Seized rear spindle

[taximan]

I was riding uphill when suddenly it felt as if my back brake had been applied. I disconnected the cable and the wheel was still binding. so I decided to take off the back wheel and check the spindle for movement. when I tried the move the QR lever I found it to so tight that I had to use additional leverage to move it. once I had the wheel off it was evident that the spindle was binding to the extent that I was not able to turn it by hand but if I gripped the spindle with pliers it did turn but reluctantly. I decided to find somewhere to leave the bike so I replaced the wheel and to my surprise although not as free as it should be, it was free enough to ride the 5 miles to my home.
I can't strip the spindle out for a day or two because my cone spanners have gone walkabout, but I was wondering if anyone has any ideas what could be causing the problem. the wheel has not been off the bike for about a month before today and I am certain that I did not over-tighten the QR last time it was off

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Frozen?

 

[BimblingBee]

When you say spindle so you mean the axle or the qr skewer?

 

[robgul]

.. I had a similar situation ... turned out that the hollow axle was broken in the middle of the hub .. the pressure from the QR skewer was holding it all together. Perhaps your axle has a crack, yet to break completely?

I have no idea what caused it .. the wheel had been given to me ... new axle, cones, bearings etc ... wheel still going strong on the pub bike after about 1,000 miles.

Rob

 

[rusty bearing]

Most likely the locknut was not tight against one (or both) of the cones. It allows a bit of 'creep' whereby the cone gets tighter and tighter until........
Probably the bearings are a bit short of grease which will speed up the process.

 

[taximan]

Frozen?

I don't think so, It was a lot less cold than my last couple of outings.

 

[taximan]

When you say spindle so you mean the axle or the qr skewer?

Axle.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

I don't think so, It was a lit less cold than my last couple of outings.

Fair enough, the only reason I suggested it, was because my front brake has frozen twice.

Sounds like a strip, clean rebuild is needed then. The last time something similar happened to me was when the free hub bearings had gone capputt.

 

[robgul]

Most likely the locknut was not tight against one (or both) of the cones. It allows a bit of 'creep' whereby the cone gets tighter and tighter until........
Probably the bearings are a bit short of grease which will speed up the process.

The late, great Sheldon Brown IIRC recommended adjusting cones/lock nuts with some spacers to simulate the frame dropouts and the QR skewer closed ... the theory being that the pressure/tension on the QR would slightly compress the cones/lock nuts.

No idea whether it makes a difference ..

Rob

 

[taximan]

Thanks for your input folks, as suggested by bromptonfb it will be a strip job. (oops, what am I saying