What does it mean if there is play in the wheel?
09-09-08, 10:33 PM
#1
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What does it mean if there is play in the wheel?
I recently noticed that if my bike is off the ground, there is a few mm of play in the wheel if you move the tire left/right. Ideas?
09-09-08, 11:03 PM
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The most common thing that I encounter that causes some left/right play would be the locknuts for the hub/axle being not as tight as needed. I would suspect that if you pulled the wheel off, the locknuts on both or at least one side would be very loose, as in hand threadable. This happens when that nut and the adjoining cone aren't pressed against one another tightly enough and it slowly unthreads.
09-09-08, 11:06 PM
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09-10-08, 01:05 AM
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Cones slipped and need adjusting, your quick release skewer doesn't have the normal high amount of tension on it, the bearings are failing in some way and the hub needs servicing. Pick one but by far the worst is the bearings are in trouble and you should have the hub serviced or do it yourself to clean and relube. Part of that clean and relube will be to look critically at the cones and cups and replace the balls. If there's any issues with rust or damage to the bearing tracks then if it's only the cones they can be replaced. If it's the cups then you need to get a new wheel or rebuild it with a new hub since the cups are non replacable.
It's most likely just one of the simple adjustments but it won't hurt to service the hub and inspect it if the bike has been well used and will be well used over the next couple of years.
It's most likely just one of the simple adjustments but it won't hurt to service the hub and inspect it if the bike has been well used and will be well used over the next couple of years.
