i need some advice, my front hub developed some play so me thinks ah the bearings are farked…new bearings in and all is good….2 rides later and play is back, was discussing this with peter poddy at the BBB he wobnle dit and said what i thought..tis the bearings..so ordered new ones fitted them today and play is still there..? any clues to what it could be??

where are your bearings coming from ?

shit bearings and low tollerance bearings cause this (you can get quality low tollerance bearings for freeer running)

hopes supplied INA bearings solve most of thse problems – perhaps buy a better quality of bearing from your supplier if not using hope.

Failing that phone them and they will probably do the job and check the issue for you

have tried proper skf's last time, just used cheapo's this time

so neither of them were real hope bearings – and neither were the brand they were speced with

I find the new hope hubs alot more sensitive to bearing quality than the old ones. Stopped using bearing supplier bearings as the one i use cant get me INA ones – since i started using hopes bearings again i stopped getting problems …. on not only my hubs but the many hubs that i have serviced in my time at the shop

will bell them tomoz and see what they say, cheers buddy.

20 mm or QR? Other causes are not taking out all the end float either by not tightening the qr / maxle / 20 mm axle or bearings that are not seated properly

20mm it is, spoke to hope this morning and he says the same as you TJ,
im going to pop the wheel in my dh bike and see if it is the same in a proper bolt on rather than just the maxle.

ive since tried it in my other pikes and it does the same in those forks, still waiting to get my dh bike back.

so my question is if it is the maxle how do i go about making sure its tight enough it doe seem awfully tight ??

I had the same problem. Hope sent me a replacement set (SKF's not INA's)and now it's fine.
Seating them properly is essential as they're such a snug fit. I put mine in the freezer so the shrank a little in diameter (and lightly greased the hub of course)and they stil needed quite a bit pounding with a drift.

floydisacooldug – Member

so my question is if it is the maxle how do i go about making sure its tight enough it doe seem awfully tight ??

Firstly strip clean and lube the maxle. Screw it in as normal then on the side thats has not got the QR tighten the nut as hard as possible by hand or gently with a spanner- then flip the qr. The QR should be hard to flip. The spacers each side of the hub should be held tight with no play. You should not be able to rotate the spacers at all.

i'll endeavour to have a go tomorrow, cheers all

but shirley, if they don't seat properly there'd be less play rather than more as "axle" would be widened ?

(seems to have cropped up quite a lot on here, always(?) on maxle forks)

scardypants – the inner races wont be supported so even with the maxle tight there will be some float

Ah – I get you (though I'd have guessed that screwing in the ,maxle would hold it all tight)

ok so i take wheel over to my DH bike which has a bolt through instead of a maxle…wheel is fine so not bearings or them being seated properly but the maxle arrangement.

this said then how the **** do i go about remedying it? i do the maxle as tight as it'll go and nothing works, i really dont want to be riding with play in my front wheel it feels horrid.

any solutions?

have you got a vice ?

find something with the right diameter for the bearing outer (from your socket set maybe?) to use as a spacer to press the bearing right in on each side

(I've never done this, dunno it it's safe)

no no….i dont think i explained myself very well, the bearings are seated correctly, its the maxle which isnt doing its job, as per the man from hope says they have had reports of lots of maxles giving this problem. as i said above with a bolt through axle off my dh bike the wheel is fine indicating that the hub/bearings are all ok its the maxle. but even when i do the maxle up waaaay too tight it still gives play and this is the bit that is driving me nuts/confusing me..??? 👿

I have never understood Maxle arrangement. The axle is .2mm smaller than the bearing ID, which is about 10 times too much clearance for a bearing fit. The lever action just expands it in the fork bores? So, you are just clamping the faces of the bearings, which, frankly, is bobbins.
Mine wobbled when new, but then sort of settled down, by I have no idea why?
Good luck, though!

Edit. Are all the probs just with Hope hubs? Maybe the bearings are further out on other hubs, and sit on the expanding part of the axle?

sorry mutha, didn't read that too well

maybe your maxle needs adjusting ? (unless this is what you meant by doing up really tight)

You may well know a lot more about this than me, but…

the threaded end with conical tip can be wound in (just like on a QR skewer) & this should cause the "expansion" to be greater when you flip the lever (I assume it's something tapered being dragged furhter into expandable housing). It's also possible that the inner bits are kacky & need a clean – might cause failure to slide over each other properly?

I have BULBs, seem to work fine with a maxle

cheers,

im fine with how they work, i've had them for a good few years on my pikes, but this new set puzzle me deeply, everything is clean and in good order (brand new) but no matter how tight the QR bit is its just not tight enough to prevent play…fekkin annoying now.

i'll phone matey from hope again and see if he has any recommendations

Have you tightened the nut right up on the non QR side?

yup i've tried everything!!!! it just may get thrown out of the window soon!!!