I just repacked my rear hub and am wondering about how the smoothness/hub motion should feel when I turn it by hand.

Shimano 105 hub, 9 bearings in it, 8 speed cassette. Cups, cones, bearings are all nice and new.

Before repacking I turned the axle by hand (already had the quick release/axle pulled out) and there was a bit of binding. Not really binding, but kind of like clicking, almost feeling the bearings turn over. Not crunching or anything, just more like a click click click when I turned the outer nut.

I have now just cleaned, repacked, reassembled the hub and when turning the non-drive nut by hand I can again feel a click. Doesn't make a clicking sound, but you can feel it in your hand when you turn it - not one smooth turn, but kind of intervals. Almost like a Wheel of Fortune wheel feel (not sound).

Is this normal? Do I need to adjust the cups/cones? Again, nothing noisy or wild, but you can feel a non-smooth rotation as you turn in the outer nut.

If the parts are new as listed, and the bearing races in the hub were visually smooth
when clean, then it is likely the bearings are a bit tight. Try loosening the lock nut
and the cone by 1/16th or 1/8th turn and see how it feels. A little tight is better than
a little loose. Be aware that clamping force on the QR will add some pressure to the
bearings so a smidgeon loose is likley to be just right when mounted. Hand rotating the
bearings is one thing, see if the wheel auto rotates smoothly back and forth like a
rotary pendulum without cogging suddenly before stopping.
Review Sheldon Brown and Park Tool website for further info.

Couldn't have said it better myself. One mechanic told me to make it as loose a possible with no play in the bearings. It will take a lot of practice and break the nut tighten the nut, brake the nut tighten the nut, to get it down pat.

Sounds like the they're adjusted a bit too tight. This is a part of bike maintenance that really depends on feel; if at all possible, try to find someone to feel your hub and give feedback.

Not trying to sound smart at all here. Did you remove the cassette and repack both sides of the hub or just the non-drive side? Honestly not being smart, I just couldn't tell from your description.

There should be a little play in the bearings when the wheel is off the bike. If the bearing don't have any play in them before installation, the bearings will be too tight after the quick release is tightened.

I repacked both sides of the hub.

Thanks for all the useful replies and information. Okay, I'll work on it some more.

By "play in the bearings"...do you mean I should be able to move the axle when it is inserted? Wiggle the wheel/rim side to side when put back into the frame before closing QR? Or, simply that I should be able to wiggle the QR when inserted, prior to putting it into the dropouts?

My drive side/cassette side just has the bearing race, two spacers, and a lock nut. The non-drive side has the bearing race, plus a cone, spacer, lock nut. Is this typical for Shimano rear hubs? It just seems like adjustment would be easier with a cone on each side.

From what you wrote, sch, it seems like this is the case...I'm working with a cone on one side, and the lock nut on the other.

Again, thanks for all the information and useful replies. I'm going to check out Sheldon and PT for more reading.

With the wheel out of the bike, push and pull the axle laterally. You should be able to feel it move ever so slightly.

Someplace online (Sheldon's site I think) it was suggested to adjust the bearings with a QR compressing the axle. In this case you'd adjust for no play in the bearings. I thread some spare locknuts on the very tips of the axle for the QR to push against. This leaves the regular locknut(s) free to turn. (Note - I'm still new to doing this. None of the hubs I've adjusted this way have been ridden much yet.)

You've pretty much covered it, laura. You do it by feel. If the bearings are smooth and tight, back the cones off just a little so that the axle can rock slightly in the hub. The easiest way to accomplish it is to adjust the bearings so that the wheel moves freely when you spin wheel. The lock nuts should be against the cones but the one you removed for the hub service shouldn't be tighten down fully yet. Turn the cones back against the lock nuts (loosen them) and the hub should be loose enough. As an added benefit, the lock nut will be set so as not to loosen while riding.

Slightly means just that. It should be just noticeable.

All of the above are excellent observations on hub repacking. What I've also found over time is that every hub is different. Some like to have a little play when not in the frame (compressed by QR), and some just don't. The only way to find out is to experiment with your setup. If, in the frame, you can push the rim sideways at the brake pads at all, then you need to tighten the cones.

Likewise if it doesn't spin freely with no indication of binding, you need to re-adjust. After doing this a number of times, it gets easier the next time you overhaul your hubs.

It is possible that the hub was damaged by overtightening the bearing during assembly. I have seen that occur before. One can exert an amazing amount of pressure using the lever called threading. The dimples created can be hard to spot. The other way it can happen is a drop onto a hard surface so that the axle hits - that would cause the problem just on one side - but seems far less likely that the necessary force could be applied.

I took my wheels to the LBS today, for this very reason--only I haven't touched the wheels. Ever. 1,000miles/1 year, and they have this clicky feel to them. But the guy there indicated that the only way to not have that clicking feel was to buy better wheels, like racing wheels. That it's just the way these hubs are.

Is he nuts? I think they are simply too tight, but if they are, they were 1,000 miles ago.

It's too bad we can't examine this wheel for ourselves

I think he is mistaken, to put it politely. Even an inexpensive hub, if adjusted and maintained from day one, can be smooth as silk when broken in. I started working on bikes in the 70's, when Atom and Normandy hubs were the norm - not exactly high end. They started out feeling far less smooth than a Campy but after 6 - 9 months proper adjustment and ball bearings run a very smooth track on the cup and cone. A new hub may feel somewhat rough but it should offer pretty even resistance when turned.

Unfortunately after a year there is nothing you can do to correct it or to prove what happened and when. A LOT of shops do not remove the rear wheel when assembling to check bearing tightness, and MANY hub, front and rear go out of the shop too tight when new. What feels fine off the bike can be way too tight once the q/r is clamped.

I also think he's nuts. I have repacked obviously pitted cones and brinelled races, and adjusted bearings to almost smooth.

I gave in and pulled them apart -- was afraid of what I might find. Actually, I did not see any obvious pitting, just the start of the proper wear up front, while the rear did have an obvious wear mark where the balls roll. And, the grease was turning color, so it was definately time for repacking. Maybe in a few months time I'll have to repack, rather than once/season.

What's odd is that if I tighten it up so there is no play, it sorta has the same click feel; but if I loosen it just slightly, so I get just a slight play (no quick-release installed), it rolls smoothly. [No play at the rim when clamped into the fork either.] This is like the second time I've repacked bearings on a bike (first on a "good" bike, the first time was with horribly pitted cones); maybe in ten years time I'll learn how to do it wrong too?

I think the consensus is that factory wheels always come overtightened / mal-adjusted, not to mention mis-tensioned and trued. Basically, when you buy machine-built wheels, you need to redo all of the final aspects of wheel building to have a functonal set of wheels. So yours just might not have gotten that treatment.