Howdy, folks.

I just took my wheels apart, (the cones were too tight), added some grease, and reassembled everything.

I only loosened one side, but I don't have a cone wrench to tighten the cone against the locknut.

I snugged them as good as I could, and mounted the wheels.

Is it safe to ride a couple of days til I get some cash for a wrench? Maybe 40 or 50 miles?

My concern is that the cone on the "loose" side may try to tighten itself up as the wheel turns.

Edit: If it matters, these are 700c wheels; standard ball bearings; They are cheap and will get replaced in the spring( I want to switch to a freehub anyway).

The wheels are fairly new(got 700 miles on them).

Thanks!

-dave

Which side did you loosen? If it was the left (non-drive) side, it's probably OK, as the hub rotation tends to loose the cone but the locknut stops it.
If it was the right side, I wouldn't ride it. Rotation could tighten the cone and jam the hub.

Thanks for the reply, Reynolds. I loosened the non-drive side on the rear wheel. can't remember whichside on the front.

I know the bike rolls a lot smoother now, so I'm glad I did it; just need to get a wrench...

edit: I'll be sure to pay attention this morning to how the bearings feel. just gotta go six miles for an orientation thing at work. thanks for the explanation. You helped me to visualize the whole thing better.

I wasn't aware you could get at the bearings without a cone wrench on either wheel.

M.

There is simply no way we can tell you that. If the cone gets very loose that can also cause problems, including a bent axle. However, if there's a lockwasher between cone and locknut you should be able to tighten the locknut properly - just harder to get the adjustment right.

If you take a wrench to both lock nuts, one will come loose. Once you remove it, the cone can be removed and you can slide out the axle. Reassembly is where the lack of a cone wrench is problematic.

Opening the hub is easy. Box or open end wrenches on both locknuts worked apart will pop one loose (which is not in your control). Some times they can be retightened the same way, but it's difficult to control because the cone can turn with the lock nut. I've adjusted hubs without a cone wrench in the field, but it's a slow PIA trial and error process.

To the OP, you're fine with the loose cone on the left rear. The front wheel is flippable, so see if you can figure out which is the one you loosened, and put it to the left.

Thanks. It's running along just fine so far. Much better with grease in there. ...and payday comes soon. All is well.

Here's a trick: wind the cone out just far enough for you to be able to get a decent grip on it with some pliers while leaving room for the locknut, which you tighten onto the cone, and with only a little bit of luck, both should turn snugly together, and tight enough to stay put. Obviously you need to be patient as you approach the goldilocks point, since if you overshoot it's back to square one.

This would be carnage on dry threads, but hub axles as a rule aren't, and you can do this till the cows come home before the threads will start to show it. Unless you're working with rubbish, in which case it's possible the cone will continue to tighten against the locknut as you turn it, leaving this option pretty much closed.

I'd probably carve a cone wrench out of a spoon or something before I'd make a habit of this malarkey though...

Long ago, before I had bought proper tools (and in some cases, even knew what the proper tool was), I often dreamed of and sometimes implemented Rube Goldberg solutions to problems like how to get a grip on a cone nut without the special wrench.

In this case, I imagined going to the hardware store and purchasing a piece of square keystock that would extend the flats enough to get a regular wrench on the cone (and making the effective wrench size large enough that the lock nut could turn freely inside the other wrench if there were horizontal overlap), foiling the monopolizing power of the component manufacturers.

However, instead, I went out and bought a cone wrench.

Get some cone wrenches. Nothing more satisfying than a job done right, IMO. Plus you'll be riding it and reminding yourself each time how good it feels to have done something well.

I think a great philosophy for life is "anything worth doing --is worth doing well."

Hm. I think a trip down to the LBS is in order this weekend to see what size cone wrenches my bikes will require.

M.

20 years ago I got 2_4 in one cone wrenches .. 13-15 on one end 14-16 on the other.

someone may still make them , its a simple solution to the problem ..


[ Bicycle Research company may not be around any more]

I've got a set of these from Performance. They are about $8 a pair. Not the greatest but will work if you treat them gently. Also have a proper set of cone wrenches which work much better.

13, 14, 15 or 16mm. Likely two of the last three.

98% chance the front will be 13mm and the rear 15mm.

Might want to add some digital verniers to the shopping list.

They're off-the-shelf rims, so that's what I've deduced from my readings.

Agreed on the calipers.

M.