Alu axle loose inside bearings... Any solutions?

[Kaboom]

Hello there!

So a little over a year ago I bought a set of wheels from a spanish builder. They are built out of chinese components, and the hubs look like Bitex or Novatec, but I can't be sure... I'll try to post pics. Thing is the rear hub started developing play, I sent the wheel back to the builder and he did absolutely nothing and sent them back saying they should now be ok...

Taking the hub apart myself I discovered the issue is quite a significant amount of play not in the bearings themselves, but between the bearings and the aluminum axle of the hub... I've given up all hope of the seller taking responsability, so all that's left is trashing him in the Spanish forums and trying to find a way to fix this that doens't include purchasing a whole new hub and re-lacing the whole wheel...

Anybody have any ideas on how to eliminate the play between the axle and the bearing? I've considered loctite 660 gap-filling retaining compound but that's a whole 50$. That's like half the cost of a new hub, with very little assurance that it'll actually work...

Thanks everyone!

[alcatraz]

Try to score a new axle perhaps. If the manufacturer doesn't reply just find the hub brand on alibaba and talk to the seller there. They can possibly bridge the language gap between the manufacturer and you.

Note that there might be several sellers not exactly buying from the source but some should. So keep asking until you hit the jackpot.

If 50usd is at stake I'm sure someone will try to make a better bid. Especially chinese.

/a

[Kaboom]

I've scoured the whole AliExpress bike hubs section already and I can't quite find anything like them... I asked the seller way back (after purchase, regrettably) what the manufacturer for the hubs was and he just straight up lied to me and said that they were manufactured specially for them and that they could only be sourced through him... Oh well..

I'm attatching a pic to see if anyone's familiar... I don't have one of the complete freehub, I hope the body will do. These are remarkably narrow too, as in the nds spokes have very little dishing at all...





I'll try to get a proper picture tonight.

thanx!

[sungod]

if you are ok to experiment, you could try tightly wrapping with a turn of ptfe tape (the sort used for compression joints on pipes etc.) then freezing the axle (really cold -20 c, lower if you can)

as the axle expands it'll fit tight

ptfe is delicate, i'm not sure an axle will contract enough to give enough clearance, but the tape is so cheap you can experiment

presumably the axle is stepped or something so you'd need to do it in two stages, freeze one side in a deep freeze and insert into bearing, then to push on the bearing on the other side you'd need to use freezer spray to get it cold (spray through from the other end

otherwise, i've seen metal loaded acrylics in spanish hardware stores much cheaper than loctite 660, there are also two-part epoxies like araldite steel, again much lower cost

but once 660/similar/epoxy is on there, it won't be coming off easily, when the bearings need replacing you'll have a problem, might be better to bite the bullet and get a different hub now

[alcatraz]

Does it say CBK on the hub?

Let me guess, it's the inner of the two wheel bearings that has the axle play?

/a

Looks like this hub
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/327842229 ... bset-20-24

Dati is just one of several taiwan brands. I don't think they actually produce hubs rather than just order them from somewhere. Try scoring a replacement axle. But double check the dimensions before paying.

I'd use a retaining compound between bearing and axle next time. Old axle is probably toast.

[Kaboom]

Does it say CBK on the hub?

Let me guess, it's the inner of the two wheel bearings that has the axle play?

/a

Looks like this hub
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/327842229 ... bset-20-24

Dati is just one of several taiwan brands. I don't think they actually produce hubs rather than just order them from somewhere. Try scoring a replacement axle. But double check the dimensions before paying.

I'd use a retaining compound between bearing and axle next time. Old axle is probably toast.

It does indeed say CBK on the hub.

thank you VERY much for finding these for me! I've already emailed the seller to see if he'll sell me or tell me where I can find a spare axle.

However just like Sungod said, i might just dump the whole hub and replace it with something that lasts a little more than 4000km... It depends on whether I can source a spare axle or not. I'm also not a huge fan of the minimal dishing on this hub. It just doesn't look or feel right...

thanks everyone!

[alcatraz]

I use dati hubs on my bike. R1. Light and has held up ok for my low weight. Not as solid as DT hubs of course as they are lightweight hubs. No axle problem. I don't have this kind of dishing though.

I suspect the dishing is so that DS/NDS tensions are more equal.

If you change hubs you might need to change the spokes. Particularly the NDS ones. Remember that if you are using alloy nipples the spoke threads need to enter the thick part of the nipple. If you switch to brass you might be able to get away with a bit shorter spokes.

/a

[IrrelevantD]

If you change hubs you might need to change the spokes. Particularly the NDS ones. Remember that if you are using alloy nipples the spoke threads need to enter the thick part of the nipple. If you switch to brass you might be able to get away with a bit shorter spokes.

+1 on the reminder about the nipples. I had some Giant factory built wheels that were popping nipples left and right because they weren't threaded fully. I rebuilt them myself with 2mm longer spokes and brass nipples and they've stayed perfectly true for over a year.