Campagnolo Khamsin G3 front hub - rebuild?

Ben6899

Hello!

In my hallway, I have a Campagnolo Khamsin G3 (2009) wheelset. The braking surfaces are fine, the freehub is sweeter than when I took them out of the box four years ago and they're true.

BUT... the front hub bearings are borked. There's plenty of movement and - on the bike - the wheel rattles as though the rim is full of lead shot!

At a first glance, the hubs look as though they're 'throwaway', but I'm willing to get my hands dirty and do a bit of swearing if anyone here tells me that an amateur mechanic can have the lot in bits, serviced (fresh grease? new proprietary bearing(s)?) and back together without too much expense. It'll be handy to have a spare set of strong, serviceable wheels kicking about.

Cheers!

g00se

Hi,

According to here: http://www.campagnolo.com/repository/do ... C-3009.pdf

you need a pair of these: http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... 0000000000

You can probably google HB-SC013 and get some cheaper alternatives.

Sealed bearing replacement can be a bit tricky if you don't have the right tools.

You can pop them out with a bit of care following this method:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCHsyMC57zo

Though that one says to use a proper tool to replace the new ones... You can do something more DIY by using the old bearing to push in the new one (like the video) - but rather than the tool they use, just use a large nut and bolt going through it with some kind of suitable block on the other side:

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2089/2375 ... b599_o.jpg

Ben6899

Cheers g00se, that all looks straight-forward enough. I also found this silent movie, which explains how to get to the bearings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVnswbyW9ss.

Anyone know a method of removing circlips without using circlip pliers?

rolf_f

Ben6899 wrote:

Anyone know a method of removing circlips without using circlip pliers?

I'd have thought a pair of jewellers screwdrivers could lever the clips out.

Incidentally, I am in the same position as you and then some. My Khamsins need new hub bearings front and back plus the freehub bearings. And the BB bearings need changing! Nice of them to all go together!

Ben6899

Rolf, you mean like a screwdriver I might use to tighten the arm on my sunglasses? Two of those worked inbetween the open section of the circlip?

Let me know how you get on with yours and I'll do likewise!

rolf_f

Ben6899 wrote:

Rolf, you mean like a screwdriver I might use to tighten the arm on my sunglasses? Two of those worked inbetween the open section of the circlip?

Let me know how you get on with yours and I'll do likewise!

That's what I was planning. But anyway - COWARD! I haven't even got my bearings yet and you want me to be the guinea pig?!

Ben6899

Rolf F wrote:

That's what I was planning. But anyway - COWARD! I haven't even got my bearings yet and you want me to be the guinea pig?!

Yes!

rolf_f

Ben6899 wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

That's what I was planning. But anyway - COWARD! I haven't even got my bearings yet and you want me to be the guinea pig?!

Yes!

Hmmmmm, now I could just do it and not tell you what happened! Or I could accidentally send the clip into orbit but pretend it was a doddle......... Are you sure you can trust what I say? :twisted:

rolf_f

Silly sod ordered wrong freehub bearings :roll: - mind you, that was down to an internet recommendation. What I should have done was look at what it said on the actual bearing!

Anyway, those now ordered, mistake was only £3 worth so it won't kill me. And it won't stop me hopefully from having a shot at the front wheel bearings this weekend.

Ben6899

Rolf, how you getting on with the front?

I've got the bearing covers off, but before I can pull or tap out the bearings I need to remove the axle. How!?

If the axle slides or taps out, then this one is stuck or there's something else not quite as it should be.

rolf_f

Ben6899 wrote:

Rolf, how you getting on with the front?

I've got the bearing covers off, but before I can pull or tap out the bearings I need to remove the axle. How!?

If the axle slides or taps out, then this one is stuck or there's something else not quite as it should be.

I think that is where if you look very carefully, you can see they are held in place with spring clips - I was planning on making a little teepee of masking tape around the axle with an opening to allow me to get a couple of tiny screwdrivers in there with the masking tape catching the clips if they want to fly off.

I've started on the rear. I used a screwdriver and a hammer to get them out! It wasn't a particularly pleasant operation and I might see how much the proper tool costs (though so far I can't even find it on the net.....).

There's a metal tube that sits between the bearings to stop cack getting into the bearings (which are unsealed on the inside). It floats so you can just push it sideways to get an edge of the opposite bearing to clout - then you go round so you don't keep hitting the same side. On the rear, the nds was easy but the drive side was a sod.

I might get a cheapo bearing pusher off ebay too. Everytime I use botch methods I regret it! Tools are good!

dabber

Regarding getting the little clips off....
Try putting a little layer of grease around the top of the clip before you start to prise it open/off. If it does start to fly away the grease should stop it.

keef66

I'm told that our American friends refer to them as Jesus clips, since that's what you invariably shout as they ping out of your grasp, ricochet off the bridge of your nose and then disappear into the darkest corner of the garage.

In a similar vein, I spent half an hour on Saturday night crawling around on the garage floor with a torch looking for the cable clamp bolt from a front mech. I'd found the washer immediately but the bolt appeared to have vanished. Once I'd exhausted my modest vocabulary of expletives I calmed down a bit and wondered if it hadn't made it as far as the floor. Sure enough, I found it sitting on the chainstay, just a couple of inches away from the hole it had fallen out of.

And when I got back inside I found I'd missed the whole of X Factor! Result

rolf_f

Dabber wrote:

Regarding getting the little clips off....
Try putting a little layer of grease around the top of the clip before you start to prise it open/off. If it does start to fly away the grease should stop it.

Just had a thought - are the clips magnetic? If so, a nearby neodymium magnet should sort them out! Except the screwdrivers would probably get stuck to it.......