Do my cones need slackening off a bit?...

[Maz]

When I lift up the rear of the bike (roadbike, Allez) by lifting the seat and give the back wheel a good freewheel spin, it will come to a standstill in 15 seconds. Is that about normal? Are the cones too tight?

I recently replaced the freehub + cones + bearings. I'm thinking that the cones are too tight and need slackening a bit.

Thanks

 

[gwhite]

15 secs sounds a about right to me. It's true that most new bikes come with cones a little too tight though. These should be adjusted so that they are just a tiny bit slack and then this is taken up by the Quick release.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

When I lift up the rear of the bike (roadbike, Allez) by lifting the seat and give the back wheel a good freewheel spin, it will come to a standstill in 15 seconds. Is that about normal? Are the cones too tight?

I recently replaced the freehub + cones + bearings. I'm thinking that the cones are too tight and need slackening a bit.

Thanks

Imho one can't test / check bearing issues properly by just spinning the wheel - pawls/ratchet, grease, seals etc. not to mention the substantial inertia of the wheel all conspire to cloud the evidence.

Having taken the wheel off the bike, then it is a doddle to feel the resistance and type of resistance (harmful grinding of bearings or harmless grease/seal drag e.g.) by spinning the axle with your fingers.

+1 to the tiny bit slack gwhite suggested, and you can check that it is eliminated when feeling for play once the QR is tightened.

If the grease/seal resistance is not too great then a pendulum test (with the chain off of course) as suggested by the late great Sheldon would also be effective.

 

[02GF74]

n^^^ what he said - ratchet in the freehub makes results meaningless.

you should be able to feel the very slightest bit of play when wheel is in the frame with the q/r done up