Wheel bearings wearing

Dizeee
Dizeee Posts: 337
edited October 2017 in Road general
How can you tell if your wheel bearings are worn and need replacing?

My Aksium Discs wheels were new as of May, since then they have covered 3364 miles and I noticed this week that when I roll the front wheel in the air, it vibrates a lot through the forks, headset and handlebar. It is also a notchy vibration that is uneven. The bike doesn't maintain speed well if you come off the pedals, it looks to me like the bearings are shot.

Comments

  • jermas
    jermas Posts: 484
    Roughness usually indicates worn/corroded bearings. If you remove the wheel and rotate the axle with your fingers, you should be able to feel if there's any roughness. Also check for play.
  • trekvet
    trekvet Posts: 223
    Wheel in bike. Rotate wheel checking for uneven lateral freeplay where tyre/wheel pass the forks - play should be even, but needs adjusting out. Next, get a med screwdriver and place blade as near as poss to wheel axle inside o fork, put handle in ear (like a stethoscope) and rotate wheel - should sound smooth.
    The Wife complained for months about the empty pot of bike oil on the hall stand; so I replaced it with a full one.
  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    take the wheel out of the bike and rotate the spindle inside the wheel; you are wasting your time if rotating the wheel around the spindle.
  • sadlybiggins
    sadlybiggins Posts: 158
    A pretty sure sign for me that bearings (particularly in the rear wheel) are on their way out is quad muscles burning, difficulty holding usual average speed and generally feeling as if I am cycling through mud. General grittiness when rotating and play in the wheels is another pretty sure sign too, as others are indicating. Inspecting the bearings should confirm though - are you able to have a look at them? Plenty of YouTube videos available if you've not done this before.

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