Discussion
My hybrid has not really survived the winter and I think all the potholes have really taken it out of the old girl.
Just a cheap commuter but i liked it. the wheels have lateral movement now and the rear wheel has lost a spoke.
Looking at prices to fix this and I might as well buy a new bike! 2 new wheels and hubs and all that would be expensive and i am not even sure if this would resolve the matter.
Also need new brake pads as well and a service. so all in probably touching 250 pounds?
Just a cheap commuter but i liked it. the wheels have lateral movement now and the rear wheel has lost a spoke.
Looking at prices to fix this and I might as well buy a new bike! 2 new wheels and hubs and all that would be expensive and i am not even sure if this would resolve the matter.
Also need new brake pads as well and a service. so all in probably touching 250 pounds?
A brand new set of wheels from Shimano is about £110.
£20 on decent brakes pads and some lube and grease.
No way are you talking £250.
Dont mess around with new hubs and paying a shop a fortune to relace the wheels.
Clean the bike, grease it up and you will be good to go for a few more years.
EBay some wheels from an upgrader. Pair of road fulcrum 6.5 will be about 50 quid a set for new (factory fit on a lot of bikes ). Sure it'll be similar for a hybrid.
Set of brakes - 5 quid an end at balfords, 30 quid gets you the posh Swiss top ones from wiggle.
New chain, 16 quid. New cassette 20 quid.
By all means get a new bike if you want, but your hand isn't forced
Set of brakes - 5 quid an end at balfords, 30 quid gets you the posh Swiss top ones from wiggle.
New chain, 16 quid. New cassette 20 quid.
By all means get a new bike if you want, but your hand isn't forced
The front wheel might be ok actually, but there is something going on with the hub that is making it shaky, could this be an easy fix?
Might have a look at tackling some of these jobs myself to keep the cost down.
My local bike shop is very expensive for pretty much any job, so much so I daren't even ask them!
I think they usually deal with much more expensive machinery than I will dump on them.
Might have a look at tackling some of these jobs myself to keep the cost down.
My local bike shop is very expensive for pretty much any job, so much so I daren't even ask them!
I think they usually deal with much more expensive machinery than I will dump on them.
More than likely You have cup and cone hubs. There will be loose bearings in the hub, a cone, which is a fancy bolt with a bearing race on one side, and a lock nut. Pretty easy to try yourself, take a look
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-over...
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-over...
272BHP said:
The front wheel might be ok actually, but there is something going on with the hub that is making it shaky, could this be an easy fix?
As someone else said, highly likely to be "cup-and-cone" hub bearings.Potentially it could be...
lack of grease - strip bearing, clean, regrease (new ball bearings are pennies)
loose cone nut - strip bearing, clean, take the opportunity to regrease, tighten the lock nuts against the cone nuts
damaged ball bearings - ditto (you'll see the bearing surface looks like a map of the earth, pitted to buggery - new ball bearings are pennies)
damaged cone nut - if the cone nut has a groove worn into it, and it looks pitted, best option is to spend a couple of quid on a new axle, complete with new cone nuts
damaged bearing cups - the most difficult bit to replace, as they're rarely available as separate spare parts these days. If it's the bearing cup that's buggered, it's new hub (or better yet, new wheels) time
A couple of years ago I wouldn't touch wheel/hub bearings "because voodoo black magic". But if your wheels are knackered anyway, there's nothing to lose except the price of a decent set of cone spanners (decent, mind - flimsy stamped steel ones are about as much use as tits on a fish)
Even with minor pitting on cones or cups, so long as you put new bearings in you'll get another season at least out of them. Take care to measure the size of the bearings, though, before buying replacements, and be sure to put the correct number back in.
In reality the 'wobble' in the wheel is likely down to a combination of factors. Bearing wear + lack of grease + cone wear is a favourite. Oh, and unless you're replacing a whole axle, only loosen off the cone and lock nuts on ONE side. That way, you'll keep the hub central on the axle. And don't overtighten the cones on re-assembly.
I find I'm rebuilding hub bearings a couple of times a year on most bikes. Usually when I've got the wheels off for another job. But then I'm doing lots of wet, muddy miles, especially in winter on my MTB. I'm a big fan of cup'n'cone hubs simply because they ARE such easy things to do yourself. If you open the hubs and manage to save them, then it's worth getting the rear wheel spoke replaced and trued by a shop if you're not confident. If you open up the hubs and can't save them, then it'll have only cost about £20 max for the spanners, bearings, and grease, all of which will be worth having ready for next time - and with wheel bearings, there's ALWAYS a next time, whether it's preventative maintenance (fresh grease and cone adjustment) or a full overhaul.
Well that was an unmitigated disaster. I had a crack at taking this apart and did not realise that the bearings are free on a bike and not like the sealed units on skateboards!
30 mins trying to put the little bleeders back in and then i dropped the wheel and half of them bounced down the cracks in the paving.
I might just buy a new wheel, would it come with the hub bits all in place? a bike wheel would cost about 40 pound. I suspect that taking the wheel to the local bike shop to sort out would cost about the same!
30 mins trying to put the little bleeders back in and then i dropped the wheel and half of them bounced down the cracks in the paving.
I might just buy a new wheel, would it come with the hub bits all in place? a bike wheel would cost about 40 pound. I suspect that taking the wheel to the local bike shop to sort out would cost about the same!
Yes new wheels would come complete with hubs and everything you need bar maybe the quick release skewer(or whatever retention system you have)
A few things to be aware of, wheel size? hub width? (likely 135, possibly 142) how many gears(affects hub choice dimensions)?
I bet we could find you a cheap wheel or maybe someone rustle one up
A few things to be aware of, wheel size? hub width? (likely 135, possibly 142) how many gears(affects hub choice dimensions)?
I bet we could find you a cheap wheel or maybe someone rustle one up
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