wheel bearings servicing

pep.fermi
pep.fermi Posts: 388
in Workshop

Both wheels on my road bike slightly wobbly. It seems the bearing welcome servicing very soon. I plan to do it in the next days. Did it already once many many years ago on a different bycicle.

Apart form the many youtube tutorial I watched already. Any "last secret tip" you experts want to share?

Beside, this bike has disc brake. Will I have to remove the disc from the wheel in order to access the cone and bearings?

Thanks,

Alberto

Comments

  • oxoman
    oxoman Posts: 506

    Alberto, are they actually cup and cone because alot are just sealed bearing units now.

    Too many bikes according to Mrs O.
  • pep.fermi
    pep.fermi Posts: 388

    @oxoman

    ouch thanks a lot for the excellent remark.

    Short answer: I don't know.

    Long answer: Bike is modern and not the cheapest, Cannondale Synapse Carbon Ultegra Disc. So I guess they are sealed units.

    Are they at all serviceable...............?

  • pep.fermi
    pep.fermi Posts: 388

    Or is it a matter of simply replacing the bearings with new ones.......? This would save everything else of the wheels, so all in all much cheaper easier than buying new wheel, right?

  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,496
    edited March 18

    Sealed bearings get replaced, not serviced. Very easy to do with the correct tools or if comfortable with the fudges.

    PS - Buy any replacement bearings from bearing suppliers, not cycle shops. Up to 1/4 the price.

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • pep.fermi
    pep.fermi Posts: 388

    Thanks a lot.

    Now the catch is going to be finding the correct standard. Like everything engineery-wise I expect there's got to be zillions of almost-identical-but-not-compatible different size shape bla bla and got to find the correct one.

    Any clue...?

  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 27,496
    https://forum.bikeradar.com/discussion/comment/21056325#Comment_21056325

    If you are not pushed for time then the best method is to remove the bearing and get the model number off that.

    If you are pushed for time then you need to research exactly which bearings are used to order in advance.

    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • trevor.hall12
    trevor.hall12 Posts: 496

    Synapse generally come with Formula hubs I know 2018 were sealed cartridge with a screw in freehub on the rear .

  • pep.fermi
    pep.fermi Posts: 388

    Issue solved, thanks everybody. Bearings untouched.

    At the side of the hub there's a tiny nut. I very slightly tightened this. Now the very little play that was present in the wheel/hub. The play was anyway really minor, noticeable only with a scrupolus checking, not noticeable while riding.

    I had somehow convince myself, wrongly, that in order to access such nut it was necessary to remove the disc (of the brake). So I even bought the proper tool, 9eur online. Only after removing the disc I noticed the relevant nut was on the other side (of course!), easily accessible.


    In the process I of course Googled my wheels: Fulcrum Racing 600, one of the cheapest "race" wheels, 200eur 1800g. Out of curiosity I asked myself price and weight of all wheels. Interesting how much the very expensive wheels cost. There are wheels on the market, 2000eur more expensive than mine, and only 200g lighter. I know weight is not all.

    Knowing how very good my 200eur wheels are, I really do wonder what convinces people to buy wheels for 2000eur.

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