Had the above for about 6 months…..

Got a noisy rear end when free wheeling….

Noticed tonight that there is also what I think is excessive play in the cassette, wobbles side to side.

Been back to Halfords and they said it will be the hub bearings, but not covered as wear and tear…. Not too sure this is right but a bit fed up of them so, decided to try and source parts and try to fix myself.

Stripped it down, to see what’s going on. Once the casette is off, the free hub wobbles.

Can this be serviced or will I need a whole new freehub?

Cheers all
🙂

probably the free wheel, and bearings are covered by warranty despite what they say.

Free hub and rear hub bearings are covered under warranty, no matter what type of b.s. they try and pull on you.

Its actually 2 years on goods sold in the EU, not the 1 year many will claim. Can easily be argued goods not fit for purpose, unless customer has clearly abused the goods or attempted modifications / self repair.

If an issue develops within 6 months of ownership, it should be taken care of under warranty by the retailer.

After 6 months the onus is on the customer to argue the goods have been defective from new, as 6 months is considered reasonable. However, buying a mountain bike designed for use on mountain i.e. wet/mud very easy to claim goods not fit for purpose.

The reality? They use cheap hubs on many bikes, and they are not good quality to start with, throw mud/water/regular cleaning into the mix and bearings plus free hub are quickly shot….

Cheers guys, I just can’t be arsed arguing with them anymore. One of the issues is, I don’t have a receipt for the bike from 6 months ago as that was a replacement bike after originally starting my halfords journey over a year ago. I’ve had two team fs, but started out originally with a comp ht. the first was shit so they did me a deal on a team fs, that has its probe and ended up getting replaced for a brand new one 6 months ago.

I’m just thinking replace whatever is broke myself, and maybe start to upgrade the things as they break to make it a better bike.

I’ve stripped the thing down and can’t see any type of Alan key shape inside to remove the free hub. Has anyone and one of these out before?

Whilst stripping it down, I noticed also that the axel wasn’t the most free moving thing. Would I be better just buying some new wheels and hubs? If so any recommendations given I’m not rich. 🙂

Cheers

Most of these hubs coming from novatech, joy tech,etc. Use a massive 12/13/14mm Allen key to remove the retaining bolt.

Probably best to buy some new wheels as a replacement free hub can be very hard to find aftermarket, for an OE wheel set.

Phone customer services and give them all the details. Worth a punt as they are pretty good with warranty claims.

Call customer services on 0845 057 9000

Tell them you are complaining and want a resolution. It will be sorted…

You seem hard on bikes. What has been the failures that led to replacements?

Which halfords store?

I’ve found that most OEM bits on bikes aren’t really suited to the conditions we ride in in the UK.
E.g. DT Swiss hub/freewheel – useless thing.
Ritchey Pro headset. Rubbish.
truvativ / SRAM PF BB – meh.

I could go on. Needless to say, the hope BB, headset and wheelset have been grand since I replaced them all. 🙂

At what point does it become worth building your own new bike given that separates cost so much more.

Probably best to buy some new wheels as a replacement free hub can be very hard to find aftermarket, for an OE wheel set.

Or just replace the bearings for a couple of quid?
Oh and depending on hub type,check the locknuts haven’t loosened and are done up properly.

If the wheel is the same as on the fs pro the freehub pulls off, like with a Hope. You can just clean it out and reassemble.

I’m not hard on bikes at all….

The comp ht I purchased in clearance sale from a store which wasn’t my local. It was given to me with no headset in after passing a safety inspection and being signed over to me. I got on it in the carparkl before throwing it in my van, pulled on the brakes and the whole front end moved! I then had a problem with pedals, and bottom bracket, and finally front hub, all within about 2 months of ownership….. The last time I took it in (at my local store) it was checked over and found to be what they said was a parts bike! Mish mash of parts.

They then did me a deal on a new team fs. Various bolts kept coming loose every ride. Bolts on suspension and crank kept coming loose also. It was in and out of my local shop a lot, again I also had bottom bracket noises, and then again front hub started getting a lot of play. At this point they gave me a brand new replacement. Again The same pivot bolts came loose after the first ride, tightened and same again. so they stripped everything out and rebuilt the bike and lock tighter everything up. This one has been fine since then (nearly 6 mths) until now.

Seems like they come out the factory in a bit of a mess and halfords do the very least they need to, to get them out the door. Proven by the fact a strip down and rebuild has made this last one fine with regards to everything coming loose.

Anyway I’m now in this position and just want to get it fixed without anymore hassle.

Which bearings is it that will be shot that make the freehub have play/wobble? Is it The loose ones that I can see in the hub, or does the free wheel have separate bearings somewhere? Sealed unit? If I can just replace the free hub that would be great, but just not sure where to get one from?

neil the wheel – Member
If the wheel is the same as on the fs pro the freehub pulls off, like with a Hope. You can just clean it out and reassemble.

Just cleaning it out won’t stop play though will it? Surely something is worn to create play/wobble

Or just replace the bearings for a couple of quid?
Oh and depending on hub type,check the locknuts haven’t loosened and are done up properly.

Which bearings, the loose ones in the races(are they called?), or is there more that can be replaced within the freehubs?

Without knowing what hub it is it’s hard to advise.Sounds like it’s loose ball bearings rather than cartridge.Try and find a service guide online if you can. Might just be a simple case of tightening everthing up.Take it apart, clean ,check bearings and cups for signs of wear (pitted or feeling rough),regrease the bearings and put it back together.There are usually two sets of ball bearings either end of the axle which sit in the cups when greased.I did it with my unbranded Formula rear hub and also an unbranded Boardman one on my CX bike-it was the same as the Formula iirc.Adjusting the nuts can be a pain to get it all just right but it’s the bread and butter for your LBS if you can’t get it sorted.Good luck!

Cheers nick!

Just been down to my LBS, and spoke to them. They said they can take a look and see if its servicable. If not poss a new freehub, or worse case, he says can get me a new shimano wheel on it for about 80ish..

I just liked the idea of learning myself, but the whole generic unknown part element is making that a bit hard 🙂

Might have a quick play this eve, and if im no better off by the end of the eve, i’ll just drop it in with them 🙂 The whole tigtening everything up seems like it could be a poss though, as when i stripped it down, the nuts on drive side of the hub came off by hand thinking back.

Cheers for comments all 🙂

Just do it, you’ll never learn anything if someone else does it for you. Get the spanners out and take it apart, you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about afterwards. If in doubt take pictures before and during using your phone, then you’ll a reference when putting it back together.

Boardmans have had a few different hubs, some of them actually pretty nice- the Formula cartridge bearing one is the same as you find in some pricey Oranges etc. But no way to say how to service it, without knowing for sure what it is.

Where would i find the part numbers of the hub to check? I couldnt see with a quick scan last night.

+1 get the spanners out and have a play. Worst case is that the hub is fcuked, but then you can probably buy a Shimano hub for about £20 and rebuild your current spokes & rim onto that. Save money AND learn to build wheels !

Ok took it apart again and looked in the freehub. Looks like it needs some sort of tool like the cassette tool to get it off ie lots of teeth. Anyone seen this before? Any idea what the tool is? Def not Allen key. 🙂

Cheers all 🙂

New Wheel on its way.

LBS said by the time ive paid for labour to strip it down, and then try and find a replacement freehub (generic no name, not servicable) I’m getting too close to the cost of a new Mavic Wheel and hub and freehub, which is totally serviceable, to make it worth the hassle.

So gone down that route, then going to go back to Halfords with the old wheel and see if i can get them to look and quote too fix, or fix under warranty, and then keep it as a spare.