hear that cavemen like roast duck with the mango salsa.
>

Roast duck, really? I thought those cavers preferred roast beast.
 
BCDrums wrote:
> This is to allow you to adjust the cone with the axle under compression.
> However, I cannot detect very small amounts of play with it.

If you cannot detect play by yanking the rim back and forth, then you
don't have any...

The only tool you need is a cone wrench. Tighten the cones until there
is a small amount of play... stick in dropouts and clamp down QR...
check for play... adjust as necessary. You get a feel for it after
awhile. The QR itself has a small range of acceptable adjustment, BTW.
 
It's also good to tighten the freehub side nut and cone *very*
securely... and then never take this one appart... ie always loosen the
other side to remove the axle and make adjustments. The left side cone
and lock nut need to be just snug enough to keep from coming loose.

Then, small tightening adjustments can be made by putting wrenchs on
both outer nuts *only* and tightening. Small loosening adjustments can
be made by putting a wrench on the outer nut of the drive side and the
cone of the left.
 
Ron Ruff wrote:
> It's also good to tighten the freehub side nut and cone *very*
> securely... and then never take this one appart... ie always loosen the
> other side to remove the axle and make adjustments. The left side cone
> and lock nut need to be just snug enough to keep from coming loose.
The freehub side nut came loose at some point, I was trying to loosen
the cone on the NDS and had a wrench on the DS nut and the NDS cone.
Then I had to remove the NDS cone and nut so I could slide the axle out
to get at and retighten the DS nut and cone (insanely tightly, now!).
Had to count axle threads to get them back to the correct place on the
axle. what a mess.
>
> Then, small tightening adjustments can be made by putting wrenchs on
> both outer nuts *only* and tightening. Small loosening adjustments can
> be made by putting a wrench on the outer nut of the drive side and the
> cone of the left.
>
See above!

But it was your previous note that go me to just work on it until I
could sense the play/no play. Thanks.

BC
 
BCDrums says...

> Han anyone any tips?

Stop worrying and ride your bike. Good enough is good enough.
 
Actually, you can leave the nut whole. Just cut a kerf on one
of the angles. Spin it onto the axle and clamp the flats that are at a
right angle to the kerf.



You got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there.


- Yogi Berra
 
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