Dial in your hubs so your wheels roll right
Dial in your hubs so your wheels roll right
If your wheels are not rolling smoothly, you should service your hubs. There are two different types of hubs or bearing arrangements in bicycle wheels: cup-and-cone and cartridge. Cup-and-cone is typically used in lessexpensive wheels. Shimano and Campagnolo, however, still use this system in most of their high-end wheels. Cup-and-cone setups feature loose balls that are held in place in the hub by a “cone” that is threaded onto the axle. The “cup” or inner race is where the balls roll inside of the hub shell. This system is a little harder to overhaul because you have to disassemble the bearing system to service and lubricate it. The cartridge-bearing system has a single unit comprising the balls and race. The cartridge bearing is pressed into the hub shell and is typically thrown out and replaced rather than serviced. left
Adjusting a cup-and-cone hub Adjusting cup-and-cone bearings Let’s focus on cup-and-cone hubs on quick-release axles. With your wheel clamped tight in the frame, grab the rim and try to rock it back and forth. If you feel any play, it’s time to adjust. You’ll need a good set of cone wrenches in various sizes, from 13 mm to 17 mm. Standard, open-end wrenches can come in handy for holding the outer locknut. Remove the wheel from the frame. Do your adjustments on the non-drive side. Select the correct cone wrench and hold it in place while loosening the locknut. Hold the other end of the axle with your hand or wrench. Turn the cone clockwise until it bottoms out slightly then back it off about a quarter turn. Then, tighten down the locknut while holding the cone in place without moving the axle. This process can sometimes be tricky and might take a few tries. The goal is to have just a tiny bit of play in the axle while it is off the bike as clamping it in the frame will take the play out because this process flexes the axle slightly. If the axle does not turn smoothly, or there is no play at all off the bike, then it is too tight. If you’ve made adjustments and the axle still has play in the bike or isn’t running smoothly, then the hub might need to be overhauled, which is a topic for another article.
Adjusting cartridge bearings Adjustment for cartridge bearing hubs can vary widely for different brands. Always consult the manufacturer’s instructions or take your wheels to a professional mechanic. Most of the time, there will be a threaded adjuster with a pinch bolt or a threaded collar on one side of the hub as a means to preload the bearings. There are also some types that have caps pressed over the tops of the axle ends. These caps are interchangeable for quickrelease and thru axles. Sometimes these types of hubs are not adjustable, so when play develops, the bearings need to be replaced. With the threaded-adjuster type, tighten down the adjuster and back it off ever so slightly, so there’s no play when clamped or bolted into the frame.