Fixing A Wobbling Rear Wheel Hub
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- Опубліковано 24 сер 2024
- I noticed a weird eccentric wobble on the rear hub of a bike I was working on. I disassembled the hub to discover that someone had overhauled it and installed too many bearings. A rear hub typically has nine 1/4" bearings on each side. This had ten on each side. So I cleaned everything and put it back together with the proper number of new bearings. This eliminated big wobble in the hub. There was still a slight bit of wobble in the freewheel, but this is not uncommon due the manufacturing process of the hubs.
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I watched all your video's and taken apart all my bikes.... now i realize i just like the videos... and i have a huge mess of parts in my tiny apartment.
+Ted Byun You need to put them back together!
Lol funny
sell them
Same here !
So help me Lord .
Thanks to this video, while it wasn't directly what my problem was, it helped me solve it.
My rear wheel was wobbling in the frame and I have a quick release. I thought the quick release was a bit slack so, I tightened it a little, no joy.
I then proceeded to take apart my hub, which is where your clear and detailed instructions helped me. I realised my cone was a little loose and just needed to be moved along the axle a little. So, I took two spanners (wrenches), one for the cone, one for the locknut and loosened them. I moved the cone along the axle a little, tightened the locknut, put it back together and then back in the frame.
I got a slight wobble but I realised I was on the right track and proceeded with the same steps. A little more along the axle and hey, not a single bit of wobble or play.
Your video saved me a good £50 in a bike shop repair so, thank you very, very much for your exceptional tutorial.
I always use a similar size closed wrench over the dust cap to tap it back in evenly. As for the wobble, it's the off-centered free wheel configuration, compared to the more balnaced free-hub/cassette combination. That usually wears out the hub shell unevenly. Always love watching your videos, RJ, in fact, you're my bike mentor. Thanks
I know this was old but I know where that wobble is. It is about the uneven force exerted to the pawls by the spring. One is stronger than the other side so it tends to wobble. And this usually happens with thread types sprockets. I opened one and eventually eliminate wobbling. Just sharing :)
How?
i have had that apart and know there are 2 spring loaded tabs that i can see are always either dragging making that sound or engaged while pedaling, so youre saying one spring is stronger and that makes it wobble? i cant envision that and i dont think RJ will have a perfectly true wheel unless he gets a new one.
Unless it's the spoke tension. It's possible that the entire hub housing is at a slight angle because of incorrect spoke tension, which would create a wobble.
thank you, mine has also this problem, will repair asap when my tool arrives and take this into account upon checking, been looking all around the net for what cause this problem.
I enjoyed watching this video I've my grandsons rear wheel to sort out as he has wobble side to side, it's been a good 30 plus years since I've done this so very nice to watch and refresh my mind again many thanks
It’s fun to watch the stroboscopic affect as he spins the freewheel at around 0:40. Some gears appear to rotate clockwise while others appear to rotate counterclockwise.
I will no longer try to fix wobble with an extra ball bearing. Great teaching and awesome contributions of knowledge and experience in comments. Definitely subscribing.
This video has been incredibly helpful for me to replace a completely broken axle. I've been learning so much from the other videos as well and it's so damn handy and satisfying to be able to fix at least on of my commuting vehicles :D
The freewheel hub mount treads are not centered properly this is very common on cheaper freewheel mount type hub wheels. Good video. I have some wheels with barely any wobble, but some wheels that wobble the same freewheel it is due to cheaply made wheel hubs.
Danfuerth Gillis can you still ride the bikes or is this a “must fix” problem??
@@rasheemmcdowell4144 it's not recommended to ride since it will cause permanent damage
an answer! great to know
rasheem mcdowell Of course you can ride the bike without any issues as it does not affect shifting, the only issue is when you are freewheeling the free wheel will look like its wobbling ( messes with your mind). My main cheap road bike is still using the original wobbling freewheel mount with no issues for years now. Nothing wrong with this but like I said it does mess with your mind seeing crooked like freewheeling it 😂
Absolutely agree.
I saw it also here:
ua-cam.com/video/6C9_dvfQNP8/v-deo.html
man, i wish you'd live in my neighbourhood! great videos!
That's suggestive!
