rub sound diagnosis

[Brizn]

Symptom developed a day or two ago: Coasting at speed, sounded and felt like something was rubbing against the knobs of my rear tire intermittently--- brub brub brub... I locked up, examined: nothing. Kept riding.

Happened again yesterday, briefly. Only happens for little stints at a time, then disappears til next time. Also, there were a few times when I got gear slippage upon torque.. even tho the chain line was straight.

On the stand today: took a while, but was able to reproduce sound/vibration. Coming from rear hub inner. Feels as if every so often the bearing are out of wack or something.. brub brub brub brub... did it when wheel was spinning fwd, and when back pedaling the freewheel.

Please confirm: this is either a freehub issue, a hub issue, or both, correct?

My plan: remove freehub, clean, reinstall. repack bearings in hub.

Am I on track here?

[punga]

Does it do it when it's off the bike? If not, maybe it's something else rubbing?

Check to make sure the bearing preloads are snug also before pulling apart the freehub.

punga!

[TrailVictim]

Did you check to see if the cassette has any play while mounted on the hub?

[ride-n-fall]

Symptom . . . blah, blah, blah . . .

Solution . . . buy a full suspension 29'er! :)

[Brizn]

Had at it again tonight on the stand.. was not able to reproduce the symptom at all.. so I decided not to remove the wheel and check per Punga!'s suggestion just yet. The cassette seems tight enough..

...weird. I'll keep tabs and post back.

[august]

Did you recently change the tire? Maybe the tire was seated properly and is rubbing the frame. Had this happen to me last week because the tire was just a little too wide and rubbed only at high speeds. Just a thought

[Brizn]

Hm,.. I'm 99% sure it's not the tire.

I'm off the bike for a few days so I'm cleaning and repacking... Now i can't figure out how to remove the freehub body! It's not the 10mm allen key as with Shimano. I have an email in to CC- they'll probably reply by tomorrow... I have the Crono 2.5 hubs if anyone has input..

PS: R-ingTFM didn't help me.

[ride-n-fall]

Hm,.. I'm 99% sure it's not the tire.

I'm off the bike for a few days so I'm cleaning and repacking... Now i can't figure out how to remove the freehub body! It's not the 10mm allen key as with Shimano. I have an email in to CC- they'll probably reply by tomorrow... I have the Crono 2.5 hubs if anyone has input..

PS: R-ingTFM didn't help me.

You probably have seen all of these already, but here is some potentially useful info:

http://www.canecreek.com/fileadmin/canecreek/products/wheels/man_wheels/06_aros_volos_zonos_050206.pdf

http://www.canecreek.com/fileadmin/canecreek/products/wheels/man_wheels/2005-strados.pdf

The Park site has a pictorial and directions (the cane creek is the last on the page, although it is not your exact hub they shouldn't be that different): http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=45

[Dirt]

Hm,.. I'm 99% sure it's not the tire.

If it was the tire, you would be able to see where it was rubbing the frame.

Good luck with your search.

Pete

[Brizn]

Yea.. I'm actually 100% it's not the tire-- it's somewhere in the hub. The second exploded is my hub, which shows a freehub bolt that appears to insert/remove from the opposite end of the hub.. but still, no dice in real life. The Park site shows a different CC hub, not applicable to me, unfortunately.

[Dirt]

Yea.. I'm actually 100% it's not the tire-- it's somewhere in the hub. The second exploded is my hub, which shows a freehub bolt that appears to insert/remove from the opposite end of the hub.. but still, no dice in real life. The Park site shows a different CC hub, not applicable to me, unfortunately.

I think you're on the right track. If an inner bearing on the freehub body let loose (died) the noise would be intermittent. If it were an outer bearing or a bent axle, the noise would more likely be constant. Bent axles are less common in non-shimano hubs.

Pete

[wrench177]

Symptom developed a day or two ago: Coasting at speed, sounded and felt like something was rubbing against the knobs of my rear tire intermittently--- brub brub brub... I locked up, examined: nothing. Kept riding.

