Fixing A Wobbling Rear Wheel Hub

I noticed a weird eccentric wobble on the rear hub of a bike I was working on. I disassembled the hub to discover that someone had overhauled it and installed too many bearings. A rear hub typically has nine 1/4" bearings on each side. This had ten on each side. So I cleaned everything and put it back together with the proper number of new bearings. This eliminated big wobble in the hub. There was still a slight bit of wobble in the freewheel, but this is not uncommon due the manufacturing process of the hubs.

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[Gampeh]

I watched all your video's and taken apart all my bikes.... now i realize i just like the videos... and i have a huge mess of parts in my tiny apartment.

[RandomlyGraceful]

Thanks to this video, while it wasn't directly what my problem was, it helped me solve it.

My rear wheel was wobbling in the frame and I have a quick release. I thought the quick release was a bit slack so, I tightened it a little, no joy.

I then proceeded to take apart my hub, which is where your clear and detailed instructions helped me. I realised my cone was a little loose and just needed to be moved along the axle a little. So, I took two spanners (wrenches), one for the cone, one for the locknut and loosened them. I moved the cone along the axle a little, tightened the locknut, put it back together and then back in the frame.

I got a slight wobble but I realised I was on the right track and proceeded with the same steps. A little more along the axle and hey, not a single bit of wobble or play.

Your video saved me a good £50 in a bike shop repair so, thank you very, very much for your exceptional tutorial.

[tompoh]

I always use a similar size closed wrench over the dust cap to tap it back in evenly. As for the wobble, it's the off-centered free wheel configuration, compared to the more balnaced free-hub/cassette combination. That usually wears out the hub shell unevenly. Always love watching your videos, RJ, in fact, you're my bike mentor. Thanks

[Maxborg]

I will no longer try to fix wobble with an extra ball bearing. Great teaching and awesome contributions of knowledge and experience in comments. Definitely subscribing.

[gone-in-sixty-seconds]

I enjoyed watching this video I've my grandsons rear wheel to sort out as he has wobble side to side, it's been a good 30 plus years since I've done this so very nice to watch and refresh my mind again many thanks

[Sayy]

I know this was old but I know where that wobble is. It is about the uneven force exerted to the pawls by the spring. One is stronger than the other side so it tends to wobble. And this usually happens with thread types sprockets. I opened one and eventually eliminate wobbling. Just sharing :)

[Skeindem]

This video has been incredibly helpful for me to replace a completely broken axle. I've been learning so much from the other videos as well and it's so damn handy and satisfying to be able to fix at least on of my commuting vehicles :D

[BillSmithPerson]

It’s fun to watch the stroboscopic affect as he spins the freewheel at around 0:40. Some gears appear to rotate clockwise while others appear to rotate counterclockwise.

[MYLUVMNM]

No one explained the way you did! I was tiered and frustrated to get wobble out of rear wheel- your video made it happened in 20 mins ! thanks

[taurusdohc]

Exactly my problem on an ancient Huffy. Thanks! Also your video on cassette vs. freewheel was the best on the topic.

[slamdownwarfare]

man, i wish you'd live in my neighbourhood! great videos!

[danfuerthgillis]

The freewheel hub mount treads are not centered properly this is very common on cheaper freewheel mount type hub wheels. Good video. I have some wheels with barely any wobble, but some wheels that wobble the same freewheel it is due to cheaply made wheel hubs.

[ambushby]

When I look up bike videos/instructionals I always make sure to look for yours first, thank you for being the best out there

[luisedwards]

Awesome video. I have found that the wobble seems to be related to the hub threading. Doesn't seem to affect the shifting much. It is annoying though when you think of the money you spend on a bike only to get something like that.

[thatonedroid]

Thank you for the video. I couldn't setup the cone, spacer and the nut lock properly for 3 days until I came across your video. Really appreciate all the details.

[MuckingMunt]

RJ, your videos are still internet gold for those who can search/read, act AND then repeat if necessary.

Sheldon Brown's static web pages got me started on basic Bike DIY & simplification some years pre-YT; I still now trawl through your video archives again based upon 'old quality' bike parts I pick up and want to service & re-use.

[rickjames]

Thank you for the video. My kids are old enough to ride their bikes now and I wanted to impress them by fixing the wobble.

[tiffanychen]

Yes!! I've been searching for video of how to fix my wobbling bike!! Thank you!!

[darshangood]

While you didn't fix the problem it is always good to see how something is took apart and put back together. As this is something that is what seems like it would happen in reality and not just one of the videos where the issues would be totally fixed or a brand new wheel like a polished videos as I think 90 percent of people don't have to bikes that's are over a grand, nice vid mate

[johnschuff]

Excellent video narration with great editing to give the important points without wasted time. Primo. You've given me the confidence to get rid of my wobble, saving me money at the bike shop and time without my bike. Thank you for this. 🙂