Not impressed..........

[Brandane]

I am planning a trip to the Loire Valley on my bike, leaving 2 weeks today, so I thought I would give the bike a wee going over before I leave. Chain, cassette, rings, derailleur all off and cleaned up. While doing that, noticed the rear axle is very rough when turning.

So this morning I stripped the axle down. The cone on the non chain side is well rusted and pitted, but worse than that, so is the surface on the inside of the wheel hub that the ball bearings run on (sorry, don't know the technical term for it). Ball bearings from that side are black, and the grease is a horible mix of rust. Other side is fine.

This is a bike that cost me £700 only 3 months ago, and has covered less than 600 miles. It is a Specialized Tricross. The wheel and axle are about to go into the boot of the car and I am heading off to the shop where I bought it to see what they are going to do. Not a happy bunny.....

 

[fossyant]

Those wheels from Spesh are made of cheese. The hubs are brie, the rims cheddar, the spokes edam.

Shouldn't die that quick, but the hubs are known to be poorly sealed. Hopefully you may get a new wheel, but if you do, strip it and put in some decent Finish Line PTFE waterproof grease in.

 

[Norm]

Whoa! Sorry for your plight but thanks for the warning.

 

[ianrauk]

Interesting you say that Fossy as the hub/freewheel on my 6 month old Spesh Secteur has gone kapput. Not helped I suppose due to the amount of salt/grit put down on the roads this winter. Done a good few thousand miles though.

 

[mickle]

Straightforward warranty. Not fit for porpoise.

 

[Brandane]

An update...... Hub has been inspected at the supplying bike shop and it would appear that damage has been caused by dirt getting into the bearings. They had a try at telling me bearings are a "wear-out" item, and therefore not covered by warranty . As I pointed out, it is sold as a cyclo-cross bike, and should therefore be able to resist a reasonable amount of dirty conditions. They agreed to return the wheel to Specialized "to see what they can do".

Ten minutes after leaving the shop, I got a phone call. They had spoken to Specialized, who were willing to replace the hub and bearings without seeing it. So a result of sorts. I have agreed to upgrade the hub to a sealed type, so that I am not worrying every time I go through a puddle that I might be damaging the bike . Cost to me of upgrade is £30. Should be ready for middle of next week. Now to go and strip the FRONT, and fill it with lithium grease....

 

[fossyant]

Good result. Front's don't get the battering, but worth putting a good grease in. The LBS was being lazy, come on bearings don't/shouldn't go in 3 months.

It's always a good idea to get good hubs (if you have a choice). My fixed has Formula hubs, quite cheap hubs, but the LBS said it's cheap and easy to replace bearings - £6 for new higher spec cartridge bearings. Upgraded the rears recently to SKS bearings.

Ianrauk, I'd be back down the shop to complain.

 

[potsy]

Will be keeping a close watch on mine now,what exactly should I be looking for?
Mine are Shimano RS10's which according to BR-
BikeRadar verdict

"Strong midweight wheels built around some really great hubs"

 

[Theseus]

My fixed has Formula hubs, quite cheap hubs, but the LBS said it's cheap and easy to replace bearings - £6 for new higher spec cartridge bearings. Upgraded the rears recently to SKS bearings.

Timely post!

My fixed has Formula hubs and I need new bearings. Have measured them and had a quote from an LBS for £10 for standard ones. Do they come in pairs or are they sold as separates?

Are there cheaper sources for better bearings? the LBS also quoted £40 for ceramics.

 

[Brandane]

Will be keeping a close watch on mine now,what exactly should I be looking for?

With mine, it was a very obvious roughness when turning the axle by hand, with the wheel off the bike. It's not as noticeable if you just spin the wheel while it is still on the bike. Normally, the axle should turn nice and smoothly.

 

[fossyant]

Timely post!

My fixed has Formula hubs and I need new bearings. Have measured them and had a quote from an LBS for £10 for standard ones. Do they come in pairs or are they sold as separates?

Are there cheaper sources for better bearings? the LBS also quoted £40 for ceramics.

Ebay........... 6000 2RS are the ones.. sorry made by SKF (2RS means double sealed)... Cost me about £6 delivered - in this case single.

Dimensions 10x26x8mm (10mm hole, 26mm in diameter, 8mm width)

The bearings need tapping out once the axel is removed - to refit

Follow this guide....

http://projekto-b.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-replace-your-cartridge-bearings.html

This seller....is where I got mine. SKF seam a good make of bearing.

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/bearingseller/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340

 

[stevew]

Are there cheaper sources for better bearings? the LBS also quoted £40 for ceramics.

I use SMB for my bearings as they always seem very helpfull.
BTW I always thought ceramic bearings were best utilised in very high RPM applications (20,000rpm and upwards) and that their advantages were much deminished as the revs drop to bicycle speeds. So I have never bothered with ceramic just be sure that you get well sealed ones.

 

[Theseus]

Thanks fossy, mine have the same dimensions.

I was planning on using a slightly different way of installing them than mentioned. Rather than tapping with a mallet, which seems a bit prone to causing damage, I was going to use the following technique:

1) Assemble the following with the wheel upright
a) axle through hub
both bearings over axle and up to hub
c) washer/plate big enough to cover outer race on each side
d) inner lock nut
2) Using cone spanners on each side, slowly do up both inner lock nuts, making sure that the bearings go into hub.

One side may well go in faster than the other, but things will even out at the end as the first bearing gets fully home. All I need to do is find a washer that is large and stiff enough.

 

[fossyant]

I used 2 blocks of wood with 12 mm holes drilled in so only pressing on outer edge - yours sounds fine - more accurate. Did need to check after the first ride though and re-adjust locknuts.

Easy job !

 

[Ian H]

The OP has cup and cone 'traditional' bearings. These can - and should - be disassembled and regreased every so often. Cartridge bearings are different and cannot be disassembled* or (usually) adjusted.

*I have prised out the seals and regreased them (the seals are not 100% especially in lots of water), but...at your own risk.