New (used) bike......couple of things to fix

daveb99

I've recently picked up a bike for winter use, a Specialized Allez Elite (2010), though it's in better nick than I thought and I might add some upgrades and use it as my 'best' bike, not sure yet !

Overall the bike is spot on - but there are a couple of things that need attention, I'm hoping that I can get some advice on how to address them.

1. The rear wheel doesn't spin freely. It isn't the brakes (doh!) and the cassette seems to spin freely enough on the hub. Seems that it could be the bearings on the non drive side. I've tried lubricating it but can't really get to it. I'm thinking it could be a sealed unit which is non-serviceable. According to the original spec for the bike, the description for the rear hub is "Forged aluminium, 32h double sealed ball bearings, cassette, QR".

2. The bottle cage mounts on the seat tube are damaged/broken and have been pushed inside the frame. They are at an angle and have become partially separated from the front (protruding) part. I've done a bit of research and it seems this is fixable using 5mm L shaped Rivnuts (Rivet Nuts) but you need a special tool to attach them. Has anyone on here done it, or is there a better way perhaps? Or maybe it's one for my LBS to fix for me?

Any help would be much appreciated......

daveb99

Anybody?

schweiz

1. change the bearings in the hub. Some forum members have said they have serviced sealed bearings by carefully prising them apart with a stanley knife are but it's usually easier to buy new.

2. use rivnuts - LBS or DIY if you have or can borrow a tool

centimani

As previously posted, your LBS should be able to fix the bottle cage with rivnuts dave.

The wheel ?. It's tight...that infers the hubs have been poorly adjusted and you may find the balls will grind into the cones, damaging them. i'd recommend not riding it until you've had a look at them.

If you've a mind to, take out the rear wheel, hold it by the axle (not the QR)and spin it. Does it still run tight ?

If you're prepared to have a go, you really want to strip the hub, clean all the components, inspect for damage, lube and re-assemble.
QR hubs are a little trickier because you need to have a tiny bit of play once adjusted, then when you fit the wheel, tighten the QR, it takes out the play if youve got them adjusted right. This may be where the previous owners gone wrong.

Bearing the above in mind (and it's only a theory), if the QR was very tightly fitted, try fitting it again with the minimum force needed to hold the wheel secure and safe. Is it any better ?
Otherwise, i'd get it to the LBS and let them make sure the hubs are adjusted right, or overhaul them. It'll only end up worse if you done do something about them.

daveb99

centimani wrote:

As previously posted, your LBS should be able to fix the bottle cage with rivnuts dave.

The wheel ?. It's tight...that infers the hubs have been poorly adjusted and you may find the balls will grind into the cones, damaging them. i'd recommend not riding it until you've had a look at them.

If you've a mind to, take out the rear wheel, hold it by the axle (not the QR)and spin it. Does it still run tight ?

If you're prepared to have a go, you really want to strip the hub, clean all the components, inspect for damage, lube and re-assemble.
QR hubs are a little trickier because you need to have a tiny bit of play once adjusted, then when you fit the wheel, tighten the QR, it takes out the play if youve got them adjusted right. This may be where the previous owners gone wrong.

Bearing the above in mind (and it's only a theory), if the QR was very tightly fitted, try fitting it again with the minimum force needed to hold the wheel secure and safe. Is it any better ?
Otherwise, i'd get it to the LBS and let them make sure the hubs are adjusted right, or overhaul them. It'll only end up worse if you done do something about them.

Tried the above (fitting the wheel with minimum force on the QR) and it worked - spinning freely now. However, the QR is a little too loose for my liking - how easy it is to adjust the hub so there is a little more play, allowing me to tighten the QR a little more to be on the safe side?

I'll try to attach a pic of the hub.

markos1963

I thought there was no adjustment on sealed hub bearings?

daveb99

Photos below of both sides of the hub. It spins OK but not brilliantly when holding the ends and spinning the wheel.

Is there anything I can do to introduce a little play, so that when it is clamped up on the frame with the QR it isn't as tight? There is a small allen bolt, but when I take it out I can't loosen the black part the allen key fits into (hub end/cover?). Haven't tried it in the vice yet though :shock:

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo17 ... 47b9e4.jpg
http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo17 ... 8e50b6.jpg