chico1st

sheldon brown (https://sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html) says to tighten your cones on a quick release by putting the wheel on the bike, tighten the skewer and then see if there is play but also see if the wheel moves freely.

While doing this can I just tighten the skewer and then using 2 wrenches tighten the lock-nuts in to tighten the cones? Do i even need a cone wrench? Can I tighten the nuts while under load?

Sixty Fiver

This is how I always set the bearings when using a QR...

You will need the right cone wrenches and will have to release and reset the qr when you make adjustments to the pre-load.

You can tighten up the cone under load but the locknut will then need to be tightened and the qr adjusted.

Backing off the adjustment requires that you release the qr so you can release the locknut.

chico1st

Wouldnt tightening up the nut also tighten up the cone?
Also how do you do this without a vice? I need to hold the axle from rotating (by holding the other nut) hold the cone and tighten the lock nut.

Sixty Fiver

You still need two cone wrenches... one to hold the locknut and the other to make adjustments to the cone... you adjust 3 speed and coaster hubs in the same manner.

Even if you use a vice the final adjustment should be done on the bike as the pressure from the QR affects the pre-load... you can also use a jig to simulate this but I don't see the point as I will still check the wheel once it is on the bike.

This is where bicycle science becomes an art form as it requires a fine touch and sense of when things are just perfect.

Panthers007

This should help you:

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

Sixty Fiver

Nice... but it does nothing to explain how to adjust cones with a QR axle when it is on the bike.

chico1st

I still dont see how i would stop the axle from rotating while turning the lock-nut.

Also when you are doing your repairs on a QR do you use 2 cone wrenches? or a cone wrench and a normal-openface wrench?

Sixty Fiver

Two cone wrenches... a normal wrench will usually not fit when the wheel is in the dropouts.

When you release the skewer (if it was properly set) there should be enough tension and traction from the other side to keep the axle from moving... this serves as the vice / jig.

You just want to back off the lever enough to allow you to release the locknut... do not remove the QR.

If it is a rear wheel you should be using a 15 mm and a 17 mm wrench... back off the locknut with the 17 to release the cone and check the axle for play.

If there is none then back the cone off until the smallest amount of play develops and then thread it back in in very small increments until the play is all but gone... being able to determine this is the hardest part of the entire procedure and an infinitesimal amount of play is required with a QR axle.

With that being done, secure the locknut making sure not to move the cone as this will throw off the adjustment.

Reset the QR and check for play... now there should be none and the wheel should be spinning very smoothly with no binding.

Ideally... with a perfectly adjusted wheel with quality bearings will spin smoothly and when it comes to rest the valve stem will be at the 6 o'clock position... unless you have something like spoke mounted reflectors on your bike to throw off the wheel balance.

Those suck and should be removed as they will throw your wheel out of true and don't do much of a job reflecting anything anyways.

Anyways...this is why I said this is where the work becomes as much art as it does science. It takes some practice and after you have done it countless times it is not that hard.

Just about every wheel set I work on comes in with mal adjusted wheel bearings... with QR axles they are usually too tight and this leads to premature wear.

AndrewP

1) I hold one end of the axle between pieces of wood in a vise.
2) Use 2 cone wrenches on the other end to adjust the position of the cone and the tighten the lock nut to lock it in that position.
3) Then check the feel of the bearings with the washers on the ends of the axle to transmit the clamping force of the QR into the axle.
4) Go back to step 1) and repeat until it is right.

Panthers007

Yes to above^^^. I wouldn't think to adjust the bearings without taking the wheel(s) off the bike and doing it right - with proper cone-wrenches. It can take a few tries to get that narrow window with no tightness and no looseness once you tighten the lock-nut. But it's the way to do it.

Sixty Fiver

I have been doing it right every day for a great long while...

There are other methods that work but regardless of the how you get there and how much time it takes, the bearing pre-load has to be checked when the Qr is clamped down and applying force to the axle in the same way it does when it is on the bike.

I just use the bike instead of a block of wood and a bunch of washers or a jig which is basically a dropout with a bunch of washers.

I have also used my DIY truing stand to set pre-loads when I only have a wheel and no bike handy.

Q: How does one adjust the bearing pre-load on an old Raleigh front wheel with a single cone, coaster hub, or a Sturmey Archer hub ?

Panthers007

I put the wheel in a hub-vice and put the cone in the window of being on-the-spot once the QR is tightened. Whatever works - works.

Don't get me started on a Raleigh front wheel...had enough of 3-speeds today. I'll get my hammer...

chico1st

This didnt work for me, the axle still rotated. What if I semi-load it? Is the only issue that at some point I wont be able to turn the lock-nut?