raymondxcho

I'm a little new to the fixed gear world so please bear with.

So my rear wheel happens to be very wobbly. Wobbly as in when I bounce my bike, theres big vibrations felt throughout the whole bike and a lot of thuds and rattles. So I checked my bike and found out my rear wheel feels like its loose. But the thing is, its not. My chain is relatively tight (not too tight, but definitely not loose) so I know it's not loose that way. But it can move side to side. It's a little hard to explain. The wheel is true because I had it trued by my friend who's good at truing wheels but even he has no idea what's up with my rear wheel.

I can still ride my bike but it feels a little dangerous when I feel the wobbliness. I can't feel the wobbliness when I ride.

Thanks guys, hope you guys get what I mean. Here's more info on my bike in case it helps. It's a Dawes SST from Bikesdirect and I run on the Weinmanns not the Alex

ghoul vs robot

could be a bent axle

AEO

might want to try this in the mechanics.

As a starter, I'd check for any cracks in your frame.

leed

Sounds like you need to adjust some hub-cones.

arcade

sounds like a case of the mondays.

raymondxcho

i dont think its a bent axle. The bike is only a few months old.

Someone did mention something about cones but I didnt get what he was saying. Care to explain?

king koeller

Loose play in the hub

lz4005

Cone nuts are what holds the axle and bearings in place inside the hub. They're probably loose. They're on the hub to the inside of the dropouts and the cog. Don't ride with them loose enough that you can feel the wheel wobble. Its dangerous and could damage the hub.

leed

If you have loose-ball bearings (no cartridge) (which after looking at the Dawes SST specs, you probably don't), there are cones that must be adjusted otherwise the wheel/hub will wobble about the axle. There are still tightening nuts to help keep the axle in place with cartridge bearings, so there might be something to look at there.

shortshorts

evilcryalotmore

Tighten your cones?

hairnet

this video covers a few things, but it shows how to adjust your cones if you care to do it yourself. If you have a good relationship with your bike shop they might just do it for free because it takes no time for someone with some experience.


https://bicycletutor.com/overhaul-wheel-bearings/

raymondxcho

I just took out my rear wheel and I see/feel no play in the hubs. You guys sure its the cones? And that video really didn't help. Yes, that's how noob I am at this. Thanks for the help though. I guess I can go to my LBS but they love ripping people off so I'm trying to learn how to do this myself. But I have no idea what needs to be done exactly

hairnet

so the axle doesn't move at all if you push and pull on it? Even if it's off by a little you will notice the play when the wheel is mounted.

raymondxcho

Yeah, no play when I push and pull. But once I mount it, I feel it. I sort of reduced the amount of play by tightening the bolts to the frame a bit more. That kind of helped. But I still do feel the play. If nothing works, I'll just take it to the shop.

evilcryalotmore

huh.. are you sure? it can mve only mm and make your ride very noisiy

desconhecido 

The wheel can be true and still have spokes loose enough for the wheel to flop around like a carp out of water.

There are a limited number of things that can give the symptoms you see. Likely, either the hub is loose on the axle (cones, if it has a cup and cone hub) or the spokes are way loose.

Brian

By "ripping people off", do you mean charging customers for a service, such as fixing something you don't have the knowledge or skill to fix yourself?

raymondxcho

that to an unreasonable price, yes.

hairnet

examples

king koeller

The LBS is there to serve you. They intentionally don't rip anyone off.
The only people who could possibly ever get ripped off are people who don't know how to service their own bikes.

king koeller

To be better educated about bikes...
Always ask questions,
watch what the mechanics do,
learn all you can about your bike,
read about bike repair,
hang out with bike mechanics,
Overhaul your own bike top to bottom.
Get your hands dirty
Fix up old bikes people throw away
donate them to charity...
the memories...
I took apart my Schwinn Stringray coaster brake when I was 10 years old...(1972)
repacked all the bearings, for the fork, crank and hubs....
back then the degreasing solvent of choice was gasoline!

king koeller

After rereading this string of questions and answers, sounds like your spoke tension is way to low.
Did your friend check the rear wheel dishing?
When you squeeze spoke pairs how much do they deflect?,
How much visible thread is showing on each spoke?
This might be worth a trip to the LBS just so you can explain it them...