Rail (625Wh) have they stitched me up?

[JAC0B86]

about 10 rides in i blew a spoke from landing like a potato. when i got wheel back from shop it had a lot of plaY side to side in hub. so i pulled it apart and found one side was missing like 5 ball bearings. went back to pc and checked stats on bike and it says its a sealed bearing. straight from web site :

Hub rear	Bontrager alloy, sealed bearing, alloy axle, 6-bolt, Shimano MicroSpline freehub, Boost148, 12 mm thru axle

im just confused is i pulled hub apart and there is looses bearings everywhere, which isnt a sealed hub....so my question is, did i get a dodgy up hub? did they swap it in shop before i purchased it? this is a trek rail 5. anyone else can confirm either way?

 

[Dax]

Does it have bearing cones? If not, you maybe just destroyed the sealed bearing and the balls fell out. If so, they probably had supply chain issues and had to substitute a different hub.

Either way, you probably need to take it back and ask the bike shop to fix it

 

[Mikerb]

I think you are referring to cartridge bearings ( which some mistakenly refer to as sealed bearing)................all bearings are/should be sealed but cartridge bearings consist ball bearings in a cage running on two faces and sealed both sides with inserted rubber seals...........the entire bearing is self contained ...as a cartridge.
As far as I can tell from diagrams the Bontrager hub uses cone bearings...as you have found out. If there was play then the cone a djuster nuts needed tightening........if indeed there are ball bearings missing the cone must have been loosened/removed at some stage.....BUT....how do you know 5 are are missing?

It may also not be a Bontrager hub....if it has no brand mark it is more likely an OEM hub ( Shimano/Formula etc).

 

[Philly G]

Your mishap is unfortunate but not uncommon. I had the same thing happen a few years ago on a near new Trek Remedy (the broken spoke, not the bearing issue ) Trek's Bontrager wheels and hubs are made of cheese...I think Trek make really good and price competitive bikes, but I've come to believe that if you buy a Trek, you should be prepared at some point to swap the wheels out for something better

 

[Mikerb]

I think you will find that Bontrager make some top of the line hubs but are marked as Bontrager...otherwise as a parts supplier that was bought out by Trek they deliver OEM parts for a lower cost build.

 

[Swingset]

Really confused. The bike industry has not used loose balls (on a cone/cup) for years on higher end components. You have a sealed bearing (inner and outer race with balls in grooves with a rubber seal on each side) For five individual balls to get loose is almost impossible. A rubber seal would have to be missing and the races fractured or the bores in the aluminum hub are ovalized. It would take a helluva hit from the side to put that much torque into the wheel.

Based on your description the hub is shot if the bearings are loose in the hub.

 

[Mikerb]

Really confused. The bike industry has not used loose balls (on a cone/cup) for years on higher end components. You have a sealed bearing (inner and outer race with balls in grooves with a rubber seal on each side) For five individual balls to get loose is almost impossible. A rubber seal would have to be missing and the races fractured or the bores in the aluminum hub are ovalized. It would take a helluva hit from the side to put that much torque into the wheel.

Based on your description the hub is shot if the bearings are loose in t

 

[Philly G]

I think you will find that Bontrager make some top of the line hubs but are marked as Bontrager...otherwise as a parts supplier that was bought out by Trek they deliver OEM parts for a lower cost build.

Well I've owned their "top of the line" carbon wheels, and while the wheels were strong the hubs were crap, so I stand by my statement

 

[Mikerb]

correct if it is a Bontrager branded hub as opposed to a Bontrager SUPPLIED hub!

 

[JAC0B86]

thanks for all the info / help guys! it is a genuine Bontrage hub. showed local bike shop and he just laughed how bad it was. i emailed shop i got bike from and they are 'chasing' it up asap. its definatly a loose unsealed hub. i wonder if its a supply shortage - throw in next best thing. who knows. will get an answer in ext few days. cheers legends!