Was out for a chill ride with my kids nothing strenuous on me or the bike.
When on the return journey I feel a clunk from the back wheel followed by grinding. Shit my pants as this happened at speed.Initially I thought the chain somehow jumped off the cassette but when I got off to check I noticed the wheel was skewed so checked the wheel nuts and both were still tight.
After walking it home I find this mess in the picture!
The wheel initially had no side to side movement.
Can anyone tell me how this happened or what I can do to fix it? I asked my LBS and after a odd exchange I found they had no idea what was needed and told me it would take weeks to fix. I declined.
by Phat-Nudz
5 Comments
Broken axle. Super common with freewheel bikes due to the long length of unsupported axle under the gears. Modern freehub style wheels fixed this issue, but it’s a more expensive wheel. You can get a new axle installed, they’re like 20-40 dollars depending on quality, plus labor, assuming the bearing races are still in good shape.
Edit- or maybe you broke the hub shell cup? It’s hard to tell.
Looks like the axle broke.
Most solid axle parts are very interchangeable. A good shop with normal spare parts this is less than an hour to fix and should cost you $40 – $60. Hopefully less.
It’s a crazy common issue. I would bring the wheel to the shop. If they still look blank go to another shop, repeat as needed
This is really Bike Shop 101 work
You should probably get a new cassette and chain as well.
Looks a little bent and or snapped to me – new wheel day , might as well 🚴🏻♂️
If you look carefully, it looks like the axle is completely intact. What looks like happened is the inner race of the hub separated from the hub shell and probably got lost inside the shell. It’s not common, but I’ve seen it twice this season.