What has done for my bearings???

thescouselander
thescouselander Posts: 549
edited August 2012 in Road general
Went for a short ride today and noticed a bit of play in the front wheel on the way home. I thought the bearings just needed a bit of adjustment but I couldn't get them adjusted right. On taking the hub to bits I found one of the bearings to be in a bad way with the cone, balls and cups all shot.

This seemed to happen quite suddenly and I did do a stretch on rough cobbles today - might this be the reason for the bearing failure or is it just coincidence?

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Generally, water ingress is worst for bearings, once any lubricant has gone and corrosion starts, then it's hard to bring them back.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • thescouselander
    thescouselander Posts: 549
    That could well be it, there was a good bit of brown gunk in there while the other side was ok. I guess they didn't put much lube in at the factory.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Also, using a powerwasher to clean your bike is a bad idea, it simply forces water into the bearings and washes out the grease
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • thescouselander
    thescouselander Posts: 549
    Monty Dog wrote:
    Also, using a powerwasher to clean your bike is a bad idea, it simply forces water into the bearings and washes out the grease


    Yeah, I never use a power washer or, in fact any, water to clean my bike. I usually just give it a wipe over with some quick detailer and a micro-fiber cloth.

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