Awesome video. I have found that the wobble seems to be related to the hub threading. Doesn't seem to affect the shifting much. It is annoying though when you think of the money you spend on a bike only to get something like that.
No one explained the way you did! I was tiered and frustrated to get wobble out of rear wheel- your video made it happened in 20 mins ! thanks
Exactly my problem on an ancient Huffy. Thanks! Also your video on cassette vs. freewheel was the best on the topic.
When I look up bike videos/instructionals I always make sure to look for yours first, thank you for being the best out there
Thank you for the video. I couldn't setup the cone, spacer and the nut lock properly for 3 days until I came across your video. Really appreciate all the details.
I love all your videos ! Really great shots of the jobs you do ! Great stuff
Yes!! I've been searching for video of how to fix my wobbling bike!! Thank you!!
Thank you for the video. My kids are old enough to ride their bikes now and I wanted to impress them by fixing the wobble.
This was a unique case. I am guess yours is something different. Maybe rim needs trued, or loose hub?
I'm really enjoying watch your videos, I was inspired to go out and get a couple of damaged old Raleigh's. I'm in the process of cleaning them up and getting some new parts for them.
While you didn't fix the problem it is always good to see how something is took apart and put back together. As this is something that is what seems like it would happen in reality and not just one of the videos where the issues would be totally fixed or a brand new wheel like a polished videos as I think 90 percent of people don't have to bikes that's are over a grand , nice vid mate
Hey, RJ, thanks for the great video. I had the same wheel with the same problem (except, proper amount of bearings) that wobble is caused by slightly bent axle on the drive side (under the freewheel). Found that with help of a lot of eyeballing and measurements. When I replaced the axle and the freewheel that was not originaly there, wobble was gone completely. Also, this will cause faster freewheel failure in a long run.
Wrong. A freewheel will ALWAYS wobble.
An inexpensively manufactured and poorly machined wheel at the outset I'd venture. The tendency to crowd the bearing number is quite common and probably is what exacerbated the poor wheel concentricity and parallelism to begin with. Your efforts did mitigate the wobble considerably, but the damage was already done by your predecessors overzealous and misguided attempt at over-bearing the race. Great video, as always and your camera work is impeccable. Good job.
Big Fan
Mike Kirwan (Kenmore, WA)
It was NOT a good job, because the wheel still wobbled.
So glad i found your channel, I plan on repairing an older ish schwinn my family has had for years. and the back tire/free wheel wobbles, so I'm going to buy the tools I need to take the free wheel off and see if I have the same problem. thanks for uploading such a detailed video that's very straight forward and to the point,
Hey RJ your video tutorials are the best! the explanation, the camera angles and the tips helped me a lot on trouble shooting my own bike thanks a lot!
The extra 5mm of free axle length on the drive side is to allow for the thickness of the claw type of rear derailer. For a frame with a hanger, of course, the free axle lengths would be the same.
I guess he doesn't know..
Very important info. Thanks!
I don't know if this did solve my problem but when i went back to my bike and decided to tighten The Other side first it made the wobble go away :o so thanks for the inspiration!
Been there .. Measuring both sides before proceeding is essential.
In Bikes I have fixed the cheaper the hub, the more wobble there is in the freewheel. I assume it has something to do with the level of attention to detail when manufacturing it.
RJ, your videos are still internet gold for those who can search/read, act AND then repeat if necessary.
Sheldon Brown's static web pages got me started on basic Bike DIY & simplification some years pre-YT; I still now trawl through your video archives again based upon 'old quality' bike parts I pick up and want to service & re-use.
Yeap. The two sources you mention are the most exhaustive for sure. Park Tool youtube channel has good tutorials on mounting/adjusting (rim) brakes.
Excellent video narration with great editing to give the important points without wasted time. Primo. You've given me the confidence to get rid of my wobble, saving me money at the bike shop and time without my bike. Thank you for this. 🙂
Whether bicycle or boat trailer etc.., I tap dust caps in with a piece of equal or near equal diameter thick walled PVC pipe, so that the cap doesn't tilt and pressure is equal for each tap all the way around.
Thanks for the info. The voice in my head kept saying turn the hammer around and tap with the handle.
Very good video. Thanks for sharing. One tip: you can use a piece of wood over the dust cap before hammering.
