What Have You Fettled Today?

[si_c]

Yes, the NDS bearing has been seen off by just 2 months of riding on wet, gritted roads without mudguards on the bike!

You should know better

The face of the DS bearing was pretty clean and dry and the bearing still feels smooth. The face of the NDS bearing was glistening with rusty-coloured water containing mucky grit, and the bearing feels awful when turning it with my finger.

Sounds about right, I got about that with mudguards when commuting, so 200km per week through winter.

I will probably get the LBS to replace the bearing. I don't have the tools to do it myself and it probably isn't cost-effective (at my age!) to buy them. (I know that it is possible to knock them in and out, but it's a bit iffy.)

Before you do that, its worth trying to ressurrect it, only takes a half hour or so including taking the cranks off. I used to do it in the kitchen at night when Mrs C had gone to bed!

Remove the seal - lift it out with a sharp blade, so stanley knife or similar - one side of the seal will be slightly thinner usually, go in from that side, should lift out easily enough.

Flush it out with WD40 - use as much as you need and then when it's dry pack in as much lithium grease as you can force in and still get the seal back in. With a bit of luck it should run smoother. The grease you pack in will be more viscous than the original lubricant (probably oil based) so it will feel like there is quite a bit of friction if hand turning it, but when you get going the grease will warm up and loosen up a bit and you won't notice it on the bike.

If it still runs rough after that then get the LBS to replace it - but they may have difficulty getting smaller non-standard bearings so it could be worth sourcing your own first if you can. If it does work then you should get another month or two at least out of the bearing before either repeating the process or replacing.

 

[DCLane]

Does it feel particularly fast compared to your road bikes?!🤔

It depends which one. On a brief test ride it's quicker than all bar the NeilPryde's (road and TT), possibly not quicker than the Thompson Capella, but I'd expect that given the Cannondale is from 2005.

Otherwise I'd say it's quicker than the rest. Aero bars and semi-deep section wheels make the difference.

There's two issues for me; firstly it's a 56cm not the 49cm stated by the seller and secondly I've got a nicely fitting NeilPryde Bayamo TT bike that's about to get upgraded. I can fit but not brilliantly.

 

[ColinJ]

Before you do that, its worth trying to ressurrect it, only takes a half hour or so including taking the cranks off. I used to do it in the kitchen at night when Mrs C had gone to bed!

Remove the seal - lift it out with a sharp blade, so stanley knife or similar - one side of the seal will be slightly thinner usually, go in from that side, should lift out easily enough.

Flush it out with WD40 - use as much as you need and then when it's dry pack in as much lithium grease as you can force in and still get the seal back in. With a bit of luck it should run smoother. The grease you pack in will be more viscous than the original lubricant (probably oil based) so it will feel like there is quite a bit of friction if hand turning it, but when you get going the grease will warm up and loosen up a bit and you won't notice it on the bike.

Hmm... As you point out, no harm in trying but I'll be amazed if I don't discover at least one wrecked ball bearing! The clicks/ticks have been getting ever louder so something pretty bad has been going in in there. Still, it will be interesting to take a look.

If I do take the bike to the LBS I am going to take a replacement bearing with me. I bought the BB and got the mechanic to fit it for me because I don't have the required tool.

I will try not to completely wreck the bearing because I would rather ride the bike 3 km to the shop than walk with it!

 

[si_c]

Hmm... As you point out, no harm in trying but I'll be amazed if I don't discover at least one wrecked ball bearing! The clicks/ticks have been getting ever louder so something pretty bad has been going in in there. Still, it will be interesting to take a look.

You might find a bit of damage, but I'd be very surprised if the balls are toast, unlike with a headset there is full rotation of all the balls so shouldn't be any notching. They may be a bit pitted though, so make sure to get all the debris out.

 

[ColinJ]

You might find a bit of damage, but I'd be very surprised if the balls are toast, unlike with a headset there is full rotation of all the balls so shouldn't be any notching. They may be a bit pitted though, so make sure to get all the debris out.

I took the seal off, and sure enough, the grease inside is a rust-coloured gunge.

I scraped off as much gunge as I could without using solvents - I don't want to fill my house with toxic fumes! (I will tackle it properly in my back yard tomorrow.) I then turned the inner race (?) and watched what was happening. It looked very much like the ball bearings were not actually rolling and the race was just skidding over them. If that is the case then I reckon they will have had flat spots worn onto them and the ticking would be when one of the damaged bearings actually moved a little bit.

Perhaps the bearings are rusted onto the outer race or the cage that contains them?

Anyway, all should become clear tomorrow. I will report back then.