Wheel axle running

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Alan Farroll

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

How do I tell when it is time to strip out the bike wheel axles and clean them up and re-grease them? I fixed a puncture recently and while holding the two ends of the wheel axle in my hands and then spinning the wheel slowly it had a feel of grinding and some resistance. It didn't have a very smooth feel to it turning.

I am not afraid to attempt these kinds of repair myself. What kind of solvent should be used to clean the parts? Also what kind of grease should I buy to re-grease the bearings etc?

Thanks

Alan
 

Widge

Baldy Go
Ideally......when out of the frame hub could and (maybe) should be silky smooth.....however, in the real world you may feel a little roughness in the axle when you spin the wheel out of the frame. The clamping force of the q/release when the wheel is fitted can be enough to take up this small amount of slack so the acid test is to spin the wheel while holding your ear against the saddle nose or other (non-oily) rigid part of the frame. If you detect more than the slightest murmuring it would be wise to check out the hub...repacked...bearings replaced or whatever is needed. Sometimes the grease disappears or becomes otherwise contaminated or less effective. Cones need to be tighten just the right amount to prevent play in the bearing (again...ultimately tested IN the frame.)

You would need the right cone spanners......a tube of 'Lithium' grease is often used......some replacement bearings (if the oroginals are knackered or pitted) of the correct size and I have used gt85 before now to clean up the races and bearings-but don't leave too much lying around as it acts to dilute any grease you may subsequently reintroduce.

Its no biggy but can be somewhat time consuming and fiddly to get every packed and adjusted just right.

The sort of thing a shop takes in its stride.

HTH

w
 
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S.Giles

Guest
IMO, cone-and-cup wheel bearings are a great place to start if you want to demystify the mechanical aspects of your bicycle. I started getting interested about a year ago, and personally, the knowledge I gained made me much more interested in cycling in general.

It's very satisfying to dismantle the bearings, clean out all the old grease (and dirt), re-grease, replace the ball-bearings (which may have become pitted), and re-assemble (paying attention to the correct tightness, of course). If you're anything like me, after doing this kind of job, you'll appreciate the smooth running of your bicycle in a way that you would never have done, had you taken it in to a shop. To me, this is an intrinsic part of the pleasure offered by cycling.

I've used white spirit to clean off old grease, but have no idea if it's the best chemical to use. I instinctively stay away from the various cleaners/chemicals/lubricants marketed specifically at cyclists because they seem overly costly to me (I am a cheapskate, though). I use lithium grease, but don't much like the white stuff, because it seems to get everywhere.

Steve
 

S.Giles

Guest
I'm always careful with plastic parts such as jockey wheels, though. I wouldn't want to leave them soaking in white spirit for too long (or at all)!
 

John the Canuck

..a long way from somewhere called Home..
................. I use lithium grease, but don't much like the white stuff, because it seems to get everywhere....Steve

i read somewhere that lithium absorbs water [ counter argument was, well it's used in the marine industry]..........:rolleyes:

i use Rock and Roll Web Grease [ the white stuff] .... well recommended
 

S.Giles

Guest
Yes, the fact that white spirit is supplied in a plastic bottle is a valid point. Not all plastics have the same resistance to potential solvents, though. For example, those of us who spent our youth building Airfix models may recall that the polystyrene cement we used would not work on (ie dissolve) other types of plastic. Beyond this, I'm afraid, my knowledge of chemistry will not carry me, so I just err on the safe side, and keep plastic parts' exposure to white spirit to a minimum.

It seems counter-intuitive that any type of grease would absorb water. Water molecules are polar and possess a partial electric charge. I imagine that the hydrocarbon molecules of which grease is comprised would be non-polar, and therefore hydrophobic (water-repelling). There may well be other factors I'm not taking into account, though.

It's a complicated (and therefore interesting) world we live in, that's for sure!

Steve
 

Cubist

Still wavin'
Location
Ovver 'thill
I use marine grease for the cup and cone hubs on Cubette's MTB. I also tweezer out the bearings and clean them on a cloth soaked in GT85. Keep the two sides separate if you do remove them, and replace them on the same side they came out of. On a seasoned hub they tend to wear at different rates on either side, and mixing the two will, as I found to my cost, result in a rougher feel.
 

BAtoo

Über Member
Location
Suffolk
It seems counter-intuitive that any type of grease would absorb water.


Mayonnaise is a mixture - an emulsion - of vegetable oil ( a very thin grease) and water based eggs.

Have you ever seen the inside of a car engine with a blown head gasket - another emulsion.

Most of the low-fat "butters" & spreads are a thick emulsion of water added into the original spread - drop some into a frying pan and watch the steam rise!
 

John the Canuck

..a long way from somewhere called Home..
I use marine grease for the cup and cone hubs on Cubette's MTB. I also tweezer out the bearings and clean them on a cloth soaked in GT85. Keep the two sides separate if you do remove them, and replace them on the same side they came out of. On a seasoned hub they tend to wear at different rates on either side, and mixing the two will, as I found to my cost, result in a rougher feel.

for the [low] price of new bearings

just replace surely.?
 

RecordAceFromNew

Swinging Member
Location
West London
Ideally......when out of the frame hub could and (maybe) should be silky smooth.....however, in the real world you may feel a little roughness in the axle when you spin the wheel out of the frame. The clamping force of the q/release when the wheel is fitted can be enough to take up this small amount of slack so the acid test is to spin the wheel while holding your ear against the saddle nose or other (non-oily) rigid part of the frame.

A cup and cone hub should not feel rough out of the frame/forks. If it does either some or all cones/cups/bearings are shot, or the preload is too high which will accelerate the demise of said cones/cups/bearings because when the qr is done up the locknuts are pressed, shortening the axle a mite and squishing the cones even closer to the cups. It is therefore key to ensure that there is some slack when a wheel is out, and if you can feel rumble/roughness with slack then some or all of the cones/cups/bearings are likely shot.

To avoid throwing good money after bad, I believe determining whether the problem is terminal should be the first step of servicing a rough cup and cone hub. For front hubs and rear freewheel/screw-on hubs if any of the cup is shot (pitted/rusted i.e. no longer smooth) generally the hub is too because cups are usually not replaceable, while cones and bearings usually are. For rear cassette hubs if the non-drive side cup is shot so is the hub for the same reason, but the drive side cup can be replaced if the freehub is because it is usually part of the freehub.

I use suitably sized spacers/nuts/washers as surrogates for the dropouts to let me tighten the qr and recreate the condition of the slack having been taken up - I find it more effective than checking with the wheel in the frame/forks because the fingers can feel for the slightest roughness and resistance without such being masked by the frame/forks and wheel inertia.

Unfortunately ime many cup and cone wheels and hubs, even new ones, are sold with no/negative slack and/or inadequate grease.
 
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