Hmmph...

Wiggled my cranks today after I heard a clunking whilst legging it to the trainstation, but as I wiggled the crank on the left side... the entire back wheel wiggled. grabbing the back wheel it now wiggles a good cm or so.

How the heck do I fix it?! or is it me imagining a problem, im pretty sure max said something about it before

Loose bearing cones. You cant really fix this w/o a cone wrench + one regular adjustable wrench. Its probably a 14mm nut, but dont hold me to it.

http://parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=105

Sounds like what maxi says, if it makes a graunching noise though some of the ballbearings may have gone. Worth dismantling it, cleaning it out and repacking with grease anyway IMO, its not too difficult.

well http://parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=17&item=DCW-1

looks like the pressed out stuff that I got with the bike

So may have one just no idea what one is lol shall take a picture and post it up so you can tell me if I need to spend me dosh.

argh... that looks like a right whore to do for a newbie.

Repacking hubs is easier done than explained.

FWIW, unless you have super duper hubs, they likely have cheap, i.e. not so round, bearings. If you can stop by a bike shop, get a bag of 25 grade and the hub will turn more smoothly and be easier to adjust. You want just a teeny tiny amount of play that disappears when you tighten the QR.

My bikes get their hubs done at least twice a year, its very quick once youve done it a couple times.

You dont need "bicycle grease" either. Wheel bearing grease from the automotive shop is fine, or better yet, marine trailer grease is the shiznit.

Tip: for the rear hub, disassemble the non-drive side and dont touch the cone and lockring on the right. Depending on your type of hub, you might have to get a cassette puller.

Might just be worth it to get a ride to the shop.

If its a front wheel you take it off the bike (2 nuts) then take off one of the odd nuts thats exposed, keep it level with the opposite side pressed on the ground so the bearings dont drop out.

examine bearings and remove if needed for cleaning replacement (a paper kitchen towel is adequate) put the bearings in, grease and tighten up. Turn hub over and repeat on other side. Job done.

Back one means taking the chain off  the gears and replacing it after but is otherwise usually the same.

At least thats been the case on mine.

lol the nicest bike shop is on the trail I use to go to work. Unfortunately due to my bank being a bunch of retards it means I wont have access to dosh really until my card gets sent through the post. Will try and get some out tomorrow with some statements and stuff but they kicked up a bastard of a fuss last time.

Ahhh the way you and serious have explained it seems a hell of a lot simpler. that park site seemed to suggest I needed to remove the gears off of the bike and stuff. seemed like a right arse.

BTW.. I ride solid no QR

Though I do have a stupid arsed QR saddle. Means I have to lock it to the damn bike!

Hmmm... shall pop in anyway and see if I can grab some stuffs. Automotive shop would hold some grease?? great stuff!

While im doing this I may as well lube and clean my chain again. What kinda oil do I want to be shoving on that? will normal light 3in1 oil do the job? if not I may as well grab some from the bike shop or from a car shop

oh... and whats a cassette puller? im assuming that its for cassette type bearings... in which case can i replace a cassette bearing with normal ball bearings or should I find out what I have first... before ending up buying a tump of useless metal balls and grease lol.

and one more thing... is it worth buying enough stuff to do both front and back hubs... as may as well cover both ends if needed, or is it a case of "if it aint broke... dont fix it"

Quote from: M3ta7h3adAhhh the way you and serious have explained it seems a hell of a lot simpler. that park site seemed to suggest I needed to remove the gears off of the bike and stuff. seemed like a right arse.

You just loosen a couple of nuts on the spindle, it may have quick release clips though, pull it out and flip the chain off the gears. If you have removed the rear wheel to repair a puncture then its the same thing.

Do the front one first, even if the problem is the rear one, its easier and if its got the caliper type rim brakes rather than disks let the tyres down so they go through easy.

Ive quick release stuff on my brakes thankfully found that out after dismantling them to fix a damn puncture ages ago lol.

Just a quick squeeze and lift and they disconnect from each other and fall open.

Righty oh... will practice on the front one Will I be able to identify what bearings I have if I remove the front wheel and have a look at it?

They are normally the next thing down on the spindle from the quick release, looks like a bit of bar with two flats on it. Just turn it out the same direction as the thread.

Actually, come to think of it, I think you can do the rear hub on a cassette equipped bike w/o removing the rear cluster, it just requires a bit of a poke and tickle. If youve got a freewheel, it must come off. Pics please, and well tell ya whats up. With a freehub/cassette, the bearings are outboard and you can get to them, albeit awkwardly, with the cassette on, but with a freewheel, the bearings are inboard, and youd need super crazy alien fingers to make it work.

For grease, I just buy those tiny 4 ounce or so bags for 99c meant to grease a couple automotive wheel bearings. If you snip them carefully you can get a nice little pastry bag-o-grease for accurate placement.

A cone wrench, like that simple Park in the pic, shouldnt cost more than $5 or so--so in a perfect world, your bearings arent pitted, and for $6 worth of grease and a wrench, you can repack a dozen wheels.

In the likely cruel world that youll encounter, your bearings will be pitted (cheap), but youll also have scored and pitted cones, which can be a bitch to source. You can always just reassemble with pitted cones and ride with slightly loose adjustments with a f**k it attitude. Works for most.

Doh... should have taken a picture last night, wanted to pick up the bits today! if I can blag them into letting me access my bank account without any photo ID. :|