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Fluke hub cone adjustment? Help needed!

1K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  Squash 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi,

After noticing a bit of wobble in my rear wheel, I took the bike to the LBS to get the cones adjusted. All good when I got the bike back. Rode about 3kms after getting it back, then took the rear wheel off while I was cleaning the bike. After putting it back on, huge wobble in the wheel--worse than before taking to the shop. I took the wheel off and noticed a nut poking out of the cassette (2mm or so) that was loose, so hand tightened it. This made the wobble a little better after fitting the wheel, so I tightened it with a wrench (normal, not cone wrench--don't own one yet) while holding the other side with another. This made the wheel too tight, so took the wheel off and backed it off to finger tight. After refitting the wheel, there aren't any wobbles & the wheel runs freely.

My questions are:
1.How would the cones come loose again after getting them tightened? Is it possible to do just taking the wheel off & cleaning some dirt out around the nuts?
2. Is what I did to tighten the wheel basically a cone adjustment? (Never done one)
3. If the wheel feels fine, is there any need to go back to the LBS (I'd really rather not, as I hate being without the bike).

And yes, I will buy some cone tools. My excuse is I only just got into riding!

Cheers!
 
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#2 ·
1.How would the cones come loose again after getting them tightened? Is it possible to do just taking the wheel off & cleaning some dirt out around the nuts?

Whoever worked on the hub didn't properly tighten the lock nut against the cone when adjusting the hub. The nut that you tightened is the lock nut, the cone is either directly under it or there may be a spacer or two between them. The cone is threaded on and then the lock nut is threaded on. When adjusting the hub the cone is adjusted then the lock nut is tightened against it to prevent the cone from moving. There are cones and lock nuts on both sides of the axel. Usually when adjusting a rear hub it is easiest to adjust the non-drive side only as you have to get wrenches on both the cone head and the lock nut at the same time. The cone on the drive side is either very hard or impossible to get a wrench on whith the hub assembled, it's udown inside the freehub body and out of reach by a few mm. But a good mechanic will always loosen things up and check that the drive side cone and lock nut are tight against each other before adjusting. A mech that's in a hurry or just doesn't know may just assume that it is and adjust the non-drive side without ever touching the drive side lock nut. I'd say this is probably what happened in your case. The nut was loose or only finger tight when you took it in and it just never got tightened properly. They probably just ajusted from the non-drive side as normal and didn't even think about the non-drive side. As for the second part of your question, no just taking the wheel out of the dropouts should not loosen the hub. Like I said earlier, if the lock nuts have been poroperly tightened against the cone the hub should stay in adjustment for quite a long time.


2. Is what I did to tighten the wheel basically a cone adjustment? (Never done one)

Well yes and no. The lock nut is part of it, but when finished it should be securely jamed against the cone. This is what prevents the cone from loosening after it's properly adjusted. A finger tight lock not as long as it's clamped in the drop outs will probably be fine for a while. But once taken out or ridden for a while it will allow the cone to loosen under it and you are back where you started with a loose hub. For proper adjustment procedures get a good reference like Zinn and the Art of Mountian Bike Maintenance, or take a look at Park Tools website they have a Repair Help section that includes hub bearing adjustment.

3. If the wheel feels fine, is there any need to go back to the LBS (I'd really rather not, as I hate being without the bike).

This is a tough one. If you are absolutely sure that there is no play in the hub you could probably get away with a ride or two on it. But the lock nut only being finger tight will eventually allow the hub to come loose again. Unless you are up on adjusting cup and cone hubs I would advise getting it properly adjusted sooner than later. A misadjusted hub will damage the bearings, the cones, and the cups in short order. Damaged bearings and cones can be replaced, but the cups usually cannot. So once the cups are trashed so is the hub.

Good Dirt
 
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