wheel buckle / play? concerned

[JohnRedcoRn]

when i did the recent intensive maintenance course, we noticed a bit of rubbing of my front wheel against the v - brake blocks. Set up the brakes - fine, put the wheel back in...discovered a bit of a 'buckle' ; the lad doing the course made a straightforward spoke adjustment, and it seemed fine. However, took the bike out last night and have noticed some slight play ; took out wheel, put it back in, still has the teeniest bit of play and also when i spin the wheel freely its still slightly wobbling and rubbing the blocks once every turn. Strangest thing is i spin it a few times, brake, spin it again - sometimes its running pretty damn near true with no rub, sometimes it rubs. the bike rides fine and no discernible wheel wobble when i'm riding)

i'm a bit of a worrier, this may be nothing, but i am concerned this is the start of a serious problem.

any ideas ?

 

[swee'pea99]

If your spokes were adjusted and your wheel was 'fine', it probably still is - at least as far as the rim is concerned. Most likely, your cones have loosened off a bit. Hold your bike steady and try to wobble the rim/tyre in between your brake blocks - if it will wobble, your cones are loose. Take the wheel off, and tighten up the cones - you can probably do it with your fingers. Don't over-tighten, or you'll lock the whole thing up. If that sorts it out, you'll know that was the problem. In which case, to sort it once and for all, you'll need a special cone spanner...not expensive. Ask at your LBS.

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

Thanks ; that sounds exactly like what my wheel is doing ! So if i remember rightly ;

wheel off via quick release > take axle out > tighten cones ?

thanks, i never even thought of that

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

..this is EXactly what happened to me when I came back from my course at the weekend. The rear wheel was wobbling. I listened to the bike by placing my ear on the saddle and it sounded rough as the rear wheel span, but smooth as th efront wheel span. I removed the wheel and checked the small nut...erm...which I think are actuallu the cone ring...it was loose. I hand tightened it (no spanner) and replaced the wheel all was well again and I was happy. Try that, I also reckon that is the issue like sweepea just sedded.

 

[swee'pea99]

Yup - 'cept you don't need to take the axle out. Just tighten the nut furthest from the axle-end - ie, as near as you can get to the middle of the wheel - which you'll just be able to reach and twiddle with your fingers. If truth be told, you don't even need to remove the wheel - I did it y'day morning on my way into work at the side of the road...took maybe 30 secs - just release the pressure using the QR, then do it, then lock the QR back in place. Like I say, it's a temporary fix...mine generally lasts a couple of months before I find myself at the side of the road again, twiddling and thinking 'I really *must* get that cone spanner'...

 

[fossyant]

You'll need a cone spanner.

When you remove the wheel, wiggle the axel - if you have play, then it needs a slight adjustment. Don't take the axel out (unless you want to re-grease the bearings), just loosen the outer nut on one side with any spanner (you'll need a spanner on the other side, and then slightly tighten the cone (inner nut) - then use both spanners to lock off.

Make sure you don't over tighten and the bearings still run smooth - tighten a little then refit the wheel.

 

[mickle]

It's worth fixing properly, and sooner rather than later. A lose drive side cone will, under the rotational influence of the wheel screw itself along the axle and comprehensively crush the bearings into the hub shell, requiring at the very least a new wheel and at worst completely seizing the back wheel half way down the nearside of a turning HGV.

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

oh bugger and damnation i've botched it - didnt get chance to get proper tools on me way home so i managed with adjustable spanner and some other multi-spanners (the sort you used to get with bikes in the olden days).
anyway, i ended up loosening off the bolts and cones on both sides of the wheel, then making a lot of educated trial and error adjustments - firstly ending up with a wheel that wouldnt move at all, then took it off again, loosened eveything again, couldnt figure out which side was drive and which wwas non drive, realised the bits which the bike forks sit on werent equal on both sides of the hub, sorted this, wheel back on....and so on. The result is i can STILL feel a LITTLE bit of play and i'm not 100% certsain that my wheel isnt slightly too tight. I could loosen it a bit more but the damn thing might fall off, or i could keep it as it is and worry about stripping away threads, destroying bearings etc. I'm annoyed that i'm going to have to take it to my LBS to get it sorted from scratch by someone who knows what theyre doing as since i've loosened everything on both sides before putting it back, god knows what i've done to my wheel !

 

[4F]

Drive side = side with the cogs on

You really need to adjust with cone spanners as these are thinner and make the job a lot easier. If you have loosened the cones too much on either side it is possible to loose a bearing which is not good news and means you will need to fit new ones.

Check this site out http://bicycletutor.com/overhaul-wheel-bearings/

 

[02GF74]

there is a cone whcih has two flats on it wide enough for a cone spanner and a nut on top of that whcih is tightened against the cone to stop it loosening (or tightening).

It is not possible to use a normal spanner on the cone. and just tightening the nut is not the correct way since either the cone does not move or else both move with the possibility of strpping the thread - unlikely to cause problems as probably need to tighten up by a fraction of a turn.

woat I'm trying to say, albeity badly! is you need to invest in a set of cone spanners. measure the flats since these differ - I have 4 spanners .... to cover all sizes.

 

[swee'pea99]

i can STILL feel a LITTLE bit of play and i'm not 100% certsain that my wheel isnt slightly too tight.

As it say in Hitchhikers, DON'T PANIC! You almost certainly haven't done anything really bad.

You should feel a little bit of play - how little is little comes with experience, but there will always be at least some dgree of wobble there. As for being too tight, can you hold the bike off the ground and spin it and it keeps turning for a while under its own momentum (without making any horrible grindy noises)? If so, it's probably not too tight. Has your original problem gone away? Ie, has it stopped rubbing the blocks? If so, far from buggering it, you've fixed it!

Tho', as others have stated, for a proper long term fix, you do need to use a cone spanner: get cone right, move nut to right behind it, use spanner to hold that nut while you use the cone spanner to 'reverse' the cone tight against it. Done.

 

[JohnRedcoRn]

Thanks ; Yeah, Tiny Bit Play, Rubs Occasionally When I Spin It But Then More Times Not. I Might Slacken The Cones Ever So Slightly In Case I Damage It.

Thanks