I thought the wheel was buckled but it looks like there is a lot of play in the rear axle.
I'm not a bike mechanic at all, so a little guidance on this one would be much appreciated! Thanks!
Play in rear wheel help and advice
byu/DuckingKoala inbikewrench
by DuckingKoala
4 Comments
It appears you’re missing some bits. Did you take the wheel off?
I wondered if you’re missing a single ball bearing….but now I think your cone is too loose. It doesn’t look like the lock nut is there.
Its really normal for freewheels to move like that. They are threaded on and it’s near impossible to have them sit perfectly flat so they wobble around. The actual axel looks solid. Maybe a bit more showing but nothing off. Can you move the rim side to side?
Could be a broken axle, could be some badly pitted cones, but your axle is definitely missing some nuts and spacers which should rest against the inside of the rear dropouts. This could also cause the cones to be loose causing the wheel to rotate off kilter from the rear axle. You can see in this video how the rim is moving side to side as the wheel rotates indicating either an out of true rim or uneven movement around the axle.