Advice on rear wheel repair - Specialized Langster

unionman

OK, so the bottom bracket has been replaced and is running smoothly, but the bearings in the hub of the rear wheel are still pinging and grinding.

If I am to replace the inner workings of the rear hub, what part am I looking for? Is it a matter of a whole new hub?

Yes, I am that clueless:o

Gavin

It may simply be a matter of re-greasing the ball bearings in the hub..? bicycletutor.com has a nice video showing the procedure.
http://bicycletutor.com/overhaul-wheel-bearings/

That's as far as my knowledge goes !

'68 Fastback

If your around tomorrow i'd happily have a gander at it for ya, in between all the building of walls and dampproofing! i've got most of the stuff needed for a hub rebuild i think.

unionman

'68 wrote:

If your around tomorrow i'd happily have a gander at it for ya, in between all the building of walls and dampproofing! i've got most of the stuff needed for a hub rebuild i think.

Mighty decent of you sir. I'll pop in and have a chat about it with you tomorrow. Perhaps I can offer some labour time in return:D

'68 Fastback

no problem at all. do you need directions?!

Wez

Can I ask how long you've had your langster? Doesn't sound like great build quality if you've had to replaced BB and now a hub on such a new(ish) bike?

I don't personally own one, but I would have thought they'd be fairly well made having had a quick look at one in a LBS!

unionman

Wez wrote: »

Can I ask how long you've had your langster? Doesn't sound like great build quality if you've had to replaced BB and now a hub on such a new(ish) bike?

I don't personally own one, but I would have thought they'd be fairly well made having had a quick look at one in a LBS!

I've had it two years Wez, and in defence of the bike itself, I've not been a careful owner. Problems with the hub stem from a high speed trip on a carrier on the N7 in torrential rain and I had failed to secure the wheel. It spun in reverse and unravelled the freewheel hub (which I discarded) but I think it did a bit of damage to the inner hub which wet weather has aggravated.

The bottom bracket served me well, a lot of wet cycles last year took their toll and I never looked at maintaining it.

In short, despite my tardy ownership record, I'd still recommend them. Good solid build and nice fast and light bike.

I've got better at maintenance and careful ownership, but the poor oul' Langster was my guinea pig:D

unionman

'68 wrote:

no problem at all. do you need directions?!

I have my maps and bus timetables spread out on the desk here, and I've entered your details into my GPS. If I get lost I'll text you.

'68 Fastback

i'll put a candle in the window.

Wez

After hearing that, doesn't sound too bad now! Good to know!

Best of luck with the repairs!

doozerie

Maintenace on a hub is pretty straight-forward, but you'll need the right tools. At a minimum you will need one, maybe two, cone spanners (of the right size - traditionally those for the back hub are a different size from those for a front hub). You are also likely to need either a standard spanner of the appropriate size or an adjustable spanner, but this is where the tools needed start to depend on the specific hub. I have no idea what hubs are standard on your model of Langster so I can't suggest exactly what you'll need. You might also need an appropriate tool to remove the cassette for better access, but this isn't usually necessary with freehubs.

You will almost certainly want to replace the bearings rather than re-use the existing ones. Yet again, the choice of bearings depends on the specific hub that you have - some take loose bearings, some very odd ones take bearing in a cage, and some take sealed bearings. And it is worth buying grease suited for this purpose - not all greases are the same, and if you use the wrong type you may find yourself having to repeat this job in a matter of a small few months.

Here is Park Tool's guide to hub maintence, which is worth a look.