Advice re. some play in freehub…

Hi all,

There’s some play in my freehub – maybe a mm at most when I rock it left to right. (Definitely freehub and not loose lock ring because I took cassette off, saw play in the freehub where it sits in its housing, and when put everything back together no movement down the axle)…

Freehub is a couple of years old and seen good use – is this normal behaviour for an ageing freehub?

Or could it be connected to the fact I replaced the wheel bearings recently and I may not have tightened something properly (didn’t remove freehub though).

Or do freehubs come lose and need tightening up?

Or, maybe because it’s my neighbours birthday today?

Cheers for any help….

Is it a cup and cone bearing?

They take a bit of adjustment to get just right…

What free hub? Shimano disposable ones can develop a fair bit of play before you have to chuck it. If it’s a Hope or something maybe service pawls and springs?

Hi

It’s not cup and cone and I’m not sure what freebub it is. All I can see is that it looks like it needs a hex (above 10mm cos tried that) to undo.

I guess only solution is to get the correct hex size and take it off.

The freehub play hasn’t affected shifting – will it do any harm if I had to ride it like that for a while?

Cheers…

Or could it be connected to the fact I replaced the wheel bearings recently and I may not have tightened something properly (didn’t remove freehub though).

Which bearings did you replace if you didn’t remove the freehub then? If it’s anything like the Novatec one I replaced the bearings on, the ones inside the freehub itself were “emotional” to replace… 😯

What hub is it? Or wheel, if you don’t know the hub detail?

@munkster – I replaced the wheel bearings previously. Not going to lie – getting the bearings back into the non-drive side was not a particularly easy time.. 😕

The wheels are (old) Bontranger Rhythm Comps – I can’t put the exploded diagram on here. Having scoured Internet videos (of freehubs) mine seems pretty standard (but definitely not Hope Pro2) I’ll take the wheel to the bike shop to find out what size hex key fits and buy it from them. Take it all apart and see what problem is. Probably end up buying a new freehub…

I rebuilt a bontragerTLR free hub a few weeks ago. No need for a hex key to get it off – there was a single locknut on either side of the axle so I needed one cone spanner on each side. It seemed a bit odd as I’ve only ever seen pairs of locknuts butted up against each other before. Pop the locknuts off then remove the spacer. After that there’s a circlip buried in the grime in the end of the freehub that needs removing. Then the freehub pulls off the axle like most of the mavic ones. Be careful as the roller bearings tend to fall out and the seal looks a bit fragile. Once off I replaced the grinding paste with grease and it all felt a lot happier. I didn’t touch the sealed bearings within the freehub which is likely to be where any play is coming from but it looked like you would need to drift those out. I did manage to find a doc on the bontrager site explaining all the freehubs – go dig there.

It’ll be a Formula hub of some kind, essentially a non-servicable freehub on it, held on with an 11mm hex key.An adaptor to fit on an 8mm hex key is usually supplied with freehubs sourced from Trek dealers(and these have been known to split when removing very tight bolts. Proper 11mm keys are usually expensive from bike shops, unheard of in normal tool shops, but exactly the same size as a 7/16″AF for a sensible price).

Hi – Think I’ll have to take to bike shop and ask what tool they sell to get free hub off – and then hopefully they’ll tell me what I’m dealing with..

But @coatesy – the 7/16″ AF you’re talking about. Will I find that in my (full) socket wrench set? (I’m a numpty when talking tools – all a learning process!!)..

Oh, and is the way the axle is put back in to the wheel and tightened up supposed to eliminate any minor play in the freehub? The play in the cassette (whilst still relatively minor) is still more than the play in the freehub when the axle and cassette are taken off/out…my gut tells me I’m looking at the wrong area for fixing the primary issue…

Cheers for all the help…

Doubtful, unless you’ve got metric & imperial, with a full selection of hex-bits too. You may find the adaptor supplied will work fine, but i’d prefer to be prepared if it breaks. Try your local Buck&Hickman depot, or maybe a car spares shop.
Edit-The freehub is essentialy seperate from the hub, if you have no play in the hub bearings, the freehub’s shell can still have a lot of play if it’s own bearings are worn. If you take the wheel without it’s bearings and axle to a Trek dealer, they may have a freehub in stock, and may be able to swap it while you wait if they’re not too busy.

@coatsey – cheers. I’ve decided (since I have an event to ride next week) I’m going to get lbs to sort and tell me what freehub they put on (if they do) so that next time I know what I’m dealing with…seems the most cost/time effective way to sort the issue…