Here are some photos of a SOVOS 7 speed free hub. The owner was concerned, not about the bearings, but the lack of freewheeling. As the bearing cup was breaking apart, the outer part of the cup was pushing outwards into the outer body and causing it to not freewheel. I would expect wheel was getting loose and wobbly but the owner had already removed the axle prior to him bringing in it for service. This sort of bearing damage is typically caused by the bearing being far too tight. Some times caused by a loose locknut that allows the cone to turn inward while riding.








There are far worse hubs. The vast majority of hubs on bicycles are these Chinese sheet metal hubs that are standard equipment on most box mart bicycles. The bearing cups are stamped sheet metal with no support. Once a cone starts to turn in due to a loose locknut, this is the result: