Wobbly Rear Wheel, Bearings Loose?

zoomaj
zoomaj Posts: 41
edited April 2017 in Workshop
Hello all,

im new here and this is my first question, i just bought a bike, and everything was working fine, till i got a puncture,
i fixed the puncture and put the tyre back on, then when riding i realised my back wheel was wobbly,
so upon checking some you tube videos, someone said it might be a loose bearing or the lock nuts on either side of the bearings might be loose,

so the easiest option for me was to tighten the lock nuts on either side of the bearings, so although this has cured the wobbly wheel, i now have brake disc rub on the brakes, iv also taken the pads out of the calipers and its still rubbing, i don't think i have a bent or warped disc, i think by screwing the bolts closest the bearings has made the the rotar sit a bit closer to the pads, its not consistently rubbing but every rotatation at a certain point it makes a ting noise,

now i have 2 questions,

should i have left my bearings as they where and not tightened the nuts to stop the wobbly back wheel?
or have my bearings actually failed? and by tightening the nuts i have masked a problem that i cannot see?
if i put the nuts back in the original position the brake rotar disc would stop, but id have a wobbly rear wheel!

i feel a proper Noob asking a very technical question! but iv been trying to resolve it for 2 weeks, the bike shop said my brake pads have gone, iv taken out the pads and cleaned them and they are almost like new, they also suggested the bearing might be gone to, but upon tightening the bearing my wheel wobble is resolved, but i now have rotor rub! 1 problem after another lol!

please can anyone assist?

Comments

  • If it was working fine until you had a puncture and now you have all sorts of problems, which you've not manage to sort out after 2 weeks, I would take it to your LBS and get them to fix it, you could be doing more damage messing with it when clearly you are out of your depth.
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 16,433
    maybe you didn't full seat the wheel before tightening the quick release

    stand on the righthand side of the bike, lean over the saddle to put weight on it, loosen the qr, you may feel a slight clunk if the wheel does now seat itself, do up the qr
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • k-dog
    k-dog Posts: 1,652
    ^that was my thought too. Fixing a puncture shouldn't change anything else.

    You'll probably have to undo everything else you did trying to fix it if that's the case.
    I'm left handed, if that matters.
  • zoomaj
    zoomaj Posts: 41
    hello All, thanks for your replies,

    please can I check that I have done the right thing by tightening the bolts next to the bearing to stop the rear wheel wobbling? I don't want get ripped off at a bike shop saying I need new bearings because my back tyre is wobbling when all it needs is the back bolts tightened next to bearings, which is what I have done.
  • When you say bolts I assume you mean nuts. This all sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Take it to the dealers. I don't think you'll get ripped off, the job should only take 10 minutes, but if you have done it all wrong, it'll cost you big time!
  • zoomaj
    zoomaj Posts: 41
    hello all thanks for your help, i took it to halfords today, it turned out the caliper was mis aligned,
    bearings and everything all working perfect. thank you everyone