Loose Shimano rear hub

[P-Jay]

Is there a trick to keeping these tight?

I'm saving my pennies for some Hope Hoops, but in the meantime I'm stuck with a common or garden Shimano Ball bearing hub. I bought it loose (second hand bike) and the QR skewer was incredibly tight - probably trying to quick-fix the problem. I've stripped, cleaned it replaced the bearings etc, it goes together lovely, but after a few miles they're loose again!

Any tips? It's driving me mad, makes a great bike handle like a turd.

[upsidedownmark]

P-Jay said:

Is there a trick to keeping these tight?

I'm saving my pennies for some Hope Hoops, but in the meantime I'm stuck with a common or garden Shimano Ball bearing hub. I bought it loose (second hand bike) and the QR skewer was incredibly tight - probably trying to quick-fix the problem. I've stripped, cleaned it replaced the bearings etc, it goes together lovely, but after a few miles they're loose again!

Any tips? It's driving me mad, makes a great bike handle like a turd.

Hmm.. You should have the cones / whatever you call the odd shaped nuts on the axle that the bearings run on, then some flat-ish (3mm?) lock nuts that hold them in place - I'm wondering if they're missing and that's why it's loosening off? Either that or you're re-assembling it without enough tension on the bearings (tighten the cones), OR it's just plain f**cked.

I've given up on trashing low end shimano (road) hubs and rebuilt my training wheels with cheapy novatec taiwanese hubs; sealed bearings and actually not half bad!

[aka_kerrly]

This should provide some help:
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Tech-Tuesday-Cup-and-...

[yellowjack]

Cone spanners?

Do the cone nuts have the lock-off nuts behind them? If someone previous to you has stripped the thing down and not put it back together again properly you might have bits missing. Another explanation could be that the cups are borked, or some of the bearings are worn to excess. If the cups are in good shape, and the cones are not worn, replacement of the BBs will fix the problem. The cone nuts can also be replaced if they are worn, but the bearing cups being ruined will mean a complete hub rebuild, in which case replacement of the wheel will often be the cheaper/easier option.

I once bought a second-hand GT mountain bike with the same problem, and did the strip/re grease thing as a quick fix. I never did get to the bottom of the problem, as the bike was nicked a short while later, from the pool complex in Centreparcs, near Thetford Forest.

This any help to you? http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-overh...

You will know if the BB's are trashed, and if your cone nut looks like this you will need a new one too.

[P-Jay]

Thanks for the info, I've been doing it wrong, I was careful placing the bits in order when I stripped it, but ether it was wrong before I touched it, or I made a mistake because its not right, I've got a seal between the cone and the locknut.