Rear wheel trouble

[nickm926]

I was putting the rear wheel back on my Peugeot road bike, it isn't quick release, old style bolts. It appears to be stuck in some way and is not moving freely. It isn't rubbing on anything and I am a bit perplexed. Is it to do with the bearings?

Cheers

[DaveM]

By "stuck", do you mean it won't rotate easily? If so, it could be that the axle cone and locknut (the nuts that sit inside the frame got loose and tightened up when you where working on the wheel. Take the wheel off and see if you can rotate the axle by hand.

[nickm926]

Yeah pretty much, ok I will give that a go Cheers

[nickm926]

The axle is pretty stiff. Would I have to remove the free wheel to loosen the lock nut?

[DaveM]

(09-22-2010, 01:15 PM)nickm926 Wrote:  Would I have to remove the free wheel to loosen the lock nut?

Well, technically no. You can loosen the cones/locknut on the non-drive side. But if something changed on your wheel suddenly (as your original question implies) then you probably want to open up the wheel and inspect or at least check both sides. The only way that the locknut adjustment could suddenly change is if one or the other side is loose. You would probably want to remove the freewheel to check the drive side. I'd watch the hub overhaul tutorial before you do anything.

[nickm926]

The lock nuts were very tight and I just loosened them off and it all seems fine. This bike is just a project I am working on, I am a pretty good cyclist just a terrible mechanic :p

Thanks for you help.

[X-RAY]

(09-23-2010, 10:40 AM)nickm926 Wrote:  The lock nuts were very tight and I just loosened them off and it all seems fine. This bike is just a project I am working on, I am a pretty good cyclist just a terrible mechanic :p

Thanks for you help.

Thats funny, im exactly the opposite. id redo the whole hub just for the experience if it was me. its not that hard and youll be glad you learned something new.

[trevgbb]

(09-23-2010, 10:40 AM)nickm926 Wrote:  The lock nuts were very tight and I just loosened them off and it all seems fine. This bike is just a project I am working on, I am a pretty good cyclist just a terrible mechanic :p

Thanks for you help.

nothing is simple with bikes!!
you need to be careful when adjusting rear wheel axles/bearings, it is very important that the RH locknut and cone is locked up VERY tight and final adjustments carried out on the left, otherwise the RH cone can screw itself into the hub and ruin your wheel, worst case, dumping you in the road in the middle of traffic, and yes, I have known this to happen.
You need to remove the gear block to do this properly.

[JonathanSG]

(09-24-2010, 10:52 AM)trevgbb Wrote:  nothing is simple with bikes!!
you need to be careful when adjusting rear wheel axles/bearings, it is very important that the RH locknut and cone is locked up VERY tight and final adjustments carried out on the left, otherwise the RH cone can screw itself into the hub and ruin your wheel, worst case, dumping you in the road in the middle of traffic, and yes, I have known this to happen.
You need to remove the gear block to do this properly.

I Couldn't agree more - I reckon a torque wrench is an essential tool - for the bike I use a 10 to 100 Nm 1/4" drive beam type. Over tightening stuff can be as potentially dangerous by over stressing bolts etc as under tightening.

The table below from park tools is a very useful guide to how tight to tighten bolts

BTW 1 Nm is 11.29 inch pounds and 10 inch pounds (depending on how macho you are) is approx finger tight
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=88

I also get it calibrated every year - as an offshore maintenance supervisor by trade old habits die hard.