Originally Posted by
papaki72
Holding my bike front wheel up, and spinning the wheel, I can feel on the hand holding the bike some murmuring, it spins smooth though without any drag. I guess that this must be a sign that the bearings are coming to an end and most likely the rear wheel is the same case. Am I correct? It is a road bike with some 12K km on it, with sealed bearings. How long can I keep riding it before getting it serviced? My LBS man is away on a sick leave. Can I ride it for 100-200 Km more, or should I put the bike aside until he gets back?
"Spins smoothly" and "murmuring" are contradictory info.
the momentum of the wheel's weight makes even nasty, rusty, over-tightened hub bearings "spin smoothly", in some folks' opinions.
unless the hubs are high end and feature expertly polished bearing surfaces (Excellent condition DA, some Ultegra, and The Highest echelon of a couple other brands), there will always be some "murmur" happening...
best way to assess bearing quality and adjustment is to remove the wheel, THEN turn the axle, while feeling for any roughness... many simply need a bit of play added to compensate for the "QR tightening" effect.
Zero play when the wheel is off the bike means Too Tight once that QR is closed on the frame...
old, hardened Grease causes roughness.... as will ANY tiny pits in the races.
