Bicycle Mechanics - Hub Adjustment

Do you check your hubs on your wheels to see if the bearings are adjusted properly? My Mavics are the ones that got me thinking about it since you have an adjustment tool. I'm not a big fan of Mavic hubs but that tool they give you is convenient. I even checked my grandfathers wheels on his hybrid for the heck of it. They are Bontrager SSR and when I used the cone wrenches I discovered that those things were really tight, I actually had to put a little muscle into loosening them. The spin a lot better now and have no play and I was just wondering if I was on the right track?

If wheel is loose then tighten the cones. If it's not a loose ball hub then it's probalby time for new cartridges.

I've found most new hubs, both Shimano and Campy, are adjusted a bit too tight as purchased. I adjust all new hubs as if I had just overhauled them.

A hair too tight is better than too loose but you're on the right track. Some small number of extra mph or a few extra feet are there for the taking with a bit of fine tuning.

One thing to keep in mind that if these are QR hubs that you need to have the QR's in the axle and tightened down to the correct tension. That QR tension is actually enough to squish the axle enough to feel it. Hubs that are properly set up with the QR in place will actually have a tiny bit of play that you can just feel when the QR is let off. You'll need some extra thick packing washers or discs of some sort to use because you have to put the tension onto the ends of the axles instead of the nuts as per normal or you can't loosen them to adjust the cones. A couple of 1 inch squares of 1/4 thick steel is the trick. One side has a hole big enough for the axle and the other is only big enough for the QR. You then adjust from the spaced out side.