Happened again yesterday, briefly. Only happens for little stints at a time, then disappears til next time. Also, there were a few times when I got gear slippage upon torque.. even tho the chain line was straight.

On the stand today: took a while, but was able to reproduce sound/vibration. Coming from rear hub inner. Feels as if every so often the bearing are out of wack or something.. brub brub brub brub... did it when wheel was spinning fwd, and when back pedaling the freewheel.

Please confirm: this is either a freehub issue, a hub issue, or both, correct?

My plan: remove freehub, clean, reinstall. repack bearings in hub.

Am I on track here?
I'm thinking freehub. I bought a new wheelset with XT hubs and I had a faulty freehub that did what you are describing. Also, it would sometimes try to sping the crank arms.....sometimes. Depending on where the cranks were positioned. I removed the freehub and felt a binding as I spun it. Felt like the innards had a burr or bad bearings. Shimano replaced the freehub and all is well now.

Once you can remove the freehub give it a spin and see how it feels. If there is any binding I'd say you found your problem.

[Brizn]

I've isolated the problem and it is, in fact, in the freehub.

I've had a look at a few other wheels of mine, and I suspect similar problems with them. I've heard ppl talk about "I kill every freehub I ride" and what not-- is there a chance that in some (maybe not so) small way, my clyde status or riding style is contributing to this particular issue?

[Brizn]

I've isolated the problem and it is, in fact, in the freehub.

I've had a look at a few other wheels of mine, and I suspect similar problems with them. -- is there a chance that in some (maybe not so) small way, my clyde status or riding style is contributing to this particular issue?Bumping this some..

Granted, two of the fh-bodies in question are Deore, but the other is a Cane Creek of higher quality.

Are the Shimanos serviceable? Or is it the kinda thing where you should just buy another one, considering the original (lower end) quality of the part?

[werace424]

I very recently had an intermittent clicking/clunking sound from my bike. I tried a different wheel and it went away.
I took wheel to LBS and was told my hub was a Formula. It costs me $15 for the free hub body, and $5 each for the two bearings. (The bearings are still in pretty good shape, but for $10 might as well go ahead and replace them. )

So I say replace the parts since they are cheap. Mine lasted me almost 2 years, so $25 every 18-24 months isn't too bad.

Later,
Paul

[wrench177]

Bumping this some..

Granted, two of the fh-bodies in question are Deore, but the other is a Cane Creek of higher quality.

Are the Shimanos serviceable? Or is it the kinda thing where you should just buy another one, considering the original (lower end) quality of the part?
The cane creek may or may not be of higher quality. They may just source out the FH body from another vendor like sun/ringle or the like. I don't know this for certain, but it is possible.

The bodies can be serviced, but it's not easy and the innards are probably worn out anyway. Best thing to do is just replace the body. Maybe you should try an XT grade body this time. They go for around $35 bucks. Be aware though that there are at least two (maybe more) distinct FH bodies for Shimano hubs. I know there are 2 different ones for XT level hubs depending on model number. The difference is mainly in the depth of the countersink hole for the FH bolt. One is deeper than the other and will lead to stripped threads if you use the one that is too shallow.

I don't know anything about Cane Creek hubs, so you're on your own there. Just order the appropriate FH for the hub I guess.

[Brizn]

Ok, thank you both.. this is helpful! Thx Wrench for following the thread..

Cane Creek has sent me a free replacement.

I think I'll try a higher quality fh body, for the others.. instead of buying the tool and learning how to do it, just yet anyway.

[mark w]

Clyde status and mashing gears will certainly put the test to a freehub's engagement system. King Ringdrive and Hugi Star ratchet are some of the strongest and most serviceable systems. I have a 10+ year old King hub still running strong and I'm a masher, not a spinner. I don't know if you're in the market for an upgrade but I can certainly recommend King hubs as a wise long term investment.