My bike was making weird noises while riding for some time but I ignored them. Last night I took apart the hub for cleaning and regreasing and found the old grease full of metal flakes, the adjustable cone severely deformed and the balls obliterated. There is also pitting in the races on the hub shell but not too severe. Can I get away by replacing the internal assembly and bearings or do I need a new wheel? Also can I put looses balls instead of the caged ones? It seems like the caged ones cannot support the load that great. I thinh that if I put loose bearings instead it will last longer because there will be more balls supporting the load.
by Emanuel2020b
1 Comment
There’s no need to replace the whole wheel. But the bearing cup needs to not be pitted. I use as many loose ball bearings as I can fit in. Your cone wouldn’t fit if there is too many. I also use Castrol LMM grease, because of its high pressure and water resistance characteristics.