Seized axle

samg123
samg123 Posts: 275
edited January 2013 in Workshop
Last rode a week ago, in averagely wet conditions. Had no issues at all on the ride. Gave the bike a good clean before putting it away (lives inside in my room). Today, I noticed the axle of the front wheel (Fulcrum Racing 7) has seized up and the wheel spins with great difficulty. It doesn't crunch or scrape at all, just has a huge amount of resistance to the point that I can't turn the axle with my fingers when the wheel's off the bike.

Why would this happen? It's reminiscent of having the axle assembly too tight, but I can't see how the nuts would have been tightened.

I'll have a go at taking it apart this evening, but was just wondering if anyone has had a similar issue before.

Comments

  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Did you pressure wash. A bike with racing 7's came in today after a good clean. All the bearings are trashed. Yours could be a similar porblem but more serious in the the axle won't turn. I have seem hub beofre where the locknuts have developed an issue (a new Shimano SLX hub with 20mm bolt through axle). It was fine when new but after a few rides the hub axle locked up. It had to be replaced under warrantly. The hub did not suffer the same fate. Not sure what happened. Maybe its that problem/

    Anyway you will need a 13mm spanner and 17mm spanner to undo the lock nut. The axle should just withdraw but it maybe a little stiff. The bearing in the front are 6001 1RS. They are not high end bearings though so replace with SKF's if they are shoot.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • centimani
    centimani Posts: 467
    I don't even know if the 7s are sealed bearings or cup n cone, but at the end of the day, its strip, clean, inspect, lube and adjust if its cup n cone. Until you get in there, its all guesswork. I don't think it'll be anything catastrophic if dealt with quickly.
    Edited to say, looks like cycleclinics experience of these wheels is greater than mine, so i defer to said gentleman :wink: .
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Fulcrum 7s use cartridge bearings - simply drift the old ones out and replace. Replacements can be bought cheaply on ebay.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • samg123
    samg123 Posts: 275
    They were hosed down, but definitely not pressure washed. But as this is the first time I've used that particular hose, I guess it's a likely culprit. I'll have to hunt down some new cartridges then.
    Thanks for the advice!
  • samg123
    samg123 Posts: 275
    I can only find 2RS bearings on SKF, will having 2 seals make a difference or are they fully compatible?
  • samg123
    samg123 Posts: 275
    Final question, are Hope bearings likely to be better than SKFs?
    Or will there be absolutely no perceptible difference...
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Use 2RS bvearings the fulcrum bearings are only 1Rs and water can and does get through behind them and there is no seal. Hope bearings are not SKF. SKF is one of the high end bearing manuafcturers. It all I use in the shop as I do not like a job coming back on me, it does not make for happy customers. You local bearing factors can get SKF bearings I would go there rather than ebay as many ebay listings are for lesser bearings. Hope bearings will be some else lesser bearings, maybe NBK. These are O.K and do the job and will cost more than SKF from your local bearing shop.

    6001 bearings which is what the fulcruum 7's use are about £4 each from a bearing shop I think. The freehub uses two 6901 bearings but the inner one is alot more awkward to remove.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • samg123
    samg123 Posts: 275
    Swapped out the bearings (old ones were trashed- good call CycleClinic) and with the new ones its very smooth, but spins a lot less freely than my rear wheel. Is this just the new grease settling in?

    Thanks for all the help!
  • robbo2011
    robbo2011 Posts: 1,017
    Something similar happened recently to the freehub on my Easton EA90 rear wheel. I'd finished a ride in damp road conditions and just gently hosed down the bike with the hose set to a dribble (the first time I had used a hose to clean the bike.

    The next time I used the bike, the cassette was very stiff and would not free-wheel properly. It loosened up after a while and I didn't think much of it until this week when I took the wheels off to change tyres and noticed the bearings were very crunchy. Disassembly showed that the outer bearing on the freewheel was shot. I now have a new freewheel on order.

    I am shocked that the bearings are that fragile and can be knackered so easily. They must be very poor quality.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    The recent trend for designing hubs to take industrial bearings ignores the fact that most of these types of bearings are not intended to work in an outdoor environment. They really require supplemental seals to be properly weatherproof.
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • andrew_s
    andrew_s Posts: 2,511
    samg123 wrote:
    Swapped out the bearings (old ones were trashed- good call CycleClinic) and with the new ones its very smooth, but spins a lot less freely than my rear wheel. Is this just the new grease settling in?
    It's more likely to be seal drag on the new bearings.
    If you got 2RS there are more seals, and being new there will be tighter contact.
  • samg123
    samg123 Posts: 275
    Is it worth taking a seal off or is the increased resistance pretty much unnoticeable when riding?

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