Giant wheel rear hub disassembly

bobbass4k

Hey all, long time sleuther but first time posting -

I've got a 2015 Defy 0 and the stock giant wheelset that comes with it. The freehub has been quite stiff and grindy for a while so I thought I'd take the opportunity of being off the bike to give it a clean/lube.

I've never taken these hubs apart myself though and they don't seem to be like the conventional hubs I had before. There's a locknut and a cone on the non drive side and a locknut and another nut on the drive side. Trouble is, the drive side nut is recessed into the freehub body, so you can't even get a cone spanner on it. I've got the non drive nut and cone off and they're sealed cartridge bearings inside.

Does anyone know how to get the axle out and the freehub body off? Is an axle vice the only option? Some pictures below, unfortunately my phone died before I got the non drive nuts off, but they show the arrangement. The hubs are only marked giant, the spec sheet says they're "Performance Tracker Road" but what little info I can find on those doesn't seem to match what I've got. Thanks in advance.

jermas

Hi,
I've not serviced that hub, but it looks like a Novatec incarnation. Have you tried to tap the axle out from the non drive side ? Once the axle is removed the freehub might simply pull off, or possibly will be held in place with a large hex (10, 11 or 12mm most likely).

ugo.santalucia

It's a threaded axle, you need cone spanners (you can see the slot on the washer)... hard to say which size if you don't measure them... could be 13, 14, 15,16, or 17 mm. Once the cones are out, you can remove the axle... the freehub should be removable via an allen key (10 or 11 mm typically). It's quite a tool intensive job for that model

crankycrank

What Ugo said^^ and you don't have to touch the DS nuts for removal. Just use the spanners on the NDS cone and locknut turning them in opposite directions (Locknut-anti-clockwise, Cone-Clockwise) to break them loose and should then be able to spin them off by hand.

bobbass4k

Trouble is the drive side washer sits under the rim of the freehub body, so there's no way to get a cone spanner on it, seems like a pretty silly design to be honest. I guess I'll have to get an axle holder for the vice and try getting it off (very carefully) with an adjustable wrench from the top, that seems to be what the shop did the last time it had a full service as there's some definite marks on it. Tried tapping the axle out from the non-drive side as that's how my previous hub was but it wouldn't budge an inch.

ugo.santalucia

bobbass4k wrote:

Trouble is the drive side washer sits under the rim of the freehub body, so there's no way to get a cone spanner on it, seems like a pretty silly design to be honest. I guess I'll have to get an axle holder for the vice and try getting it off (very carefully) with an adjustable wrench from the top, that seems to be what the shop did the last time it had a full service as there's some definite marks on it. Tried tapping the axle out from the non-drive side as that's how my previous hub was but it wouldn't budge an inch.

If you undo the other side and remove washer and locknut, then you don't need to touch the drive side, just slide the axle off from the freehub side.

bobbass4k

ugo.santalucia wrote:

If you undo the other side and remove washer and locknut, then you don't need to touch the drive side, just slide the axle off from the freehub side.

I have the NDS washer and locknut off now and the axle won't go anywhere, that's what was confusing me. The wheel is spinning on the axle ok so it's not seized, I read around a bit and it seems on some hubs both side nuts/washers need to be off for the axle to come out so I've been working on that assumption. If it's just a case of thwacking a bit harder with the rubber mallet then so be it, but I wanted to be sure.

ugo.santalucia

My guess then is that this hub has sealed bearings, so it might be that the bearing is preventing the axle to move and it can only pop out from the NDS, which requires removal of the DS nut and washer.

Have a look at the SRAM X9 rear hub... it's very much similar and there are instructions online somewhere on how to disassemble it

photonic69

Yup. Seems to be a sealed bearing:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/defy-0-2015

SRAM x9 rear hub info:

https://www.sram.com/sites/default/file ... manual.pdf

And a heap of good luck...

bobbass4k

Okay so I managed to get both nuts off and eventually managed to get the axle out... mostly. The axle won't come out all the way from the NDS, the shoulder on the axle that the cartridge sits on the DS seems to be getting snagged on the internal locking nut for the freehub. It seems to be designed that way, the shoulder is just too big to get through the nut. It seems to be a chicken and egg problem, I can't get the axle out without the freehub being off, but I can't get the freehub off without the axle being out... Anyone got any ideas? Oh, and it bears basically no resemblance to the x9 as suggested above.

Thanks again.

bobbass4k

oxoman wrote:

Not done these before but is there nothing on YouTube given the amount of video tutorials on bike repairs, might be worth a look.

There is el zilcho - I've looked pretty thoroughly, can't find anything for this particular hub or even really anything similar, and nothing for this new problem, every guide I've found treats removing the axle as a fairly simple step, definitely no guide for a shouldered axle not fitting through the freehub locking nut, I was hoping someone had had a similar experience...

noodleman

I have a similar problem with my other half's Giant pa-2 wheels. The axle comes out fine with a whack from the non drive side but I'm totally confused as to how the hell the freehub comes off. There's nothing obvious and no other locknuts or Allen bolts but it just won't come off. Does yours have a strange looking inner ring with two recesses? Not sure if there's a special tool for removing this but I've never had this sort of grief in getting a freehub off before.

bobbass4k

Doesn't sound the same unfortunately, mine definitely has a standard internal 12-sided Allen Bolt, and I don't see how the axle can come out from the DS, the freehub has a metal ring with a rubber skirt on it over the bearing, the only thing I can think is that this comes off somehow to allow the axle to come out the DS but I've not a clue how, and I think the axle is still going to get snagged on the locknut. I'm declaring defeat and taking it to the Giant shop after work, hopefully they can do something with it, I'll report back anything useful.

westonpark

Any luck with this, I removed the axle but have no idea how to unlock the free hub body! It isn't a 10mm hex.

JayBM

Did anyone have any luck with this? I've got both Drive and Non-Drive nuts off. I removed the DS 1st my using a spanner on the NDS locking the axel and then undoing the DS nut. Then undoing the NDS. The axel then just taped out. But I can't get the freehub body off for love nor money. I have a feeling it might be am 11m allen key, but can anyone confirm?

BerserkButts

It is 11mm Allen key but you can use a 3/8” socket extension bar from the non drive end