Think my rear wheel is dying?

[TheLemming]

Something felt "wrong" on the back end of the bike on today's ride. It was hard work and I just wasn't as fast as I should have been on a very regular route. At first I thought my rear was deflating or low but there was no sign of it visibly so I carried on and assumed that it was just my legs - I've put in a record mileage month for me and a record last week... So they aren't that fresh.

Getting back this evening I needed to pop to the shops so dug my Carrera out of the shed that I haven't used since last week. Suddenly it felt smooth as silk by comparison. Which might explain why I put in an 18mph average on a ride on a carrera tdf and struggled to hit 16 on the same trip on a Boardman pro-carbon, top end was also down by a few mph on the descents...

This might explain why the ride back on Sunday's club ride was suddenly so damn hard - I was flying for the first 20 miles then struggling like hell for the last 15...

Looking at the Boardman further, it seems there's a "groan" when spinning the rear wheel (not brakes binding). Hard to hear over the freewheel but its definitely there.
There is also a very small amount of lateral movement when trying to move the wheel side to side. I know something is wrong, unfortunately I don't quite know what...

I'm afraid I've got no experience on diagnosing wheel issues (still somewhat of a newbie and learning constantly).

Any advice as to what I should be looking at or looking for? Closer examination tomorrow....
Worst case I've got a spare set of aksiums to use in the meantime... But the ritcheys roll so much better... Normally...

(For reference the wheels are Ritchey wcs ds)

Edited by TheLemming on Tuesday 5th November 00:06

Edited by TheLemming on Tuesday 5th November 00:22

[Rocksteadyeddie]

Take the wheel out and check the bearings. Sounds like they might be at best full of crud.

[ChrisMCoupe]

If there is lateral movement when you wiggle it side to side then definitely sounds like bearings. I would be surprised if that took 2mph average off your ride though.

[budgie smuggler]

As above sounds like bearing failure, or at least out of adjustment if they are cup'n'cone.

The only way I can think that they'd slow you down a huge amount was if it were moving enough to drag the brakes.

[sherbert90]

If my memory serves me correctly, they are cartridge bearings (so they are sealed rather than sat freely in the hub shell) on that particular wheel, so they'll need replacing if they have failed. Get a pair of cone spanners to take off the two nuts and try to clean them up first though.

Park tools have lots of guides on stuff like this if you are stuck. Alternatively take it to your LBS and leave it to them, or Halfords if the one near you is a good one.

[TheLemming]

ChrisMCoupe said:

If there is lateral movement when you wiggle it side to side then definitely sounds like bearings. I would be surprised if that took 2mph average off your ride though.

It could have been my legs tbh :-)
Definitely felt "wrong" and that was enough that perhaps anything else was psychological.

Lateral movement is minimal but there is some, it may have been enough to foul the brakes slighty...

Thanks ladies and gents, yes sealed bearings. I'll swap the spare aksiums on that I was using on my old bike and take a closer look.