Do I need a new rims?

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
705
438
Belgium
So since my last 2 ride on my haibike my back wheel made a real cracking noise so I tried to lube everything and have the thru-axle some grease but none worked.so I took apart the freewheel and saw this
z4zj1snl.jpg

I have no clue what to do. Do I change my hub? Or do I buy a new rim.? On many site I read that most of the times buying a new rims is cheaper?
 

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,451
8,698
Lincolnshire, UK
That looks like you have lost a load of balls from your bearing. Changing the rim will not fix that, it is a separate part of the wheel. I don't know whether you can replace the balls, or whether it is a warranty job. If the answer to both is a negative, then at the very least it's a new bearing, maybe a new hub. But I am no expert on it. If you aren't either, take it to your LBS and let them sort it out.
 

Levo-Lon

Active member
Jan 21, 2020
175
200
Uk
Replace the knackered bearing.
Or get the LBS to do it , bearings are cheap enough but you do need certain tools to do it properly
 

DOMBUSH

Member
Aug 10, 2020
47
11
Cambridge
That would definitely create the noise you experienced. There are 2 common bearing designs and from the photo i cant see which you have:-
  1. Free (replaceable) ball bearings in a hardened hub housing - this is not so common these days although Shimano still use these.
  2. A deep groove cartridge bearing (with one of the seals missing). These are most common and are easily replaceable if you have the tools / know-how.
The key question is.... where have the missing balls gone? Normally it takes a hell of a bang to break a ball bearing / damage the race that it rotates within. Has the hub been apart before? Is there evidence of pieces of the missing / damaged balls floating around in the free hub? Did they fall out when you disassembled it? Pieces of ball bearings are very hard and tend to damage surrounding parts irreparably when they float around.

The solution if it's type 1 is to replace the missing balls, you can buy packs of them cheaply but beware there are many sizes. However if the bearing race the balls rotate within is damaged then the hub is scrap. Normally if you damage a hub then buying a complete wheel is as cheap as buying a new hub and disassembling / rebuilding the wheel.

The solution for type 2 is much easier. Knock out the cartridge bearing and replace it with a new one. The benefit of this design is that it rarely damages the hub when they fail, (assuming that all the balls stay in place which they haven't).

Or..... just take it to your LBS (y)
 

urastus

⚡The Whippet⚡
May 4, 2020
1,548
994
Tasmania
It looks like a sealed bearing, although apparently there are semi sealed too, which I'm not familiar with. I've never seen that before. When you took it apart did you find a plastic washer and the missing balls? I'm surprised this happened especially when there is still grease in there and no apparent sand or water; weird. Looks like poor manufacture.

Hopefully the hub is still good.

Somebody just posted a picture elsewhere here - I think this is what yours is supposed to look like - not the axle that he is pointing at, but behind it.
 
Last edited:

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
705
438
Belgium
Apparently those bearings where both half empty of balls I never took it apart, my bike only had a hard hit when my parktool standard fell with my bike on it .

I was been able to get those bearing out and ordered new one.
Thx for the assistance
 

Sander23

Active member
Aug 28, 2020
705
438
Belgium
I also wanted to grease my front wheel bearings.
I properly cleaned them added Morgan blue calcium grease into it. Installed it again but now my wheel feels like it holds back. What can I do?
 

DOMBUSH

Member
Aug 10, 2020
47
11
Cambridge
I also wanted to grease my front wheel bearings.
I properly cleaned them added Morgan blue calcium grease into it. Installed it again but now my wheel feels like it holds back. What can I do?

To help - very briefly, how did you apply the grease to the bearing?
 

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