Play in rear wheel

Richard_D
Richard_D Posts: 320
edited May 2008 in Workshop
The other day the other half took a low speed tumble on her 06 Madone. She was climbing on a narrow cycle path and some one came the other way due to confusion between the 2 of them she ran out of momentum and path and collapsed sideways into some brambles so no colision.
The wheel rim now seems to have some play compared to the hub. Any idea what it might be? We will be taking in to our local LBS but I would like to have a rough idea of what it is likely to be. At one end of the spectrum I could see it may be just a few spkes need tightening and at the other end the wheel may need replacing/rebuilding.

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    For a buckled rim and provided there are no kinks / major dents and it is out of true no more than 10mm then it should be recoverable - your LBS should be able to fix it for £10-20. If the rim is damaged or the buckle unrecoverable, then I'm afraid it'll require a new rim, so budget about £30 for a rim plus £20 for a rebuild.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    What do you mean by play? Out of true or moves from side to side when you hold it and wiggle it? If the latter, try remounting it - it's probably not seated correctly in the dropouts. The quick release lever should start gripping at the 90 degree position as you tighten it, if that is of any help.
  • Richard_D
    Richard_D Posts: 320
    robbarker wrote:
    What do you mean by play? Out of true or moves from side to side when you hold it and wiggle it? If the latter, try remounting it - it's probably not seated correctly in the dropouts. The quick release lever should start gripping at the 90 degree position as you tighten it, if that is of any help.

    It is the latter and we have already tried remounting it without any apparent improvement. When you hold the rim on the front wheel and try to move it the bike moves when you try the same on the rear wheel there is a small amount of play before the bike moves. She said she could feel the difference when she rode it. It is off the road now until we fix it. Whatever the fix is.
  • robbarker
    robbarker Posts: 1,367
    If the wheel has cup and cone bearings, it's possible that the bearing cones have loosened in that case. If it does, have a look at this link:

    http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=105

    If (as I suspect) it's a Bontrager wheel it might have cartridge bearings. A little play in these is normal but not that much! Replacing the cartridges is easy enough but you may need a bearing press depending on the hub design, in which case it's an LBS job.
  • JWSurrey
    JWSurrey Posts: 1,173
    Riding on non tarmac tracks will increase the wear on hub bearings - Same thing happened to my wife's bike - she rides on non tarmac cycle tracks - the NDS was packed with clay/sand and rust! The drive side was fine!
    Unfortunately, only discovered this just before going off on a longish last-minute sponsored ride - fortunately there was a mechanic to hand.
    Monty - I've just opened a thread on pedals with float - wondered if you could cast your eye over it.
    Cheers
    J.

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