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Wheelset or just the bearings fried??

j-sworks

Maximum Pace
Feb 5, 2012
1,199
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Ok so after my ride today I was checking my rear tire and noticed that there is some play in the rear wheel, that is, when it's all locked in I can jiggle the rim a little and there is slight sound when I do so.

I took off the rear wheel and made sure that it was installed correctly and that there was no visible damage to the skewer or anything, and then I noticed that the right skewer guide hole (the part of the hub that slips into the drop out) juggles about and makes a little sound. This is not the same as the front hub.

Is the bearing fried or could it be something more, or no biggie?
 
Very difficult to diagnose by BBS. On the face of it, it doesn't look good.

More info that might help:

Make/model of wheel
Age of wheel
Approx distance wheel used for
Recent medical history of wheel
 
Agreed.

It's a 2009 Roval Fuse E5, I got it from my buddy that owns a bike shop and they sponsor a team as well. I was told that this wheelset was used for one race and changed out during the race, and then it just sat around inside because they changed to Mavic for wheel support.

I have personally rode it for about 3000km, no crashes, damage etc. I did recently have a flat which I rode for a few minutes that I know of, then I walked it.
 
You just need to check the side thrust on the bearings. All Roval's , except the funky spider hub versions have adjustable pre-load. If pre-load is ok, and bearing is still rough or wobbly, then chances are the bearing(s) are worn out. They use just standard 69xxx bearing you can get at Monotaro, btw.
 
You just need to check the side thrust on the bearings. All Roval's , except the funky spider hub versions have adjustable pre-load. If pre-load is ok, and bearing is still rough or wobbly, then chances are the bearing(s) are worn out. They use just standard 69xxx bearing you can get at Monotaro, btw.

Can you explain how I would check the thrust, and how would I know if the preload is ok?

Is Monotaro a store, do you know how much they are?

Sorry - a billion questions.
 
I'd suggest you take it to a shop who can service them properly, or search the web for some tech docs. This procedure takes about 5min and uses only 2 tools - an allen key for the NDS and a thin blade wrench for the DS.
 
One last question,

Is this wheel set any good? I mean are the Roval Fuse E5's, circa 2009, a good wheel set?
 
Yes - they are great wheelsets! Maybe a little on the heavy side compared to modern, but overall its a fine wheel. And easy to service / parts. bear in mind, wheels haven't really changed much in 75yrs. I'm riding 35yo Campy/Sludi's that are very close in feel and performance to my latest and greatest carbons. As much as people talk about wheel performance - 99% of it is just B$.

A wheel is a prestressed structure. ALL wheels using spokes CANNOT and MUST NOT deflect more than a fraction of mm. So, there goe's the 'stiffness' subjective B$ right away.

Lateral flexion is determined by bracing angle , spoke tension and spoke qty. Nothing more or less. More spoke and greater angle = less lateral flex. But even the most noodley wheel will only flex a couple mm - and unless you are a heavy sprinter - you won't notice it. Look at Cav's wheels - they are the most conservative, generic on the planet. He's a super strong, hard 'wind up' sprinter and what's he riding? 2X,2X 28spoke generally DA hubs with 50mm rims.

The rim design just lets you build higher pre-stress or not. Plus some braking advantages. Since most spokes will sustain about 140-160kgf commonly - almost all rims fall in this category. Thus, almost all wheels 'feel' the same. Again, spoke count changes the dynamic rigidity provided.

When you are down to shaving seconds, then things get a little more critical and interesting:

1) Aerodynamics - proven in many wind tunnel tests - few spokes, to a point (roughly 20) are better. Deeper rims, to a point, are better. Bladed spokes look great - but account for basically nothing aerodynamically. Especially at the speeds recreational riders ride.

2) Weight - reducing weight overall on a bike will result in very slight uphill gains based on the Watts/KG available. Reducing the angular momentum (rim weight) will have greater affect for those riders engaging more acceleration / deceleration cycles. Carbon rims allow you to put more 'sidewall' on the bike without sacrificing extreme weight increase. Plus, you just can't extrude aluminum into a round hoop without crinkling it much past 40mm depth.

3) Rolling. With very few exceptions (I only know 2 or 3) All hubs 'roll' the same. Why? Cause they are all built with deep groove ball bearings. Use the highest quality bearing and you automatically improve the rolling resistance of your wheel.

4) Rocket Science. Things get interesting when you start talking about harmonic resononance in the structure and especially how the road input causes the wheel structure to change. This is why wheels largely 'feel different' , becuase the road input will cause different vibration and tension dynamics that you 'feel' or become translated into surface variations. Typically you want the hub assy to be as rigid and neutral as possible. But going for the lightest hubs naturally causes this to be exactly opposite effect. So, somewhere is a balance of weight and rigidity - typically managed by higher grade construction / engineering and materials.

My point is - for more than 80%-90% of the riders out there, just about ANY wheel that is constructed of decent materials and total weight is under 1900gr , will feel about the same and be perfectly fine. For the last 10-15% it starts coming down to 'technical sets' that are fited for very specific event purposes.

As equal, or more important, is the tire you fit! Choose a high quality, high threadcount tire and you'll immediately notice the difference. Probably much more than the wheel.
 
Again this is pretty much what I thought, I'm not on the TDF or even a racer so a good set of wheels that will have some decent shelf life and not totally kill me with the weight will be just fine for me, and probably for a long time.

I just put on a spanking new pair of Rubino Pro's - thanks for the suggestions to all on TCC, so after I get this rear bearing issue taken care of I'll see how they ride. I hope I can get it all taken care of before the possible group ride on the 3rd.
 
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