| REAR HUB:
We suggest that the freehub unit and needle bearing be
re-lubed annually. You may wish to clean the freehub
first, and/or lube more frequently, depending on your local
conditions and riding frequency. Normally, the sealed cartridge
bearings do not require routine maintenance. To
inspect the condition of the rear hub, remove the wheel from
the bike. If there is noticeable play (rattle) in the axle,
or if you notice a gritty, or notchy "indexed"
feel when turning the axle and/or freehub unit, your hub
needs attention. Another sign that your freehub may
need lubrication is when it becomes noticeably louder or
feels "draggy" when coasting.
Note: It is not necessary to remove your cassette and
lockring from the cassette carrier for routine
lubrication. If you need to remove a bearing in the
cassette carrier, you will want to remove the cassette
lockring and will have an easier time handling the parts if
you remove the entire cassette. For instructions on
removal and installation of cassettes, we suggest you visit
the Park
Tool website.
Disassembly
1D. On the drive side of the hub there is a collar that
fits over the axle and sits against the frame when the hub
is installed. Insert a 2mm Allen wrench (hex key) into
the set screw which is on the side of this collar.
Then loosen, but do not
remove, the set screw. Slide the collar off the
axle.
2D. You can now slide the cassette carrier unit off
the axle. There is a precision fit between the needle
bearing inside the cassette carrier and the axle, so it fits
snugly. If the carrier sticks in position, you can
hold the carrier and tap on the axle with a rubber mallet to
drive the axle out of the carrier.
3D. With the cassette carrier removed, you can
access the pawls and drive teeth for cleaning and
lubrication. If you use a degreaser to clean the
freehub unit, be sure to get it all out before
re-lubing. We recommend a very lightweight grease such
as Shimano's Dura-Ace grease or Phil Wood Tenacious Oil for
the free-hub unit. Do not use
thick, sticky "wheel bearing" greases in the
freehub (Pedro's, Finish Line, Park PolyLube or
automotive/marine greases) as these have an adhesive
property that can prevent proper function of the
freehub. These heavier greases can be used sparingly
on the needle bearing inside the cassette carrier, where
their adhesive property will help keep the grease from
migrating off the rollers.
4D. To fully disassemble the hub for bearing removal, you
can drive the axle out of the hubshell using a rubber
mallet. The best way to do this is to place the
hubshell onto a vise with the jaws open enough to support
the hubshell flange while allowing the non-drive side end
cap and axle to fall through the jaws. Cover
the vise with a rag to prevent scratching the hub.
Then tap the axle out of the hub. This will remove the
non-drive side end cap and bearing along with the axle.
5D. The non-drive end cap is a very tight press fit
on the axle. Do not attempt to remove this cap unless
you must do so to replace the non-drive side
bearing. To remove it, clamp the non-machined (dark)
section of the axle snugly in the jaws of a pair of
Vise-Grip style pliers that have been lined with rubber or a
shop rag. Be careful not to crush the axle and do not
scratch the machined (shiny) areas of the axle! Then
place the axle in between the jaws of your vise so that it
is supported by the bearing and end cap but the axle can
fall through the jaws. Tap on the pliers using your
plastic hammer to pull the axle out of the end cap.
This cap is a very tight fit, we find a fairly heavy
"dead blow" hammer is the best tool for this
job. If using a metal hammer, protect your pliers by
placing a rag over them. If you have trouble removing
the end cap, contact us for assistance.
6D. To remove the bearings from the cassette
carrier, gently pry the black rubber dust shield out of the
cassette carrier. This is a brass washer covered with
rubber, so it bends easily. If it gets a little bent,
just bend it back. You can now remove the cassette
carrier bearings and also the drive side hubshell bearing
using a bearing puller, or tap them out with a punch from
inside the hubshell. Be careful
not to scratch the bearing bores!
7D. Removal of the pawls and
pawl spring from the cassette carrier is not necessary for
cleaning and lubrication. The pawl spring can be
damaged during removal, so please do not remove these parts unless
you need to. Using a small screwdriver, rotate the
"C" shaped pawl spring until the gap in the spring
aligns with the peened (pinched) section of spring slot in
the cassette carrier. Gently pry the spring out of the
slot. The pawls will fall out of the carrier at this
point, so be careful not to lose them.
Re-assembly
(If you only removed the cassette carrier for normal
maintenance, skip to step 10R below.)
1R. To reassemble the cassette pawls, lubricate the
pawls with a drop of Teflon oil and reverse the disassembly
procedure in step 7 above. The "C" shaped
pawl spring may get slightly spread open during
removal. If so, pinch it back so that it fits snugly
on the cassette carrier and provides proper tension on the
pawl springs. Don't forget to rotate the spring so
that the gap no longer aligns with the peened spot on the
cassette carrier.
