Wheel bearing life..

[Mr. Cow]

Happy new year all

How long are wheel bearings supposed to last for?
I am running Shimano RS21 front and rear rims/hubs. In the past year I have covered about 2000 miles and in that time I've had to get my rear hub serviced twice (possibly 3) times. It's been a few months since the last time I had them done and low and behold the rear one started chattering away just before Christmas. Oddly I've never had any issues with the front hub. What sort of life/mileage should I expect out of wheel bearings and would sealed bearings be any better?

 

[cyberknight]

I use r501s for commuting and i have had to grease the rear bearings a similar amount of the back too.

 

[night cycler]

What is actually done on hub service? Is it adjusting the slack and re-packing with grease or is it at times replacing the bearings?

 

[Mr. Cow]

What is actually done on hub service? Is it adjusting the slack and re-packing with grease or is at times replacing the bearings?

To be honest I forget to ask, I'm guessing they just remove, regrease and put back together.

 

[Levo-Lon]

As your talking ball bearing and cone type, if serviced regular they will last yrs..

if we were talking superstar sealed bearings......end of your road or drive...but some have made it to the roundabout...lol..

 

[cyberknight]

As your talking ball bearing and cone type, if serviced regular they will last yrs..

if we were talking superstar sealed bearings......end of your road or drive...but some have made it to the roundabout...lol..

My bearings have lasted 6 months , mind you i have ridden them as commuting wheels all year in all weathers.

 

[kipster]

My sealed bearings in Fulcrum 7's were a mixed bag. The rears went at about a year, the fronts at 2 years. These were on a winter hack so only ridden in bad weather. Under 30 minutes to replace and about £7 a wheel.

 

[Gareth]

My 9 & 1/2 year old Falcon Explorer Hybrid has the standard cone & cage type of axles. Mine were last fully refurbished just over 4 &1/2 years or about 13,000 miles ago.

I do all my own maintenance. When I last replaced the cones and bearings I made sure the whole of the inside of the hub was spotless. I then broken open the new cages and removed the bearings, I threw away the cage frames and added an additional ball bearing to each side cone. When reassembling everything I then fill it all with as much general purpose/agricultural EP2 lithium based grease as I can pack in there.

Then contrary to just about every word that has ever been printed about, or almost all bike mechanics have uttered about adjusting cone type wheel bearings I tighten them right up until there is no play detectable and then I lock the lock nuts up tight and leave it at that. Within 5 miles of riding the new bearings and cones will have worn in correctly, and that is it I leave them alone. 12,000 miles later I can just detect about 1.0-1.5mm of lateral (sideways) play at the rim of my 700c wheels. That is 12,000 miles of riding in all weather and road conditions and with about 1200-1500 miles of trailer towing ..... and my bike has stood outside without either shelter or cover since September 2013 as I cannot currently get it in the garage after rides.

 

[rusty bearing]

To be honest I forget to ask, I'm guessing they just remove, regrease and put back together.

In our workshop a hub service means we strip, clean and put in new bearings with plenty fresh grease. I would expect this to be the case in any lbs

 

[mjr]

Then contrary to just about every word that has ever been printed about, or almost all bike mechanics have uttered about adjusting cone type wheel bearings I tighten them right up until there is no play detectable and then I lock the lock nuts up tight and leave it at that. Within 5 miles of riding the new bearings and cones will have worn in correctly, and that is it I leave them alone.

Errrm, when I tightened my cones and locknuts up completely (as suggested as a first attempt by some guide or other - it did say to be prepared to redo it slightly looser each time until it worked), the wheel basically wouldn't spin on the axle - no way you'd get 5 miles on that!

When a bearing cage shattered once, it jammed the bearing and the axle started to spin too, loosening the nuts and chewing the dropouts. (And that's part of why I fit uncaged ones.)

 

[guitarpete247]

Ball bearings are so cheap I can't see why anyone would just re-pack the old balls. If you gone to the bother of stripping it down and cleaning out the old grease it is too much effort to clean up the old balls.
Not had any experience of sealed units. Also I take out all cages and put in just balls.

Only a few more bearings needed.

 

[Gareth]

Errrm, when I tightened my cones and locknuts up completely (as suggested as a first attempt by some guide or other - it did say to be prepared to redo it slightly looser each time until it worked), the wheel basically wouldn't spin on the axle - no way you'd get 5 miles on that!

When a bearing cage shattered once, it jammed the bearing and the axle started to spin too, loosening the nuts and chewing the dropouts. (And that's part of why I fit uncaged ones.)

Where did I say tightened up completely?

quote: "I tighten them right up until there is no play detectable" This means that the wheels can still turn but I cannot feel any sideways backlash at the rim

Yes, the bearings are tight and there is drag, but this soon settles down into at state of no discernible bearing drag, and remains like this for a very long time. I fitted my "Christmas prezzie" new pair of Schwable Marathon tyres to this bike yesterday and after all that time and all those miles there is just a little play noticeable in the wheel bearings. I've done the headstock, bottom bracket and pedal spindle bearings in the same way, and again there is only a smidgen of play showing in all these bearings after 12,00 odd miles of riding. I've done this on all my bikes and the longevity of service I get from components is all most unheard of. With the exception of ball bearings this bike still has all the original fitted factory drivetrain in place.

20 odd years ago I had a bearing cage collapse on a bottom bearing, which locked up solid and forced me into a 17 mile walk home pushing my bike. Since that incident I have removed all the cages on all the bearings on all my bikes, and have never once had a lock-up since.

 

[guitarpete247]

I've always tightened cones up just enough. Sheldon agreed http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html I found that over tightening left bearing feel as if the were full of gravel so backed off a little but not too far. I believed, as Sheldon said, it could lead to "the parts will wearing out prematurely."
Also read what he says about q/R hubs.

 

[mjr]

Maybe "tighten them right up until there is no play" has a differing meaning to that I'm used to!

 

[guitarpete247]

I forgot. I always use balls from the same batch as there can be small but important differences in diameter of balls from different batches. If they are different you may only be rolling on a few of the bearing surfaces.