Bicycle Mechanics - Loose hub?

Hey - recently picked up a used bike that had new wheels on them and noticed that the front hub appears loose on the axel. What I mean is that if the wheel is on the bike and skewer tight if I push the wheel (spokes or rim) the hub moves slightly on the axel. Not much, maybe a sixteen of an inch or less but it does move smoothly and evenly. My other bike (that has nicer wheels) does not do this and I don't know if this is a problem or just the way these are made. . .btw, the wheel spins fine and smoothly and is true.

Any thoughts?

Hey - recently picked up a used bike that had new wheels on them and noticed that the front hub appears loose on the axel. What I mean is that if the wheel is on the bike and skewer tight if I push the wheel (spokes or rim) the hub moves slightly on the axel. Not much, maybe a sixteen of an inch or less but it does move smoothly and evenly. My other bike (that has nicer wheels) does not do this and I don't know if this is a problem or just the way these are made. . .btw, the wheel spins fine and smoothly and is true.


See: http://sheldonbrown.com/cones

Sheldon "Minor Adjustment" Brown
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| The race is not always to the swift, |
| nor the battle to the strong |
| -but that's the way to bet. |
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Sheldon - thanks for the advice/link but I still have a problem. . .it appears that I need a special tool for one side of the wheel (Rolf Vector) because it is round and has slots in it (as though for a tool to hold it in place). So, one side has the typical square edge for a 17mm cone wrench but I need to grab the other side or else it just spins around. The LBS said that the did not have the tool (and looked surprised) and I can't find a tool at the Park site that looks like it will do the job.

Any ideas?

The slots are for a cone wrench. You just need the correct size.

None of the cone wrenches I see on Park Tool are round with teeth which is what is needed. One side will hold a standard cone wrench but the other is round with slots so a standard cone wrench won't grip - there is no square to grip.

Here is a photo of what I am talking about . . .

Bump. . .

It looks like this hub probably has cartridge bearings, and sometimes those can't be adjusted once they develop play. They're meant to be tossed and replaced once they develop a lot of play. If your skewer can't tighten enough to remove the play, then you might be looking at cartridge bearing replacement. As for that round nut with the slots, I don't know how to get that off, sorry!

Hard to tell from the photo but it looks like you need a "hook spanner" to loosen that nut. I agree, it's probably a cartridge bearing hub and "maintenance" consists of replacement.

Try to e-mail Rolf for information. Maybe Park tools can provide some guidance too.

Ok - there is a special tool! Just so happens that I did a quick search on ebay and found a Rolf Hub Tool for sale for 2.99. . .it arrived today and did the trick. I could not find the tool anywhere else new. . .

Thanks for all your help - photo attached.