Freewheel / Casette Wobble

[Hugh Manatee]

Hopefully you still have an axle with once cone on it. That's the spacing sorted.

 

[fossyant]

It's a standard axel you've taken out. You ideally need thin cone spanners to adjust. You'll have one washer that is called a cone (it looks a bit like a cone) - that goes on first and presses against the bearings, then a plain washer, then the final nut on the end.

I suspect you've re-assembled it wrongly. The boot usually goes on last, and just slides on over the nuts. Fairly typical hub below.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Mod Note:
I've merged all the threads I could find by @GoatBeard into one, for continuity, as it's all about the one bike.
If I've left out more threads on the same topic, please let me know.
Cheers!

 

[GoatBeard]

Thanks but I've realized the whole thread is a waste of time - no matter how much fettling I've tried there's nothing I can do! The axle was bent which explains why it kept getting sticky when I was rotating it at certain points and why the boot wasn't going anywhere near the edge it was supposed to touch without the whole thing seizing. The skewer is also bent so it must have hit something really hard at some point. Any idea how much new axles are?

Might be a time to just call it quits and grab a new wheelset. Running 26in at the moment, wonder if it's worth switching to 27.5?

 

[Ajax Bay]

Running 26in at the moment, wonder if it's worth switching to 27.5?

No: emphatically not worth it.

 

[midlife]

Sunrace make 8 speed freewheels

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/freewheels-8-speed/

Not sure I'd ever use one though lol

 

[figbat]

Picture in the OP looks like a cassette though. If the spindle truly is bent then it is new hub time, which realistically means new wheel time. Or second-hand wheel. You can then use this old wheel as a training exercise to work out what goes where.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Picture in the OP looks like a cassette though. If the spindle truly is bent then it is new hub time,

Yes, it's a freehub and cassette (bear in mind the amalgamation of threads has meant that some comments are based on different sets of previous posts).
It's an axle not a spindle: it's not spinning.
Don't see why a bent axle cannot be replaced. £11
https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p...ow-Quick-Release-Cycle-Axle/product_info.html
Choice obviously depends on what bearings the hub has.

 

[rogerzilla]

Wobble restricted just to a freewheel or freehub can't easily be fixed. The cure is to dismantle the freewheel and remove one of the (very thin) shims to allow the cone to screw down a little tighter against the freewheel bearings. However:

1. Taking freewheels apart is a bit fiddly - there may be 96 loose, and very small, ball bearings in there along with a couple of pawls and some springs. You may regret it. You often have to remove the top cog or two first to get to the cone. This usually takes two chainwhips. Then you need a pin spanner to unscrew the cone CLOCKWISE. Then everything falls out onto the floor

2. Taking freehubs apart requires special tools as the notches for unscrewing the cone are hard to access.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Taking freewheels apart is a bit fiddly

I disagree. I did it once, as a teenager. I seem to remember it was relatively easy.

Now, putting it back together... I never quite mastered that.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Roger - it's not a freewheel (see OP) and the OP has said "The axle [is] bent." which (the OP thinks and is reasonable to assume) is what's causing the 'wobble' symptom. Provided the QR skewer is not too bent or can be straightened a bit, it will remain functional.

 

[rogerzilla]

Roger - it's not a freewheel (see OP) and the OP has said "The axle [is] bent."

I did read the thread. I wasn't directly addressing the OP's issue, just following up on some previous comments on freewheel wobble, like FF's.