Totally agree with you. One should NEVER hammer directly on ANY kind of seal/dust cover. The chances of denting/bending the seal/cover are too great. Those dust covers are VERY flimsy,
most of the time i have found it to be a slightly bent axle. but all the cheapn wheels seem to have some form of wobble
Thank you. Your video helped me repair my rear wheel.
Wow - awesome job! Step-by-step process! Thank you for the explanation!
Can i suggest a thor nylon soft faced hammer when hammering dust caps or anything similar it would do less damage.
Good point👍. How about a sock hammer lol or any cloth over the head has worked well for me.
or just a rubber mallet
It’s bike repair, not cardiac surgery. It’s fine to be a bit careless, it will do.
@@mariamartins367 not on a $7,000 bike
at the end of your video, it still wobbles but thank you for your sharing.
It must have been in the axle. My bike is doing the wobble and after removing the axle I saw it has worn threads as if it was striped. This might have been causing the nuts to come loose. I am attempting to replace the axle and barring's with new parts. Trying to remove the LOCK RING on my freewheel is proving most difficult. ( the whole bloody thing is stuck)
anyway, Once I have completed my repairs I will share the highlights of my efforts to the problems of WHEELWOBBLE. Thanks for a great informative video.
This is so satisfying to watch!
0:05 vs 10:53 so much smooth!
Good observation seeing the extra bearings great video thumbs up again
Wel Bike Guy,yhe wobling is made for making the transport between the shifting easier ! This is made especialy from the fabricator,this is no mallfunction !
John
Sorry, but no.
john moonen The same is true for bent rims. They go around obstacles rather than over them making for a smoother ride.
Thank you for this wonderful video. I just getting started working on bicycles.
The wobble is from the threads on the hub. It's not machined perfectly straight thus the freewheel screws on a bit crooked.
Naa man.. Look 0:34 it clearly shows that there are to many bearings in there. Although i think there is that low qulity hub efect also. Both of those things made it look so bad.. u could eaven see the wheel itself wobling around.
but clearly after the issue of having too many bearings was resolved, it still had a wobble, which makes Dennis' comment most likely accurate.
The eccentric wobble is gone after fixing the bearings. Then it was just the freewheel wobbling.
The bearings will not fix the wobble. It may improve a little but is not the answer to the problem.
Axle isn t straight!!!
It's bad machining of the wheel hub that is the cause of the wobble. The freewheel is normally machined true, but the wheel hub sometimes on cheaper makes, has not been placed in the lathe machine correctly.
Freewheel threads on almost any hub are never perfect.
Mine's got the same problem thanks for sharing!!!
I was just regreasing my hubs today. On my front wheel one side had 9 bearings and the other side had 10. I got the hub cleaned nice and greased, I put 9 bearings in one side then decided to go out on my porch and put the rest of the bearings in outside, i then proceeded to knock over the cup that had the ball bearings in it and lost 3. I checked Home depot and they had the right size 3/16 but they were charging $1.25 for one ball bearing. I then called Wheel and Sprocket and the service guy told me to head over and he would just give me some ball bearings. I successfully got the bearings reinstalled and put 10 on each side, my wheels feel so much more smoother now considering I've had the bike for about 3yrs and ride it year round including in the snow and slush during winter. (Also I wish i had known that the dust cover was removable, lol, i had to clean the race out with a bunch of q-tips. Well now i know.)
Socket for cog removal? Good video 👍🏽
*You are the best RJ the bike man*
You are an amazing instructor!
Thanks for you videos,believe me they are a great help,and I have learn a lot about working on bikes,I really needed this video.I got a loose hub,that wobbles.I will fix it.Thanks again.I try and watch all your videos.I have really learned alot.
Great Job Mr. Ur videos are invaluable support for me ! Ur showing all step by step and explaining everything. This channel is awesome. Recently I bought very old race bike and this channel is ultra helpful to maintenance this bike in shape. Keep doing this pls :) Greetings from Poland.
