Follow-up question on life span of hubs

[PaulE]

I have a set wheels built with Ultegra 9sp hubs that have about 5,000 miles on them. The rear hub started making a slight clicking sound. The hub has been taken apart, cleaned and relubed. The freehub was cleaned and relubed using a Morningstar Freehub Buddy. The clicking is still there and I can still feel a very slight roughness in the bearings when I spin the wheel holding the axle in my hands.

The bearing races in the hub itself look smooth and evenly worn. I'm considering replacing the bearings and cones. I know what size bearings I need, but what grade of steel ball bearing should I purchase, or if I get them from a shop do I not need to concern myself with the bearing grade?

[Dave]

Grade 25 chromium steel balls are plenty good. Cheap hubs will only have grade 100.

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?d=single&c=Bearings&sc=Loose%20Balls&tc=Grade%2025&item_id=BB-CH5&id=618904817243

[OperaLover]

I have a set wheels built with Ultegra 9sp hubs that have about 5,000 miles on them. The rear hub started making a slight clicking sound. The hub has been taken apart, cleaned and relubed. The freehub was cleaned and relubed using a Morningstar Freehub Buddy. The clicking is still there and I can still feel a very slight roughness in the bearings when I spin the wheel holding the axle in my hands.

The bearing races in the hub itself look smooth and evenly worn. I'm considering replacing the bearings and cones. I know what size bearings I need, but what grade of steel ball bearing should I purchase, or if I get them from a shop do I not need to concern myself with the bearing grade?

Are you sure the cones are pitted? Check them carefully in the light. It may be that the cones are just slightly too tight. They should be a hair loose so that the skewer compression will not render them too tight under load. It's a fine line for what is too tight or too loose. It may take a couple (3, 4, or more) tries to get them just right. New bearings will help if the cones are still okay. Make sure all the bearings are from the same batch to compensate for any variance in tolerance from the manufacturing process. Good Luck!

[PaulE]

The cones didn't look pitted to my naked eye. I just thought I would change them since I could. I tried adjusting them a few times and I felt that this was the best I could adjust them without having some slight side to side slop in the axle.

[Too Tall]

Paul, replace the bearings and look really carefully at the cones. Both the bearings and cones are dirt cheap. Sounds an awful lot like a bad bearing...too familiar.

[regularguy412]

One of the young fellas I normally ride with was in the shop yesterday with his Mavic mtn bike wheels. If he got the bearing adjustment more than finger tight, it felt like the races were terribly brinnelled. Now, granted, these wheels have sealed bearings, so we figured the bearings were just worn out. The tech pulled the bearings outta the freehub side and turned them. The bearing turned smooth as silk in his hands. Turns out that the axle was bent very slightly and this was causing the roughness when trying to get the pre-load 'just right'.

MIke in AR

[PaulE]

I see a brand new Ultegra rear axle and cones assembly is available for not much more than the cost of the cones. So I'm going to try that with new grade 25 chromium steel ball bearings and see how it goes.