Play in zonda rear hub

johngti

Just noticed a very small amount of play in my rear wheel - if I hold the rim at 12 o'clock I can wobble it a couple of mm. I think this is a sign that the bearing needs adjusting. Anyone done this on a zonda? How difficult is it?

pinarellokid

It's easy on the non drive side there is a small Allen bolt on a plastic screw on the axle. Turn the Allen screw and tighten the bearings slightly to adjust and job done, no cone spanners to mess about with.

johngti

Ta! I'll give that a go now

johngti

Half a turn, pretty much no movement. Thanks for the help

arlowood

This might be more than you need at the moment but could be useful down the line if you have to do any further maintenance:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xM9SiZVYe_g

cswitch

if its just the freehub sliding out from the axle and back towards the hub (along the line of the axle) then I don't think that will be the bearing preload nut. It may be that the axle nut is loose on the drive side allowing the freehub to slide back and forth along the axle. Try tightening the nut with your finger. If its loose then put an allen key in the axle on the non drive side and tighten the nut up on the drive side.

Another thing it could be is just worn freehub bearings.

johngti

V

cswitch wrote:

if its just the freehub sliding out from the axle and back towards the hub (along the line of the axle) then I don't think that will be the bearing preload nut. It may be that the axle nut is loose on the drive side allowing the freehub to slide back and forth along the axle. Try tightening the nut with your finger. If its loose then put an allen key in the axle on the non drive side and tighten the nut up on the drive side.

Another thing it could be is just worn freehub bearings.

Would tightening the bearing preload nut eliminate the play even if it were the axle nut that needed tightening?

Tjgoodhew

I seem to have the exact same problem. I will try the above this evening.

As i have been using these as my winter wheels for the last two years (3kmiles) and they have never been serviced would the bearings be coming to the end of their life ?

cswitch

johngti wrote:

V

cswitch wrote:

if its just the freehub sliding out from the axle and back towards the hub (along the line of the axle) then I don't think that will be the bearing preload nut. It may be that the axle nut is loose on the drive side allowing the freehub to slide back and forth along the axle. Try tightening the nut with your finger. If its loose then put an allen key in the axle on the non drive side and tighten the nut up on the drive side.

Another thing it could be is just worn freehub bearings.

Would tightening the bearing preload nut eliminate the play even if it were the axle nut that needed tightening?

I don't think so. The nut that holds the freehub on is different element to hub bearing preload. If nut isn't loose and freehub wobbles then possibly a new freehub (or at least the bearings) might be needed.

Try this though. Have the wheel clamped into the bike and hold the rim and wobble side to side - if there is side to side movement of the whole rim then it's possible that bearing preload needs tightening or the hub bearings are simply worn. However make sure that the wheel is tightly clamped by the skewer as the hub is designed to have a little play so when the skewer is tightened the play is removed by the frame compressing the bearings. If you do play around with the preload allow a small amount of play to allow for additional pressure applied by skewers.

Wheel assembly isn't my strongest point but the above is from previous experiences with Shamal and Zonda wheels on which both the axle nut came loose - after servicing annoyingly. Other than that great wheels.

johngti

cswitch wrote:

johngti wrote:

V

cswitch wrote:

if its just the freehub sliding out from the axle and back towards the hub (along the line of the axle) then I don't think that will be the bearing preload nut. It may be that the axle nut is loose on the drive side allowing the freehub to slide back and forth along the axle. Try tightening the nut with your finger. If its loose then put an allen key in the axle on the non drive side and tighten the nut up on the drive side.

Another thing it could be is just worn freehub bearings.

Would tightening the bearing preload nut eliminate the play even if it were the axle nut that needed tightening?

I don't think so. The nut that holds the freehub on is different element to hub bearing preload. If nut isn't loose and freehub wobbles then possibly a new freehub (or at least the bearings) might be needed.

Try this though. Have the wheel clamped into the bike and hold the rim and wobble side to side - if there is side to side movement of the whole rim then it's possible that bearing preload needs tightening or the hub bearings are simply worn. However make sure that the wheel is tightly clamped by the skewer as the hub is designed to have a little play so when the skewer is tightened the play is removed by the frame compressing the bearings. If you do play around with the preload allow a small amount of play to allow for additional pressure applied by skewers.

Wheel assembly isn't my strongest point but the above is from previous experiences with Shamal and Zonda wheels on which both the axle nut came loose - after servicing annoyingly. Other than that great wheels.

The preload but wasn't exactly loose but it did take half a turn very easily. The wheels aren't a year old yet so I think I'd be pretty unlucky if the bearings were shot. I'll have a proper play at the weekend but this is turning into a very interesting thread!