Just changed another puncture (5th in 2 months :() and found a small crack on my right bearing case.
I’d seen on another thread that it shouldn’t be a problem and it should be fine to ride on inless it fully cracks and chips off. So carried on riding.
Did about 100-150 miles on it and have just started to notice a creaking feeling. When i’m not on it and spin the wheel I feel nothing, when I’m on it and riding without holding the handle bars, again I feel nothing, however when I start riding with the handle bars and I feel it creaking once every revolution.
I Stopped and tried tightening things and making sure nothing was lose or overtightened, but can still feel it.
Any ideas what I can do, is it possible its the bearings? If so should I just change them?
Sorry for the bad quality photos will try and do some more if needed!
It’s a good bet that the creaking your hearing is the crack in the bearing. If it’s not completely through the outer race, it soon will be from the looks of it. I would order some new bearings, and ride this one until the new one arrives. You may have better luck with the crack up towards the seat, but really it’s a gonner.
bearings are cheap, if they’re cracked, replace them before they do damage to your bearing holders, then you’re in real trouble if they’re on the frame side
Ok well I have bought another set or bearings and took the old ones off. As they came off they shattered so I think I took it off just in time!
Trying to get the new one on and it is completely stuck about an inch on, with about another inch to go. I have a pipe that is the right size to put over it and was hammering it for a good half hour yesterday and it didn’t budge. Any tips on how to get it fully on or just keep hammering?
The bearing should be a tight fit on the shaft but you need to make sure it is going on straight. If it has kicked slightly sideways you will be unable to get it to move. As a mechanic i would normally knock the bearing back on with a punch so you can keep moving the impact point around the inner cage of the bearing (this stops any chance of the bearing kicking sideways). I hope this helps, Geoff
I’ve found the reason - the inner ring from the bearing is still on the shaft. When I took the old bearing off it shattered and left the inner ring behind.
I can’t get any leaverage to get the inner ring off, any ideas?
it sucks that it’s hardened steel, if you can’t grab it with the gear puller, then try a cut wheel in a grinder, cut the bearing in two places. Watch those spokes, and wear safety glasses in case the cut wheel shatters.
you may also try locking the inner ring in a vice and hammering the axle down out of the vice with a sacrificial bolt screwed all the way into the axle. if there isn’t enough room to clamp it into a vice, you might use a penetrating lube on the axle, lock vice grips on the ring and try wriggling it off. if it doesn’t wriggle, flip the wheel so the vice grips are on the ring at the underside, and try hammering down through the wheel onto the vice grips with a punch on one side of the vice grips, and then the other side of the vice grips…