There's a little bit of play somewhere in my wheel so I decided to replace the bearings in my Hope XC rear hub. Managed to get the freehub bearings out but for the life of me I can not get the axle out. This is something I have done before OK with a rubber mallet from the drive side.
My fear is that the axle is damaged (bent?), possibly causing the play, which is why my blows with the mallet are not shifting the axle. Any ideas anyone?
Support the hubshell by the flanges on something solid (like the jaws of a big vice), throw away the rubber mallet because it's next to useless for jarring free stuck components, and give it a sharp and square blow with a big proper hammer (put a bolt in the end of the axle if you're worried about damage).
Just had the same prob with my Bulb rear hub. Rubber mallet was too gentle. Ended up using a 4lb lump hammer.
The worst thing that happened with mine was that the end of the axle being hit started to deform as I didn't hit it squarely enough. Skewer still goes through OK, but needed to file off one side to make it fit the dropout nicely.
It's a catch 22 - if you try to protect the dropout end and place something over the top of it resting on the step as the axle widens, then if that deforms, you won't get the bearings off & on.
You can get still get replacement axles on CRC etc, but if it still works, main axle isn't bent etc...
THanks. I was doing as coatesy suggested, but clearly need to get the "big guns" out. Funnily enough the rubber mallet wasn't getting the bearings out of the freehub, so had to resort to the "Big One". I'm always worried about doing more harm than good tho'.
I'm off to Spain next weekend. The play is like a slightly loose cup/cone. If I damage the axle I may not get a replacement in time, so it's a toss up whether to leave alone or have a go!! 😕
Changed the axle on my Pro II last week.
Ended up getting a "dead blow" hammer, which worked a treat.
It is rubberised so wont damage the axle but is filled with lead or something similar, so the force still transfers to the axle, unlike a rubber mallet where you get loads of recoil/rebound.
About £10 from Halfrauds but worth it, as potentially save the cost of a new axle.
Mmm, could be worthwhile. Cheers
Look here
http://www.mountainbikerides.co.uk/fettling/hope_hub.htm
You really do need to whack it a lot harder than you think you can or should
I found that putting a screw or a nail in the end of the axle protected it & enables you to use a steel hammer
I have removed the axle before - in fact from your very link uplink - but this time around it is requiring considerably more effort, hence the concern
