Rear wheel managing lateral movement!

rodgers73
rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
edited August 2013 in Workshop
My back wheel is moving side to side when I'm riding.

I had it off the frame today, cleaned and reassembled everything including the cassette and it's still doing it. It's baffling me and making an annoying clunking noise when I'm riding.

Any ideas what is causing this?? Is it dangerous??

Comments

  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Loose bearings.
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  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Ah, bad news for my wheels or can I carry on for a while before servicing them?
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Depends on the bearings and how bad it is. What wheels are they and how far do they move?
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  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Shimano RS10s

    About 5mm movement
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Ah right that's just loose cones then. If you have a couple of cone spanners you can take up the play in a jiffy, but it's probably worth having a butcher's inside to make sure the races are OK and there's enough grease present. Have a look at Park Tools for how-tos.

    Wouldn't recommend riding them like that though. Handling must be pretty interesting!
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  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Cheers Des
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    As above, but you can't have 5 mm lateral play in the hub, it is simply impossible... 1 mm is already a big big play in a hub.
    left the forum March 2023
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    That was my guess made a few hours after finishing in the garage. Probably not that bad. Tightened up the cones this AM before going but still noticing something odd -

    The hub will not move side to side at all but the rim will move laterally. Imagine the wheel as a pendulum with the rim being the weight. The hub stays static but the rim will move between the brake pads left to right by (say) 3mm.

    I doubt it should do this and the front wheel certainly doesn't. Any ideas??
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,312
    rodgers73 wrote:
    That was my guess made a few hours after finishing in the garage. Probably not that bad. Tightened up the cones this AM before going but still noticing something odd -

    The hub will not move side to side at all but the rim will move laterally. Imagine the wheel as a pendulum with the rim being the weight. The hub stays static but the rim will move between the brake pads left to right by (say) 3mm.

    I doubt it should do this and the front wheel certainly doesn't. Any ideas??

    Looks like your wheel is out of true
    left the forum March 2023
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    I was talking about when the wheel was static rather than when its rotating. If you get hold of the rim you can move it back and forth left to right between the brake pads. It also feels wobbly when, say, lifting the bike and turning it around. It feels loose.
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Anyone??

    Is this safe to carry on riding??
  • thescouselander
    thescouselander Posts: 549
    I wouldn't. Have you actually checked the adjustment on your hub bearings, I suspect they might still be slightly loose? Alternatively the bearings themselves might have had it. I had a bearings go once where the cones would feel adjusted in one position but if you gave the axle a spin some play would appear. To get rid of the play it was necessary to tighten up the cones a lot causing a lot of resistance. the solution was to replace the balls.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Can you briefly describe how you've adjusted the cones? It doesn't sound as though you've taken up all the play in the bearing.

    ETA sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but here is a drawing of a typical rear hub:

    Labeled_Bicycle_Hub_Comparison-en.svg
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  • mercia_man
    mercia_man Posts: 1,431
    rodgers73 wrote:
    I was talking about when the wheel was static rather than when its rotating. If you get hold of the rim you can move it back and forth left to right between the brake pads. It also feels wobbly when, say, lifting the bike and turning it around. It feels loose.

    Most wheels will deflect a bit at the rim if you pull it from side to side in the way described - particularly rear wheels which are not so stiff because they are dished and factory built wheels with a low spoke count. If your spokes have loosened, the movement would be enough for the rim to hit the brake blocks or even the frame when you push on the pedals.

    Perhaps your problem is not play in the hub bearing. Maybe loose spokes are responsible for your wheel movement and wobbly feeling.
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    DesWeller wrote:
    Can you briefly describe how you've adjusted the cones? It doesn't sound as though you've taken up all the play in the bearing.

    ETA sorry if I'm teaching you to suck eggs, but here is a drawing of a typical rear hub:

    Labeled_Bicycle_Hub_Comparison-en.svg

    OK, I removed the dust cover, wound in the cone on the non-drive side a little and also the lock nut on the same side. Put everything back together and tested on the bike. Had tightened too much so slacked it off a bit and was happier with it. Hub did not move from side to side on the axle as before, but wheel still "deflected" as before.

    Went out for 100 mile ride and it was OK. That said, it always has felt OK while riding, just the occasional vagueness from the rear end. My concern was mainly -

    1. Am I damaging my wheel by not getting this looked at sooner?
    and/or
    2. Doing something that might be unsafe?
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    rodgers wrote:

    Went out for 100 mile ride and it was OK. That said, it always has felt OK while riding, just the occasional vagueness from the rear end. My concern was mainly -

    1. Am I damaging my wheel by not getting this looked at sooner?
    and/or
    2. Doing something that might be unsafe?

    Sorry, not been very clear there - the clunking noises stopped as a result of the work I did but still a slight vague feel to the rear end.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    If it's loose and flopping about 3mm then I'd be really concerned ...

    The amount of deflection will depend on the force you're applying to it.

    The wheel isn't designed to take significant lateral movement - so even hand pressure can cause it to deflect from true. Ive just looked at my rear Ksyrum Elite and it can be moved to touch either brake pad - so about the same as yours. I did have to push/pull a reasonable amount though.
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    Just been in Halfords for a bike rack and tested the wheels on a couple of their bikes - no movement at all compared to mine. Think I'll take it in to be looked at - not too worried about safety now though so will ride it for the next week or so until I can afford not to have the bike available for a few days.

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