Play in front wheel hub

roubaixtom

HI,

Since i did a CX sportive on my CX bike last weekend the front wheel is wobbling side to side about 5mm ish. How do i go about fighting this up? The hub is cup and cone.

cheers

keezx

5 mm is a lot.
Either a broken axle or the bearings are worn out or a cone locknut came loose.
In the latest case : adjust to no play with the skewer closed.

roubaixtom

How would I know if axle is broken?

JayKosta

Is the wheel 'loose in the bearings' - can you hold the rim and move it left-right with your fingers?
Or is there a side-to-side wobble as the wheel spins - also look at the hub flanges to see if they also wobble.

Feel all the spokes with firm finger pressure - do any feel loose (or broken)?

If the above idea don't find a problem, then remove the cone from one side of the wheel and pull the axle out - be ready to catch any bearings that might be loose.
Inspect the axle for any sign of cracking and roll it along a flat surface to determine whether it is straight. You might also be able to see bending by removing the quick-release and 'sighting' thru the axle.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

dj58

Remove the QR skewer from the axle, grab each side of the axle by the locknut/cone and pull/push up/down in/out you will know if the axle is broken as there be a lot of slop, you may be able to pull the axle out of the hub shell by hand.

If not remove the locknut/cone from one side of the axle and pull it out along with the bearings and degrease
/clean everything and inspect for wear including the hub. If everything is ok, re-assemble with new grease and adjust to take out the excess play.

mamba80

google Sheldon Brown and there are tutorials on how to adjust, re grease and tools needed for all types of hub - along with every type of bicycle mtce you can think off.