Broken axles / hubs?

Hosskins
Hosskins Posts: 16
edited August 2007 in Commuting chat
Can anyone help, please? I ride a Claud Butler Urban 100 to work and around town and I keep getting the same problem of the back wheel becoming loose and wiggling, just a mm or two, but enough to cause a bit wobbling.

This has happened at least five or six times over the last three years. I've had it fixed each time, and have variously been told it's broken hubs or axles but no-one has been able to offer an explanation or solution. Surely this shouldn't be happening quite so often?

This is happening through normal road riding. I'm a big lad (17st) - is this the reason? Is it the bike? The wheels? The hubs?

Any solutions please? Don't say "lose weight" as that's already happening, largely thanks to the bike...

Cheers.

Comments

  • Patrick Pending
    Patrick Pending Posts: 115
    Hi,
    I'm not overly familiar with this bike but I suspect its a screw on freewheel rear wheel. These are more susceptible to having rear axle breakages than cassette based freehubs

    http://www.sheldonbrown.com/k7.html


    indeed I had one break on me a while back. Its something to do with the loading on the axle (see link) mind you I now converted the bike in question to a 18 speed sti casette set up so dont have these problems (hopefully!)

    Hope this helps
  • Hosskins
    Hosskins Posts: 16
    That is helpful, although I must confess the information in the link is a bit technical for me. I don't know what kind of wheel it is but I guess I could ask when I take it in for repair.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,717
    i had the same problem with my roadie, try putting a new one in (an axle i mean)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Hosskins
    Hosskins Posts: 16
    Thanks. Yes, I will doubtless get a new axle put in but the fact that this happens so frequently is what's puzzling me.
  • Patrick Pending
    Patrick Pending Posts: 115
    Hi,

    With it being 21 speed its more than likely to be the screw on type - they haven't made 7 speed casettes for ages I believe. Its to do with the fact that in a freewheel hub the driveside bearing is set in close to the center of the axle, resulting in a fair bit of unsupported axle extending out to the dropouts. The freehub has its bearing closer to the droputs resulting in more support for the axle.

    So unfortunately it's more susceptible to breakage. No suggestions as to how to prevent it sorry!

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