I know very little about bikes. The axle seems to be securely attached to the frame dropout, however it seems that the hub shell is very loose, am I right in thinking this? And how can it be repaired?
Apologies if not using the right terminology.
by JoahtheFalcon
9 Comments
You are in need of a new wheel. Hub is toast.
Axle is attached to the frame, but it’s not attached to the wheel. It needs to be completely rebuilt with new bearings and grease, assuming there isn’t more damage to races.
Wheel bearings are smoked, looks like the cone which holds the bearing balls in the cup of the wheel hub has backed out and the balls have come out. Take it to a shop and they will be able to assess if the races of the cup or cone are damaged or if it can be repaired
Looks like the balls in the bearings are gone. If it’s been ridden at all like this the hub races and axle are surely shot. If not you might be able to the hub apart, replace them and repack with grease. My local hardware store has bearing balls in the fastener section but you need to be sure to get the right size.
Perhaps you can replace the bearings, but judge the hub itself critically, if the hub is broken, I’d go for a new wheel.
The spokes do not seem rusty, but the rim on a bike with rim brakes is also a consumable, replacing the hub on an old rim is probably not worth it.
It could just be the bearings fell out, but to get that large of a gap it might be a broken axle.
Looks like a broken axle to me. But with such a huge gap there might be damage beyond it.
Good answers here… For future reference, something I’ve learned is that you basically HAVE to give your bike a good look over once every couple of weeks at least. This probably could have been prevented by adjusting the cone nut. Granted I have no idea how this actually happened.
If this is not trolling, just gently take your bike to the nearest shop. That is the best solution.