Recently had my speed four bearings changed by a reputable mechanic. When I went to refit the wheel as soon as I start tightening the wheel becomes harder to spin. Once I get to 65nm it's really tight and needs effort to turn even 1/4. I have checked the drawings the spacer is correct, any ideas greatly appreciated.
It sounds like the bearings might be the wrong thickness? Are the callipers off of the bike too? Also, are the spacers on the right sides? All guesses I’m afraid!
The obvious things are either bearings have not been seated properly or the spacers are wrong. You say you checked the spacers, does that include checking that the spacer that lives inside the wheel hub between the two sets of bearings is there? I might be good if you say what model of bike you have, just in case that is setup different to how we think from our bike experience.
It’s a Speed Four, according to the first line of his post. If it is the bearings that aren’t seated correctly or the spacer in between them isn’t there then by putting 65nm on the nut you may have damaged them and I would advise taking the wheel back out and starting again making sure the bearings spin free without any signs of notchiness (is that a word?)
I'd guess the calipers are off, normally need to remove them to remove/refit front wheel. If not, remove the calipers to eliminate them as a possible cause. I'm unfamiliar with this model's wheel spindle arrangement-does it have Allen screws or similar in one fork leg to secure the spindle? And a big nut on one end? If you tighten the fork leg screws first this type of problem can occur. The spindle needs to position itself prior to locking it off. Just a guess....
Loosen all the Allan screws/bolts on the upper and lower head stem , give a good wack with a rubber mallet. Carefully re tighten , and give front end a good few up and down pumps. Replace brake calipers to do the above pumps lol. Sound's like something. Sprung out of alignment when you disassembled !
Ah yes, wasn't paying attention. From parts diagram for front wheel I can't imagine how things go together, especially item 6 the 'drive ring'. From the fork diagram I can't work out if it's the fixing like my bike where spindle screws into one leg, and the other leg has a pinch bolt you do up last after the 'pumping' mentioned earlier to get stations aligned correctly. Edit: I guess that 'drive ring' is connecting the outer bearing race to the mechanical speedo. This all means I haven't a clue and we need someone with experience of that bike, or one that is designed the same.
I agree. If the internal spacer between the bearings is missing then that would cause the locking up symptoms when the axle is tightened.
Ok for For info when someone searches these forums for the answer. It was wheel only, calipers were removed. Anyway removed again, checked all ok put back together but this time tightened gradually from 20nm up in 15 nm steps. Inbetween the steps I turned the wheel to make sure it still spun ok. this procedure worked fine and wheel would do a revolution no problem. I assume by doing this it aligned everything perfectly. Working great thanks for the ideas much appreciated. Sometimes you go round and think it's impossible and there is no solution you just need a little push.
