How do bearings go missing? Recently, I went for a long ride, and on the way back noted a strange noise and grinding sensation in the front. I experimented with various possibilities, pinned it down to the wheel, and determined it felt like missing bearings.
At home, I took the wheel off, opened up the hub and there were two missing. So, easy fix, off to B&P Cycle, bought some bearings and grease, and fixed the problem. The bike rolls fine now. Happy ending.
However, I got to thinking. I store the bike hanging from the ceiling in the shed, due to space limitations, and I've started to wonder if hanging the bike puts any stress on the wheel that could account for this. Any opinions are welcome. Thanks.
I do not think hanging bikes
Submitted by ryker on
I do not think hanging bikes by the wheels is hard on bearings. Hanging by the wheels involves supporting the weight of the bike. Riding the bike involves supporting the weight of the bike plus the weight of the rider plus accommodating inertial forces, etc. On an anecdotal note, I hang eight bikes by their wheels and have never had a bearing problem. I also repack my bearings annually using grade 25 balls and make sure that my bearing preload is appropriate.
Missing bearings?
Submitted by mercator on
I've seen that in a few old bikes I've rebuilt. Usually, if there aren't any remnants of the old balls, I presume whoever rebuilt it last time was careless. I mean, the cones would have to be awful loose for them to slip out, wouldn't they?