Bike repair for idiots - rear hub
My bike has been noisy for a while now. There's a very noticeable clanking sound when I pedal, but annoyingly only when I'm out on the road - not when it's on a workstand, so I've been thinking it must be something that takes some load: wheel bearings or the bottom bracket.
I've been using the noise as my excuse for going more slowly than Dan in everything. "If only I could have a silent bike", I imagine to myself, "I could go 5-10mph faster, and really whoop his ass." Sometimes I go further and start to think that perhaps I can use the noise as an excuse to spend £1300 on a nice new Focus Cayo Expert carbon bike from Wiggle.com. Surely carbon doesn't rattle, squeak or grind?!
How not to prepare for a bike ride
This morning I was preparing my bike for a 3-4 hour ride with Dave, and decided to do some 'tweaking'. I played around with the brakes a bit - my front brake calipers are still sticky so need replacing soon - and starting checking the gears. I noticed that my back hub was making quite a lot of noise - grindy, y'know? So I thought "I know, with only 1 hour to go before I'm due to set off, why not clean and grease my hub". Anyone who knows me - including myself - would know this was a bad idea. There's no way I can make even slight adjustments without loosening, losing or snapping something that's necessary for safe and speedy cycling. I normally like to give myself a few hours (and possibly a trip to the bike shop) before tinkering. On this occasion I threw caution to the wind, and went for it. Next stop broken bike!
I've been using the noise as my excuse for going more slowly than Dan in everything. "If only I could have a silent bike", I imagine to myself, "I could go 5-10mph faster, and really whoop his ass." Sometimes I go further and start to think that perhaps I can use the noise as an excuse to spend £1300 on a nice new Focus Cayo Expert carbon bike from Wiggle.com. Surely carbon doesn't rattle, squeak or grind?!
How not to prepare for a bike ride
This morning I was preparing my bike for a 3-4 hour ride with Dave, and decided to do some 'tweaking'. I played around with the brakes a bit - my front brake calipers are still sticky so need replacing soon - and starting checking the gears. I noticed that my back hub was making quite a lot of noise - grindy, y'know? So I thought "I know, with only 1 hour to go before I'm due to set off, why not clean and grease my hub". Anyone who knows me - including myself - would know this was a bad idea. There's no way I can make even slight adjustments without loosening, losing or snapping something that's necessary for safe and speedy cycling. I normally like to give myself a few hours (and possibly a trip to the bike shop) before tinkering. On this occasion I threw caution to the wind, and went for it. Next stop broken bike!
Step 1: Take it apart
I've taken apart and greased the front hubs on my bike before, but (apparently, as we'll see) never the rear hubs. The front hubs were pretty easy - the hardest part was always getting the bearings in and out without them making a break for freedom across the garage floor.
I figured the front and rear would be very similar to clean out, and cracked on. But as soon as I took the quick-release from the middle of the axle I realised that this was going to be a bigger job, and not one I would be able to manage in the 45 minutes I had left.
Step 2: Make it worse
I managed to unscrew the nut on the non-drive side (opposite the rear cassette) of the wheel pretty easily, but then got a bit stuck trying to get the axle out. At this point, I hadn't realised that I needed to take the cassette off before I could remove the axle. After quite a lot of huffing and puffing, I decided to call Dave to cancel our ride, and then to seek assistance. Dave was amused at my schoolboy error - he's quite good at putting things together so I'm sure he'd never end up in this mess - and forgiving enough.
Step 3: Panic, call in the experts
It's actually pretty simple to take apart a rear hub. Of course, anyone watching me up to this point wouldn't have realised that...
The assistance I sought was "Bicycling" Magazine's Illustrated Bicycle Maintenance which I bought 18 months ago or so. Although I don't take it out too often (clearly), it's always a good clear reference when I do find myself stuck with a sprocket and a flange and no clue how to get the two talking to each other...
In this case, it guided me towards taking off the rear cassette so I could then remove the axle and get at the bearings on both sides of the wheel. This was really exciting because it turned out to be the first time I'd get to use three tools that I'd bought some time ago but never really understood: a chain whip, a cassette removal tool, and a cassette removal wrench (or large adjustable spanner)
Step 4: Take it apart - pay attention!
So with my newly discovered whip-handling skills, I managed to get the cassette off. This is going to come in handy in future when I want to tweak my gears towards hill-climbing rather than speed, or vice versa. All it takes is for me to swap in a different cassette I think, and I'll be screaming up those hills with ease.
With the cassette off, the rest was pretty straightforward:
Step 5: Relax, have a beer (it's got carbohydrates in it!)
All in all, this should take someone of average intelligence around 30 minutes or less. For me, it took over 2 hours.
I've taken apart and greased the front hubs on my bike before, but (apparently, as we'll see) never the rear hubs. The front hubs were pretty easy - the hardest part was always getting the bearings in and out without them making a break for freedom across the garage floor.
I figured the front and rear would be very similar to clean out, and cracked on. But as soon as I took the quick-release from the middle of the axle I realised that this was going to be a bigger job, and not one I would be able to manage in the 45 minutes I had left.
Step 2: Make it worse
I managed to unscrew the nut on the non-drive side (opposite the rear cassette) of the wheel pretty easily, but then got a bit stuck trying to get the axle out. At this point, I hadn't realised that I needed to take the cassette off before I could remove the axle. After quite a lot of huffing and puffing, I decided to call Dave to cancel our ride, and then to seek assistance. Dave was amused at my schoolboy error - he's quite good at putting things together so I'm sure he'd never end up in this mess - and forgiving enough.
Step 3: Panic, call in the experts
It's actually pretty simple to take apart a rear hub. Of course, anyone watching me up to this point wouldn't have realised that...
The assistance I sought was "Bicycling" Magazine's Illustrated Bicycle Maintenance which I bought 18 months ago or so. Although I don't take it out too often (clearly), it's always a good clear reference when I do find myself stuck with a sprocket and a flange and no clue how to get the two talking to each other...
In this case, it guided me towards taking off the rear cassette so I could then remove the axle and get at the bearings on both sides of the wheel. This was really exciting because it turned out to be the first time I'd get to use three tools that I'd bought some time ago but never really understood: a chain whip, a cassette removal tool, and a cassette removal wrench (or large adjustable spanner)
Step 4: Take it apart - pay attention!
So with my newly discovered whip-handling skills, I managed to get the cassette off. This is going to come in handy in future when I want to tweak my gears towards hill-climbing rather than speed, or vice versa. All it takes is for me to swap in a different cassette I think, and I'll be screaming up those hills with ease.
With the cassette off, the rest was pretty straightforward:
- remove ball bearings (don't drop them!)
- degrease and rinse out the hub
- apply lovely fresh grease with my new grease gun
- pop the ball bearings back in ("were there 8 or 9 in there before?")
- tighten the axle back on
- slot the cassette back onto the freewheel
- tighten everything up just so
- bask in the glory of a smooth, silent running rear wheel...
Step 5: Relax, have a beer (it's got carbohydrates in it!)
All in all, this should take someone of average intelligence around 30 minutes or less. For me, it took over 2 hours.
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