Cube thru axle problem - anyone fixed this?

[Bill Palmer]

Hi. I have a 2017 Cube Attain Pro Disc - a great bike for me, except it has developed the following problem. Greasing and re-seating the axle hasn't fixed it, and it is not the disc brake (good light all ways round the disc through the caliper).

Problem: front wheel/hub. Bike starts to slow as if brakes is binding (it isn't) and a rhythmic cracking noise comes on, which then becomes what sounds like brake squeal (it isn't). The brake disc stays cold (good) but the axle end gets very hot to touch. Turn the bike over and spin the front wheel - it will spin but is very arrested and stops soon (again, not the disc - good light all round).

Cure (temporary...): loosening the axle half a turn (allen/hex key) frees off the wheel and it spins again. Trouble is axle isn't tight enough to ride safely, and re-tightening it... brings the problem back.

Grateful for any experience or ideas. I do tinker, but I'm not a pro/that experienced.

Thanks.

 

[I like Skol]

Failed bearings would be my first thought.

 

[fossyant]

Same here bearings..

 

[Tiger10]

I would 3rd that.

 

[Bill Palmer]

Roger. Thanks all.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Hi. I have a 2017 Cube Attain Pro Disc - a great bike for me, except it has developed the following problem. Greasing and re-seating the axle hasn't fixed it, and it is not the disc brake (good light all ways round the disc through the caliper).

Problem: front wheel/hub. Bike starts to slow as if brakes is binding (it isn't) and a rhythmic cracking noise comes on, which then becomes what sounds like brake squeal (it isn't). The brake disc stays cold (good) but the axle end gets very hot to touch. Turn the bike over and spin the front wheel - it will spin but is very arrested and stops soon (again, not the disc - good light all round).

Cure (temporary...): loosening the axle half a turn (allen/hex key) frees off the wheel and it spins again. Trouble is axle isn't tight enough to ride safely, and re-tightening it... brings the problem back.

Grateful for any experience or ideas. I do tinker, but I'm not a pro/that experienced.

Thanks.

The problem is not with the bearings per se, but with something that's clamping the bearing. Having said that, the bearings are probably ruined now in anyway. However, replacing them will not cure the problem.

There is a fault in your hub that allows the through-axle to clamp the bearings and load them axially. There should be a mechanism on the hub that prevents a tightening through-axle to clamp the bearings and pre-load them to the point where they bind, crack and squeal.
Usually, the axles and spacers on hubs designed for through-axles have special steps, ridges and locknuts that de-couple axle tension from bearing load. On your hub that system has failed. Without knowing what type of hub it is (and even them, now it is arranged) we cannot say what causes this. If the hub has some sort of screw-on locknut arrangement, the problem is most certainly there. If it hasn't, the problem is probably with a spacer that sits over the hub axle, inside the hub, between the two bearings. That would then prevent the inner races from being squeezed together when the axle is tightened.
Disassemble the hub, identify the "stops" and then figure out what failed (or was incorrectly assembled). For signs of failure, look for sharp ridges on the spacers, rubbed areas where the anodising was rubbed off or scraped off or, loose locknuts.
You'll most likely need new bearings but find the cause first.