The rear wheel/hub ends up wobbly on all of the 20+ bikes I've had but nothing ever fixes it permanently except buying an expensive (£200+) rear wheelchair
Very good instructional video to overhaul a hub sometimes when the wheel is wibbly wobbly sometimes the mechanics they will reuse the old ball bearings but the smart thing to do when you overhaul any kind of Hub or bottom bracket or headset always replace with new ball bearings never reused the old ball bearings even if the old ball bearings were nice and shiny and clean if you were to look at the old ball bearings under a microscope you will see that the ball bearings are no longer perfectly round due to the pressure points making contact with metal to metal ball bearings take on the shape of an egg just saying.
Ball bearings are cheap. And as you say, you can't tell how worn they are without expensive equipment.
My bike does the exact same thing and I’m glad I can tell now that it’s probably gonna be a bearing issue. Or even a thread issue. Unfortunately I don’t have any of the tools to do it myself at home. Back to my local bike shop
Thank you so much!! On it now. I have subscribed as you make SO much sense!!
our saucers wobble too.
Great video! Thank you. Not everyone can make good videos. Like the guy said below about his apt full of bike parts. Great camera work and voice/sound.
Ive been looking for a solution for my bike, there seems to be a wobbly back tire and i never noticed it until one of my friends had mentioned it to me, so this video might come in super handy, i have all the tools at my place to fix this problem, so im going to attempt it at home before taking it into any professional.
Make sure it is the hub wobbling and not just the rim out of true.
Hey thanks for the tutorial, but if I don't get it repaired and leave it as it is, then what can/will happen to the bike or the rear wheel hub?
the problem is in the threads of the hub
+Ruben Mena Reyes Of the machining of the hub. Some wobble is not uncommon due to the manufacturing process.
+RJ The Bike Guy This happened to me once and the only solution I see is to change the hub
Agreed,
Yea, thread on the hub or thread on the freewheel was slightly imperfect during manufacturing. My '84 Binachi Sport doesn't exhibit this (Suzue rear hub with 6-speed Suntour freewheel akin to the one in this video). But for humors sake my mountain bike is a cassette (Shimano Deore FH-M525 disc brake hub) and it does to a small extent (a lot less then the freewheel shown). It's not the cassette, bent axle, improperly loaded bearings, improper bearing count, freehub, etc. All I can dismiss it to is the same reason - slightly imperfect machining during the manufacturing of the hub.
yeah if u cross out what he did its definitely the hub itself. id buy a complete rim in that case
Thank you!
Good explanation on servicing the hub but it seems the same before and after if you ask me Just like all of my service work on my bikes. I usually lie to myself and say it's a little bit better.
Seriously? Go back and watch the hub before and after!!!
Perfect video
Been looking for that.
Thank you
Your videos are outstanding! Thank you!
Great videos as always. Thank you for the uploads.
To add, the wobbling cannot be removed due to the sprocket being thread type. wobbling isn't visible in cassette type ones.
Definitely interesting! As so many have said... you’re great! Videos are excellent to watch, great simple explanations, great camera angles and lighting, voice is clear with no marbles (or bearings) in the mouth!, and you clearly have great understanding, experience, and care for the subject at hand. Great confidence in your approach that inspires others to not be afraid! Now... all that being said... what tools should I start with to service my ‘88 Schwinn tempo? I’m thinking about the bottom bracket first... the bike doesn’t really show any problems but I’m the original owner and I can’t tell you the last time it was really serviced... it has the Shimano 105 cranks and 105 everything else too lol... thank you for any advice!
Buy tools as you need them. Here are some of the tools I have collected over the years. ua-cam.com/video/KBvUIQSmkcA/v-deo.html
wow. I'm learning a lot. my Wal-Mart mountain bike needs a rear fix due to wobble. I have no tools and want to get them. what is the best place to get tools that are not expensive? thanks
Hey,
I just bought a set of bike tools 2 weeks ago to teach my nephew to work on his BMX. I got the Amazon choice 23 piece bicycle tool kit. It’s cheep and the tools are very basic, but we have done a lot with it. For the money it’s a decent kit. I supplement it with a socket set and a set of metric wrenches. We have not found anything we can’t do yet.
wen i put back dust cap i use straight piece of wood to tap in the place :)
It's the thread on the hub that causes most freewheel wobble. Most hubs have the thread cut slightly off center. So blame the hub manufacturers for being shoddy. So there's nothing a bearing or the axle renewal will do for this. A new wheel hub will likely be just the same.
