How To Service Hub Bearings | More Efficiency & a Smoother Ride!

wheel bearings are small metal balls that allow your axles to turn freely within the hub of your road or mountain bike wheels your bearings can wear causing lateral play in the wheel or can become contaminated with dirt causing the rotation to sound and feel gritty you should service and inspect your hubs regularly and if you've ever used a power washer on your bike at close range then you should do this immediately as you may have blown out the last application of grease this video focuses on open bearings which can be easily serviced if your wheels have sealed bearings that you may need to replace them when worn which we will deal with later in the series you're going to need cone spanners usually 15 and 17 millimeter grease a magnetic hex screwdriver or pick a chain whip and chain removal tool degreaser and paper cloth we are using a rear wheel but the procedure is the same for a front except it doesn't matter which side you undo first for the rear remove the cassette from the freehub body if you need a step-by-step guide on how to do this then click above or look for the link in the video description first undo the lock net on the non-drive side by using a Kong spanner to hold the cone and another to undo the nut remove the locking net and spacer by hand it's a good idea to take note of the order as they will need to be returned hold the lock nut on the drive side with one spanner then undo the non-drive side cone with the other unwind off by hand you should now be able to remove the axle from the hub on the freehub side remove the bearings from the race a magnetic positive screwdriver will allow you to lift the bearings out you'll now need to clean the bearings the chances are your bearings will be a lot dirtier after a fair amount of usage use a degreaser and some paper cloth to clean the components make sure you fully clean away all the old grease before proceeding take a close look at the bearings and the cone if this sign of way on them they'll need replacing take some grease and apply to the bearing race in the hub you can now place the bearings into the grease they should stay in place again a magnetic screwdriver mix job easier when all of the bearings are in place you can then return the axle and gently turn to ensure they are installed correctly remove the axle then repeat the process on the other side now return at the axle to the freehub side return the cone to the non-drive side of the axle and screw until it contacts the bearings it doesn't need to be very tight simply finger tight will do you can then spin the axle to make sure it rotates cleanly also jiggle the axle to ensure there is no play you may need to adjust the tightness of the cone to stop any play or drag if it's too tight the hub will not spin freely conversely if it's too loose they will be playing the axle this can sometimes be a matter of trial and error so may take a few attempts return the other nuts spaces and seals to the non-drive side of the axle then while holding the cone in place use the other spanner to tighten against the locking net it's important to check the axle still rotates freely at this point as it's possible to tighten the cone in the procedure finally refit the cassette to the freehub body replace the quick-release skewer and return to the bike don't forget to subscribe and check out the rest of the channel let us know what you want more of on your bike Raider the comment section below

Channel: BikeRadar

Views: 303,513

Keywords: bikeradar, cycling, biking, bike, Bicycle (Product Category), Bearing (Invention), Mountain, Riding, how to, explained, guide, work shop, workshop, mechanic, mechanics, mechanical, adjust, Park Tool (Organization), How-to (Website Category), james tennant, Ride

Id: opommURFB4o

Length: 5min 32sec (332 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 04 2014