Replacement bearings binding when end caps tightened
Moderator: robbosmans
I've noticed sometimes when I've replaced the bearings in Novatec/Bitex/Powerway/Chosen type hubs (i.e. cheap far eastern) that the reassembled hub does not spin freely if the end caps are fully torqued. These hubs have no preload adjustment and everything spins smoothly if the endcaps are not fully tightened. Spacer between freehub and shell bearing is in place. Is this just down to tolerances, or can anyone explain what is going on and how I can rectify it?
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Yes,it seems so. I played around with this last night, and it seems it's dependent on the bearing dimensions as pressing in the original bearing type from an identical hub resulted in no binding. The replacements are higher quality NTN bearings, but they must be slightly wider than the old ones. I was just considering how best to lock in the NDS end cap without having to tighten it so I will give some blue Loctite a go. I can firmly tighten the drive side endcap to the axle without any binding so I think leaving the NDS as the loose one is possibly the better option. Thanks for your reply!
I've found an easy fix as inserting a small washer inside the NDS endcap allows the caps to be fully tightened without the bearings binding. Before, my endcaps would bind the bearings after some riding even if I only had them finger tight to begin with.