chevelle

Hi, thanks for helping. I took my axle tubes out to clean and oil shaft and bearings. It looks like the tube is bent,i put it back togeather and spun it and the tube wobbles at one end. bearings are in correct and tight as not to wobble but spin free. Is this common ?

wrk101

First, the bearings get grease not oil. Suggest you take a look at the park tool site or Sheldon Brown site. Adjusting bearing cups is somewhat of an art.

Or a quick trip to your favorite bike shop, they can probably look at it quickly at very little cost.

Charles Wahl

Some people still use oil, and it works fine. If the hollow axle wobbles, then it probably is bent -- it's the rear, correct?. That would be the one most likely to bend/break. Get a new one with the same thread/diameter.

awc380

Right......but...if you don't want to be cracking that wheel open every week or few days or so. Use grease.

chevelle

thanks for all the help. i will use grease going forword.

ggroth9

Roll the axle on a flat surface when it's disassembled. It should be apparent if the axle is bent or not.

GregG

T-Mar

You don't have to take a quick realease hub apart to determine if the axle is bent. Remove the quick release skewer. If the axle is bent there will be noticeable resistance as the skewer rubs against the inside on the axle. Skewers are typically 0.5mm smaller than the axle hole, so any bend greater than this is detectable by removing or inserting the skewer. In extreme cases, the skewer may also be bent. If in doubt, test using a front skewer, which rarely bends.

ggroth9

No you don't have to, but if the OP is disassmbling the hub to replace the oil with grease, rolling the axle is pretty much foolproof, where a bent skewer or corrosion can cause a skewer to bind when trying to pull it out of a wheel with a straight axle.

GregG