Bikemanforu explains that the freewheel wobble may be built into the hub of the wheel by a threading that is misaligned to the wheel's axis.
Very useful video
your a class act!, another great video for a true expert with an exceptional presentation style
I have this exact problem. I’ll see if I can fix it
aaaaannnnnddd use this bolt aaaaaaaaaaannnnnnndddddd i always wait when you gonne say it again hehe
I didnt pick up on it the first watch. You have ruined this video for me now 😅
i just cleaned my bike. removed the quick release rear wheel and half the spindle just fell out of the wheel. guess ive been riding like that for a while
I was just going to post a link to my video on replacing a bent axle, but I see your comment over there. So you found it.
watching carefully and thanks
I have the same wobble in a vintage bike after repairing other damage to the drive side- bent axle, crunched derailleur- looks like the cup on that side is not in straight. Haven't been able to straighten it out yet.
ShepherdChapel YT explains the whole Bible.God bless.
I have the exact same wobble. Overhaul didnt correct issue and its still too much as I use the bike on a smart trainer. Is the bearing race cup typically replaceable? I think Ive narrowed it down to that. The cone was worn badly asymmetrically so it had to be replaced too. Great channel. Thanks.
If you don't have a 15 slim wrench in your tools bag, you're in hell
Great video God Bless
شكرا جزيلا🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Can you please name the tools you used in this video? Thanks.
You can buy all the parts new on Amazon at a reasonable cost. Or you can buy a new bike. If you have this work done at a bike shop, forget it. Just buy a new bike online. I decided on the new bike route. My bike had 11,500 miles in it and it would still be an old bike when I got done. That new bike in aluminum frame and high pressure tires (100 psi) ended up costing me $420 total. Getting all the wobble out makes the bike ride a lot easier. I should have done that months ago.
@@dcvRecord You can't say anything exactly. It depends on the value of your old bike and what you use it for. When your wheels are worn out beyond repair, get all the prices involved and make your own decisions In my case I bought a new Winsor Wellington 2.0 road bike. That was the best way forward for me and my uses which are general riding on a level bike trail. My old bike was not a high priced bike so even with new wheels it was still not a high priced bike.
Now I know someone must have done maintenance on my rear hub and put the warped dust cap on backwards 😮 Are all the wheel bearings the same size for all bikes ?
this video was helpful, thank you, I have the same problem with my back wheel, and my front wheel is also messed up, would there be a way I can send you a video to show you what's wrong?
The usual cause of these wobbling freewheels is the spoke protector disc, it does not mate evenly with the hub because the hole in the disc is slightly too large and the seating surface is extremely narrow. This causes the freewheel to sit cocked on the hub, then wobble when the wheel is turned.Removing the protector disc usually fixes the problem because it now seats squarely against the hub.
Sorry, but no, that is not the usual cause. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen the spoke protector cause an issue like that.
Try it again some time, it often works for me. dddd
I more often than not find it is loose cones, worn bearings, or out of true wheel.
My latest reply posted up above my first post, not here where it should be!You're right, any loose parts at the axle can allow a wobble, also at the brake disc and rim...
maybe someone else has mentioned this but rear wheel wobble has nothing usually to do with the axle, it is the quality of the thread cut on the wheel where the freewheel is spun on. If the threads are not perfectly cut the freewheel has a slight wobble but it is also quite normal to see a slight wobble. There is nothing wrong with the assembly.
That is only secondary wobble. The first wobble was the bearings.
Watched the whole video to find out you didn’t know what was wrong with the bike!
still helpful .. Thank you !
RJ great video. Thank you.
I wonder if the wobble has anything to do with wrong size bearings were used.
Nice info and great video....
Lots of new department store bikes comes with a wobble, even lower trim bikes made by recognized companies. Theyre not nearly as noticeable though so aside from bearing issues I think cheap hubs are also to blame.
Mr. RJ, our bike has a wobbly back wheel (definitely the hub/axle) and also the plastic disk is broken. I'd like to also change the plastic disk when I fix the axle/bearings or whatever else is causing the wobble. What is the clear plastic disk called? Also, are they universal?
Very helpful!! Thanks