Cyclodrew

I have a ~1994 Raleigh M40 bike that I've had for 20 years. The rear wheel is getting wobbly. When I took it off to inspect it, some ball bearings fell out. The cups (?) seem to have loosened up on my most recent ride. I haven't done any maintenance to the hub before, but a bike shop put a new quick-release skewer on it about six months ago. I haven't taken it apart yet but I'm going to assume from the age that the cones are damaged.

I haven't done much work on bikes but am mechanically able. I'm thinking of getting a new rear wheel/hub and moving the existing freewheel sprockets over. Then I started wondering, if I'm getting a whole new wheel, would it be worth switching to a cassette hub?

Currently it is an 18 (6/3) speed bike and I'm happy enough with the gear number and ratios. The bike has numerous customizations and additions that make me want to repair it rather than buy a new bike.

What are your thoughts on the cheapest/simplest way to do a quality repair?

Some other info: For the last couple years I have been riding it year round, sometimes in rain or snow about 10 miles a week, sometimes longer. I almost always ride on city streets. I also often take my kid on the back seat, so the all-up weight is pushing 250+ lbs. I would want to make sure any repair is very sturdy, as the original was.

Raging_Bulls

Perhaps you can simply overhaul the current bearings. Clean the balls, cones and cups with gasoline or degreaser to get them as clean as they can get. Then inspect the cones and cups for pitting and check the balls for cracks.
If the cones are damaged, you can buy new ones online or via your LBS. Same with the balls (when in doubt, I replace them anyway, it's not like they're expensive enough to justify an hour-long inspection) as long as you know the correct diameter. However if the cups are worn, you're in trouble.

Assuming they are all okay, you can just rebuild it. Grease in the cups, balls, then the axle, tighten correctly and that would be about it.
I'm not going to write down the entire procedure and all the things that require attention, there are probably dozens of Youtube videos that show it better than I could ever hope to explain in words. A query like "service bicycle hub" will provide plenty of results.

bikemig 

If you've been riding the bike for 20 years day in and out in all kinds of weather and you haven't serviced the hubs, you probably have issues with the cones and/or bearing surfaces. It is probably new wheel time and there are lots and lots of choices out there. This is not an expensive wheel and you may just want to talk to your LBS about a replacement wheel.

dabac

CONES are generally replaceable, cups not much so.
Admittedly, I've replaced a cup or two, but they've all been cannibalized out of "donor" hubs.

RPK79

26" Wheelset Single Wall Front Rear Axle Wheels 36h Silver 6 Speed Freewheel | eBay

$60 shipped and you'll have a whole new wheelset. Nothing fancy and that's just with a cursory search on google.

Raging_Bulls

oops, so they both have different names. Perhaps I should learn proper English first

Sorry for the confusion. edited my post.

dabac

No problem. I'd LOVE to discover a source of replacement cups apart from cannibalizing.

Cyclodrew

Thanks, I'll decide my course after inspecting the parts. There were years where I only rode a few times, I've only been riding it very regularly the last few years.

If I decide to buy a whole new wheel, would there be any advantage/gotcha with going to a cassette hub? Sheldon Brown's website refers to the cassette design as greatly superior to the freewheel design, but I'm not sure why for my use.

dabac

It's mainly about the dropout width. 6-speed freewheels are generally considered to do OK, the advantage of cassettes doesn't make itself known until you go to 7-speed.
If you have index shifting, you'd have to replace shifters.
6-speed cassettes are virtually extinct, although I suppose one could be cobbled together somehow.

hybridbkrdr

I had the same kind of question with my hybrid. My freewheel goes from 14T to 28Teeth. When going down hills, I found I couldn't maintain the speed well with a small cog of only 14T. Going with a cassette allows you to go down to 11T. The one thing I noticed though was there aren't that many 7 speed cassette hubs. Eventually I thought going with an 8 speed cassette and compatible hub would be more realistic. You can get $12 eight speed (well, 5 to 9 speed) Falcon Friction shifters at a place like bikeman: https://www.bikeman.com/LD1102.html

Whoops, I just forgot you may have something like a 126mm dropout while current bikes and wheels often have 135mm (except for road 130mm).

