What are these nodules in my hub?

antfly

They look as if they are supposed to be there but i'm guessing that they are not.
http://amzuoq.sn2.livefilestore.com/y1p ... jpg?psid=1

desweller

Can't really tell what you're talking about from that photo. Can you put it in macro mode and have anuvver go?

antfly

That's the best I can do with this camera. You can just see two little ball shapes inside the cup at 12 O'clock if you look very closely.

desweller

Are they not ball bearings that are stuck on with grease? Will they move if you poke them?

Macro mode is a special close up setting for your camera. It will allow you to take photos like this one in focus. It should be represented with a little flower symbol.

antfly

No, they are not bearings they are part of the cup, neat little bumps.

desweller

What hub is it?

antfly

OK, that was good advice about macro, this is a much better pic. Ultegra 6600 hub.

http://amzuoq.sn2.livefilestore.com/y1p ... jpg?psid=1

pastey_boy

look like you have a bad case of hub pimples, no known cure as of yet.

antfly

That sounds bad, have you seen anything like this before ? I put new bearings in and it is spinning a lot worse than it was before.

desweller

Mm.

OK, a few things to ask:

a) Have you got the old bearings, and is there anything visibly wrong with them?
b) Did you measure them with a micrometer before you ordered the new ones?
c) did you replace them for a reason?
d) Are the new ones definitely the same size as the old ones?

If the bearings are a different size then the contact line in the raceway will be different, which might create all sorts of interesting issues, including a different axle width.

antfly

The nodules are on the other side as well so I reckon they are supposed to be there, i've decided not to bother about it. The wheels are 2.5 years old so I thought I would give the hubs a service, some grease and new, grade 25 bearings. I got the size off Shimano techdocs. I haven't used it yet with the new bearings so maybe they just need to settle in.

keef66

How jolly strange! They look like tiny ball bearings stuck on the bearing race. I can't imagine that anything should be there except a nice, shiny bearing track.

Just for clarification, did the bearings sound OK before dismantling? When you dismantled it did you remove 11 ball bearings from each side? Did they look OK? Can you dislodge the nodules using escalating levels of violence?

You can't see inside the hub on the techdoc exploded diagram, but I can't believe that pimples on a bearing race are a good thing. My RS10 hubs are pimple free.

Mike67

Yes, I've had many a Shimano hub apart, though not a 6600 and have never seen anything other than a smooth bearing race.
Are the nodules a lot smaller than the bearings so that when the bearings are in place they can still touch each other?
I thought they may be some kind of bearing retention aid but I can only imagine that they would increase friction and therefore wear if they can't rotate freely along with the bearings.

antfly

It does seem odd but like I say they are the same on both sides and the hub`s bearings are small so shouldn't contact the pimples which sit further to the centre. There is no way they will budge, they are part of the hub.
Before dismantling I could hear the bearings going around rather loudly which I thought probably meant it needed some grease, I took 11 out and put 11 in, the old ones looked pretty good still.

keef66

OK, so they are meant to be there, you've repacked with grease and installed 11 new 3/16 ball bearings each side, adjusted the cones appropriately and secured the wheel with the QR lever.

Do the wheels still go round?

If so, just get out there and ride it, and report back in a couple of months.

antfly

Yep, i've done all that and the wheels still go round so riding it is what I intend to do.
There is nothing I can do about the pimples anyway, hopefully they are just a harmless quirk.