Last week, while I was procrastinating, I decided to overhaul the wheel bearings on my hybrid bicycle. This process involved buying some new tools (cone wrenches, chain whip, and lockring remover), some ball bearings, and some grease. I did not replace the cones, though I should probably.
It was quite an adventure. I started with the front wheel, which is easier. Removed the wheel, removed the quick release, unscrew the lock nut, remove spacers, remove the cone. Then it got interesting. I didn’t have a pencil magnet to remove the old ball bearings with so I had to pry them out. Luckily the old, dirty grease made them stick to the ground when they fell out, but it was still more cumbersome compared to using the proper tool.
I cleaned all of the parts, removing any old grease, then re-greased everything. Gobs and gobs of bearing grease was put in the hubs on the bear racers, then the bearings were added, and everything was put back together. Smooth and clean now.
The back wheel was a little more challenging. I removed the cassette (first time doing this!), and then it took me some time to realize that the dust cover was a dust cover. With that figured out I was able to repeat the same procedure as with the front wheel. Another small challenge was that I didn’t initially have 15 mm cone wrench (I had bought a pedal wrench thinking I could use it for both; silly me). I worked around this, and now do have a 15 mm cone wrench.
When I put everything back together I had a problem: the wheels were too stiff. I had tightened the cones too much, putting too much pressure on the bearings. They were not moving freely. I had to give it up for the night but later read that, with quick-release wheels you are supposed to leave a little bit of play in the wheel as it will be tightened with the quick release.
Tonight I finally had time to finish the job. The wheels are spinning beautifully now. They could be better (new cones, new hubs maybe?), but they’re much better at least. I’ve discovered some break squeal since re-attaching the wheel but, again, will have to sort that out tomorrow. I will probably start my ride with the wheel and brakes as is and just check on them a few times through. I will make final adjustments when I get to the office
I’ve got a couple of projects still remaining with this bike. One is truing the wheels. They’re desperately in need of this, but to do this I will need a truing stand. The front is much more noticeably untrue than the rear, and it affects braking. The second project is the bottom bracket. That will be an adventure, and will likely require some more tools and parts.
In time, new cassette, chain, chainrings, and jockey wheels will be in order. For the moment I figure they’re already all in such bad shape that I might as well keep using them until I have noticeable gear slipping. The whole kit is about a decade old and should probably be replaced anyway.
And since I have a couple of hours of conference calls in the morning I best get to bed so that I will make it to the office in time. Good night, friends.