jyl

Get $5 of new ball bearings and $10 of hub wrenches from the bike shop and a $5 one-pound tub of multi-purpose grease from the auto parts store. Clean the old grease from the hub. Pack it with new grease, insert the balls, re-assemble with the existing cones, adjust properly, see tutorial here

Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » Hub Overhaul and Adjustment

There is a reasonable chance this is all you need. Bikes are tough and just because yours is 20 years old doesn't necessariy mean the cones are too bad to use. If not, you've only spent $20 and you have the wrenches and grease anyway. You can find used cones in sound condition at a bike co-op, probably by scavenging them from a $5 used hub, bring your parts to make sure of size. Or you can take the used hub and rebuiild the wheel with it, if you want to get into freewheel removing and wheelbuilding. Or buy the new cheap wheelset, but it may need spoke retensioning anyway.

Cyclodrew

After taking the wheel apart it turns out the axle is broken at the cone and was being held together by the QR skewer, which is now bent. The cups look ok at first glance but the cones are unevenly worn and pitted.

fietsbob

new wheel .. low end MTB use freewheel hubs to cut the selling cost, (even Now)

then people treat it like a MTB and break axles .. 20 years is a good run though ..

get a wheel with a freehub , axles are not as weak then .

Cyclodrew

The dropouts are 126mm apart, so I'm looking for a 26", 126mm wide hub and wheel. This seems to be pretty uncommon in my searches. Is there another term for this size of wheel that I should be searching on? If the width of the hub isn't mentioned, should I assume it is 135mm?

bikemig 

I wouldn't assume anything but 135 is pretty common for 26 inch wheels. You would think a rear wheel that takes a freewheel should be a 126 mm or a 130 at most but who knows; no big deal if you have to spread the rear drop outs a bit. The advantages of a cassette over a freewheel are unimportant at this price range particularly since you are running 6 or 7 on the back. Something like this, https://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Joytec-...heel+freewheel

Raging_Bulls

Early 90's XT (FH-M730) is 130mm, which should be possible. However they are getting expensive nowadays. M732 is 135mm already.

fietsbob

Went USA when I built up my Touring bike's wheel Phil Wood freewheel hubs in 126.. expensive But the axles are unyielding.

you may just get the frame cold set wider to 135, then use an off the shelf machine built wheel .. freehub. for less than Phil's hub.

dabac

That's a non-issue entirely. Add a 4.5 mm spacer to an 8/9-speed and you can fit a 7-speed cassette.

hybridbkrdr

There's a couple of Wheelmaster 36 hole rear wheel hubs(that take a freewheel) with sealed bearings here:
Wheel Master Alloy SF Rear Hub - 36H, 126mm, Sealed Bearing, QR, Black

Rear Bicycle Hub, Alloy, Sf Quick Release 36H x 126mm Rd Sealed

Of course, maybe a road bike hub at 130mm could maybe fit. I saw though that the Shimano Claris rear hub was rated for up to 32T but looking at documents on Tiagra, you may only see up to 30T for the cassette. So maybe a Shimano Claris would be less risky for an old mountain bike. (Just guessing here.)

I'm too lazy right now to look up the sites that allow you to calculate spoke lengths and the videos on Youtube that show you how to build a wheel but whatever. Lots of people in this forum that discuss wheel building so...

Cyclodrew

I got the freewheel off the hub and inspected the cups. The left side seems OK, the right side is more worn with deeper grooves. What do you guys think about my getting a new axle and reusing the wheel? Or does this look too worn, and I'd be better off with a new hub/wheel?

Pictures:
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resi...=folder%2c.jpg

Raging_Bulls

It doesn't hurt to try. At most it costs you an axle (which you may or may not be able to use later on another project) and a bit of grease.
Still, that cup looks like it is damaged indeed. If you rebuild it with a new axle it'll probably feel a bit rough and will cause accelerated wear of the bearing balls.

Cyclodrew

I ended up getting a new 126mm wheel from a local shop, kept my existing freewheel. I opted for a lugged axle for some extra strength. The bike is riding great.
Thanks to everyone for the advice.