So just bought a 2nd hand set of vision tubular carbon rims and mounted them on my roadbike.
What concerns me is that they seem loose when i pull them from side to side.
Any idea what the cause of this is?
I just tested it for like 200m with a speed of 26km/h and didnt notice anything then. However, I dont want to ride on them if its something serious.
by Fair_Active5256
16 Comments
Bearings at likely worn. Best to have the hubs checked. Depending on the model and condition you could fix this with a simple hub service.
Could be wheel flex, could be a spoke tension issue.
I’d start by plucking all the spokes and seeing if they are consistent sounding on each side of the wheel. If not, retension them (with a tension meter) or have a good shop do it.
If the are consistent, odds are that’s just the nature of those wheels. But checking the tension with a tension meter to be sure they are built right would be a good next step.
Bearings are either dead or need tightening. Service the bearings, if they’re closed cartridge ones, replace them. If it’s not bearings, other guy suggested checking the spoke tension, but I highly doubt that.
Worn bearings, which a happens alot to wheelsets especially if you ride in bad weather conditions. I just had the same, and the BS replaced them. New bearings all around cost me 55 bucks with installation
If you have a bearing press you can do it yourself, its not hard. Just a matter of buying the right size bearings and push out the old ones and do the same to the new ones. But without the right tools its pretty much impossible to do
either low spoke tension or balls in the bearings in the hub are worn (replace the balls). that’s my guess!
Wheel flex is normal. Be sure your quick release axles are completely seated in the frame dropouts and they are sufficiently tight. The way to really tell if it’s the bearings is to have the bike in a stand and try to tip the wheels back and forth to see if the hubs are loose. Given that you have done to a wheel that presumably has fewer spokes than the last set, there will be much more movement in the wheel as there are fewer spokes to hold the rim rigidly in position. If you truly switched rims and had the hubs and rims relaced with new spokes, get the tensioning checked out by a shop, as the new spokes can settle in as you ride if the person who laced them didn’t do that for you. Depending on the spoke/rim style, they may need to take the tire off to true the wheel.
Wheel flex is normal. Be sure your quick release axles are completely seated in the frame dropouts and they are sufficiently tight. The way to really tell if it’s the bearings is to have the bike in a stand and try to tip the wheels back and forth to see if the hubs are loose. Given that you have gone to a wheel that presumably has fewer spokes than the last set, there will be much more movement in the wheel as there are fewer spokes to hold the rim rigidly in position. If you truly switched rims and had the hubs and rims relaced with new spokes, get the tensioning checked out by a shop, as the new spokes can settle in as you ride if the person who laced them didn’t do that for you. Depending on the spoke/rim style, they may need to take the tire off to true the wheel.
How tight is your QR? There is usually a bit of play on QR hubs because clamping them down compresses it a bit. You shouldn’t use a breaker bar or anything, but if you can tighten it a bit more it might help.
Change bearings
qr wheels. tighten the qr axle is it even in the rim. bearings will last longer the the bike. (if you dont keep it for 10years
Bearings are dead replace them , Is my opinion
This looks like it might just be normal wheel flex. Some wheels are less stout than others.
I would be skeptical of those suggesting your hubs are worn out. I’m guessing this is a cartridge bearing hub. If they are cartridge bearings that are worn out then when you take the wheel out of the bike and turn the axle with your hand, it would be very evident by the feel of the bearings that they were contaminated.
My inclination is that your wheels are fine. If you’re spokes, have a nice “ping” Sound when you pluck them then you might not need to mess with anything. If you’re concerned about them rubbing on the brakes while you ride, then maybe you could open up the calipers just attach with the barrel adjuster depending on how close your levers are pulling to the bars.
A lot of comments say bearings worn, but in my experience it’s always loose cones, which is the much easier thing to test for and correct
Check:
– Quick release
– Worn bearing or loose cones (wiggle wheel with fingers over the bearings, feel for play) … repacking bearings isn’t too hard a job, tightening cones just needs some cone wrenches
– Spoke tension (squeeze spokes, look for loose ones)
Will be low spoke tension for sure.
What type of bearings? Cup and cone or sealed cartridge? Maybe the preload can be adjusted. Do they have this play in them when they are out of the bike?