Back wheel bearings loose

UDP

Hi,

I bought a Giant Defy 3 about 5.5 months ago. The bearings on the back wheel appear to have come loose this morning on my way in to work. The wheel appears warped (I presume because of the bearings) and when the wheel slows down when spun I can hear balls loose inside.

I do a 25km round trip between city centre to D15 5 days a week carrying a pannier bag on one side of the bike. I would have carried a laptop in my pannier bag a handful of times a few months ago but other than that it is just clothes and cycling gear. I am about 85kg in weight so I wouldn't have thought I was putting too much pressure on the wheels. I didn't hit any potholes this morning in particular that I am aware of.

I have no idea when it comes to this type of issue - I try to do my own maintenance where possible so I would tackle it if it wasn't too crazily difficult or didn't require a load of specialised tools making it unfeasible to do myself.

Would this be considered normal wear and tear thus my responsibility? (would be bad to think I may have to fix/replace bearings every 6 months but if it is it is)
Can the existing hub be fixed? or is it a new wheel? or what is the normal fix for this type of issue?

Any help/advice etc is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Noel

crosstownk

UDP wrote: »

The wheel appears warped (I presume because of the bearings)

The bearings won't cause a warp or buckel. If the bearings or cones are in a bad way your wheel may be loose on the axle and rattle from side to side rather than have a buckle in a specific place.

If the buckle is in one particular part of the rim then I'd check for a loose or broken spoke.

Of course it is possible that you have both a buckle and the hub bearings are a separate issue.

As the bike is still in warranty, I'd bring it back to where you bought and see what they have to say. It sounds very early for hub bearings to be worn.

UDP

The Wheel is wobbling on the axle as in I can push it from side to side slightly so I am not sure if it is a buckle.

If it is just the bearings and the shop doesn't cover them, are they hard to replace? What tools would I need beside standard hex keys, spanners etc?
I am trying to figure out if I should attempt to fix it myself or leave it with the shop.

crosstownk

Try the shop first. It does sound a bit soon for bearings to go. I've the same wheels as you with about 4,500km on them and I only serviced the rear hub on Saturday.

It's simple enough to do as long as you dismantle from the non drive side. You'll need a 17mm spanner and a cone spanner (I think it's a 15mm). Remove the wheel and take out the QR skewer. Then remove the hub dust cover from the non drive side. You'll see the locknut, spacers, washers and cone. Use the cone spanner to hold the cone securely and use the 17mm to loosen the locknut. Remove the locknut, spacers & wahsers - note their positions for reassembly. Then spin off the cone and remove the axle from the drive side. Do your best not to move the drive side locknut as it's a great reference for reassembly to keep the axle centred.

Check and replace as necessary using a good lump of grease on the bearings. Replace in the reverse of above and adjust the cones until any play is just removed from the axle.


That said, I find the wheelset to be poor. I'm hoping to upgrade as soon as funds allow.

GTDolanator

loose cones,no biggie just get it back to ther shop ASAP five minute job if their not busy

morana

Could be a broken axle! You will know if you pull the wheel off and see if it comes out��