2R. To reinstall bearings,
use a pressing force on the outer bearing race. Do not
load the inner race to install the bearing. This
transmits lateral force (side load) through the bearing and
can easily damage the bearing.
3R. Start by installing the
bearings in the cassette carrier, if necessary. Be
careful when installing the needle bearing as it's outer
shell is fairly fragile. Since it's got more surface
area it doesn't need to be as thick as the outer races on
the cartridge bearings. Never
install the needle bearing by striking against the bearing's
shell to pound it into place. This will break the
shell and destroy the bearing. Bearings with broken
shells are not covered under warranty.
4R. Next install the black rubber
dust shield into the non-drive side of the cassette carrier
by gently pushing it down into place with a blunt rod
(big screwdriver, etc). Seat it so that it lightly
contacts the base of the hole. Do not mash it down
against the drive-side cartridge bearing as this will create
drag.
5R. Next install the drive-side
bearing in the hubshell (smaller bearing), applying pressure
to the outer bearing race as outlined in step 2R above.
If you disassembled the
non-drive side end cap and bearing follow the three steps
(6R,7R,8R) below. If not skip to 9R
6R. Lightly lube the machined areas
of the axle with Teflon oil and insert it through the hub
from the non-drive side, passing it through the drive-side
bearing in the hubshell.
7R. Install the bearing on the
non-drive side of the hubshell over the axle and press it
into the hubshell. A deep well socket of the
appropriate diameter can be used as a press tool to clear
the axle end and allow pressure to be applied to outer shell
of the bearing.
8R. Coat the non-drive
side axle end with anti-seize compound. Then position
the non-drive side aluminum end cap on the open jaws of a
vise, with the serrated (toothed) steel ring of the cap
resting on the vise. Don't allow the small knob on the end
of the cap to rest on the vise, and do not hammer on or
against this knob. You will distort or collapse this
knob where your skewer goes into it, and this will cause the
hub to sit cock-eyed in the frame. Once you have the
end cap properly positioned in the vise, insert the lubed
axle end into it and tap on the opposite side of the axle
with a plastic mallet to seat the axle fully into the
cap. Be sure the axle is fully seated into the cap or
your hub will have side-to-side play.
9R. (THIS STEP ONLY APPLIES IF YOU DID NOT REMOVE THE
NON-DRIVE SIDE END CAP FROM THE AXLE.) After installing the
drive-side hubshell bearing, lube the machined surface of
the axle assembly with Teflon oil and slide it into the
hubshell from the non-drive side. Allow it to pass
through the drive-side bearing. When the non-drive
side bearing contacts the hubshell, stop and place the hub
on the open jaws of a vise with the non-drive side up.
Place a shop rag under the hub to prevent scratching.
The jaws of the vise should be open enough that the hub
rests only the drive side flanges, not the raised lip around
the freehub drive ring. The axle will hang down
between the jaws of the vise. Place a socket over the
end of the axle so that the socket's outer edge rests on the
steel serrated ring on the end cap. Tap on the socket
to seat the bearing into the hubshell. This will cause
some side-loading of the bearing, so use as little force as
possible to avoid damaging the bearing.
10R. A red o-ring seals the gap between the
cassette carrier and the hubshell. Typically when the
cassette carrier if removed this ring will remain in the
hubshell. If so, remove the red o-ring from the
hubshell. Place it around the base of the cassette
carrier. Make certain the
u-shaped groove in the o-ring is facing to the drive-side
(outside) of the hub. You should not see this
groove when it's installed properly on the cassette carrier,
the flat bottom of the o-ring will be visible. Run
your thumbnail around the inside of the o-ring to be sure
the edges are not folded down against the cassette carrier.
11R. Drop the cassette carrier over the axle and
lower it into the hubshell. You will need to rotate
the cassette carrier to align the pawls with the drive ring
so that it can drop fully into place. Be careful that
the red o-ring does not become dislodged or folded down when
installing the cassette carrier. It can become pinched
between the two pieces and create severe drag if it gets
out of position.
12R. With the cassette carrier in place, drop the
collar back over the axle. Lower the collar down
against the cassette carrier and tighten the 2mm set screw
on the collar. Do not
over-tighten the set screw. The
collar is designed to slide along the axle in response to
clamping pressure from your frame. The collar is not
intended for use as a bearing preload "adjustment"
feature, so the set screw is not designed hold the collar
still under clamping pressure. It's just there to keep
the cassette carrier from falling off the axle when the
wheel is not on the bike! Over tightening the set screw will
inhibit the collar from moving as intended and may cause
your cassette carrier to be too loose for reliable
operation. It is supposed to be held snugly in place
by the clamping pressure of your frame transmitted through
the collar.
13R. After assembly verify
that the freehub turns properly and that all rotating parts
feel smooth and rattle-free. Contact SpeedCific
if you need additional information.
|
