Rear Wheel Drag / Friction?

Psychotext
Psychotext Posts: 145
edited October 2012 in MTB workshop & tech
I was cleaning up both mine and my nephew's bikes yesterday when I noticed that his seems to have some sort of issue which causes the rear wheel to stop pretty quickly after you spin it. The best example of this I can give is that if I spin mine and his at the same time, and with roughly the same force, his wheel stops spinning after about 7 seconds, and mine after about 30 seconds. You can even feel it when just pushing the bike along. His feels sluggish.

Is there anything I should look at to try and solve the problem? He's quite new to mountain biking and struggling badly with hills so I'd hate to think he's working harder than he needs to be. I've checked the brakes and there's no rubbing, and there doesn't seem to be any contact anywhere else either. There's no mud or grit that I can see.

Mine has a different hub to his, some old Shimano Parallax thing on mine vs an All Terra hub on his.

Any ideas?

Comments

  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    If its not brakes then it's only bearings or freewheel. Take the wheel out and feel the axle move. Does it spin freely?
    A Flock of Birds
    + some other bikes.
  • Psychotext
    Psychotext Posts: 145
    I shall give that a go and report back (probably on Wednesday as I wont be around until then).
  • haf1zur
    haf1zur Posts: 124
    i had a similar issue on the front after changing tubes, turned out I tightened the inner nuts too much
    http://www.facebook.com/BringBorisBikesToNewham
  • Psychotext
    Psychotext Posts: 145
    Right, I took the wheel off and it seemed to turn OK when I tested it.

    Oddly enough, I put it back on and it seems much better. I guess there must have been some grit somewhere that I couldn't see because it's much, much better now. Oh well, one of those things I guess. Thanks for the advice. :)
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Maybe it wasn't right in the dropout and the brake binding because of that?
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • Psychotext
    Psychotext Posts: 145
    Could be. My nephew has never removed / replaced a wheel before so there's every chance it wasn't put back right.
  • benpinnick
    benpinnick Posts: 4,148
    Could be a cone issue. Is the hub cup and cone or sealed bearing do you know?
    A Flock of Birds
    + some other bikes.
  • Psychotext
    Psychotext Posts: 145
    No idea, hubs are just what came with the bike. I reckon it'll do OK until he decides to start upgrading.

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