Ive had my front wheel lock up to a grinding halt this afternoon. Wheel bearing has gone and had pushed the bearing casing out making it really difficult to undo the QR skewer.

I don’t have any tools on me to take the hub apart but just want to know whether the bearings are replaceable on these hubs?

Bikepedia says my hubs are a Shimano Deore M535 centre lock.

I do hope to buy a better wheelset in the future (or replace the whole bike) but would just like to replace the bearing for now if possible.

Cheers

Shimano so cup and cone. The bearing surface on the hub is likely knackered and its not replaceable. You can probably strip it all apart, clean and regrease to get a working wheel but it’ll be forever grumbly.

Cheers, where can i buy these from?

I will give it a strip and rebuild and see how it holds up for now.

daveh – Member

Shimano so cup and cone. The bearing surface on the hub is likely knackered and its not replaceable.

Yes they are, they are press fit in so buy this
And replace the innards entirely

Unless the hub bearing surface isn’t damaged (unlikely), I’d just use what you’ve got, no point putting new cones in if the hub surface is damaged. Take it apart and have a look, it should be fairly obvious if there’s pitting or damage to the surfaces that the balls touch. Mind you, if you don’t have a cassette tool, big allen key and cone spanners, it might be cheaper/better to consign them to the bin. For cheap a replacement, see here: Merlin or buy new wheels with cartridge bearings which you can replace when dead.

Yes they are, they are press fit in so buy this
And replace the innards entirely

Really? How long has this been the case? I’ve been on Hope for so long! Or has it always been so but its passed me by?

Bikepedia says my hubs are a Shimano Deore M535 centre lock.

Bikepedia is great for info for bikes in stock / from the factory, in US spec.

As you have the bike can’t you visually check what you have?, not guess that a website is correct in saying what your bike came out of the factory with?

Without even looking at the part number of the hub, you can visually check it if is centerlock/IS/even disc without touching the wheel. If it is a M535, this will be printed on the hub centre.

Would do the math on the cost effectiveness of replacement the axle/bearing vs buying a new wheel, what condition are the spokes, rim & cones in, vs getting a replacement wheel.

Cheers, I will go grab the wheel and have a look, all i have noticed is that it says shimano deore on the hub but will look for a M… code.

I have a set of allen keys on me now and my multitool, my cassette tool is at home which i can pick up tomorrow. Do i need cone spanners or will any small adjustable work?

What is a centre lock hub exactly?

The spokes and rim are in good condition but are standard to the bike and are nothing special (bontranger).
I’ve never built a wheel up so if i need a new hub will have to visit the LBS to be built up, which could be fairly costly vs buying a new wheel set.

Allen key you’ll need is 10mm iirc, not your standard fare. Cone spanners yep, std spanners are way too thick. Centrelock is a screw fit standard to fit your brake rotors (assuming you’ve got discs!), the alternative is 6 bolt. It’s a Shimano standard so if you’ve got discs they’ll be centrelock.

I have the 10mm allen key but cant get into the hub without the cassette tool so will have to wait until tomorrow before i can strip it.

The hub is a HB-M535.

I’ve taken a few photo’s, i managed to get the dropout and cone off by hand while i was out but now the dropout is stuck and i don’t have spanners with me. I took the cone off and 2 or the balls were shattered, there doesn’t appear to be a great deal of damage but i can’t really see properly until its all apart.

The dropout does look off centre looking from the disc side, do you think its repairable or new wheel time?

I’ve just noticed the rotor says ‘Resin pads only’, and i’m currently running sintered. Will i die?

Im supposed to be out for a ride next weekend so could do with it fixing by then. Is there a bearing kit anywhere or do i just need to buy the loose bearings? 12 or so each side?

Sorry, popped out for a ride there. Its a long time since I worked on Shimano hubs so can’t quite figure it out, has that bit in your hand sheared off? Tech doc here I think. The bit in your hand looks like part of the cup and if so the ‘silver’ damage is enough for it to run rough forever more. If I’m seeing things correctly, sheared cup with damaged surfaces and shattered balls, I’d say its time to consign the wheel to the parts bin. It probably can be fixed but if you try to find the parts (as opposed to buying a complete hub to raid), I can’t see you fixing it by next weekend. The parts will probably be hard to find.

The part in his hand is the shield on the hub (not shown separately in Shimano’s parts diagram).

You really need to check the condition of the cones and cups. Cones are not worth replacing, a new hub can probably be bought for the same amount. Cups can’t really be replaced (yes, your can knock the old ones out and put ones from a new hub in, but it’s so much easier to just lace up a new hub!).

As long as the inner bearing surface in the hub ( cup ) has not cracked the wheel will still work once you replace the bearings. Just wont be very smooth / quite

And as above you have removed the metal sheild that is just pressed over the cone

Cone is the part that threads onto the axle and pushes on the bearings

I have taken the hub apart and cones are fine. One side does have some minor hairline cracks in the cup but I am just going to replace the bearings for now. When the hub finally goes I will work out whether the hub is worth replacing or whether to bin it.

LBS only had some 1/4″ bearings for the rear hub so I need to find some 3/16″ bearings. Does it matter whether I buy some hardened bearings or stainless steel? I assume stainless steel will break up easier buy may help the hub last a little longer?

Daveh I was a little confused about the shield, most deore types do look a little different!

Anyone? Will SS bearings be fine?

Stainless steel is softer, chromed steel bearings are harder and preferable in this instance. Just buy whatever your local bike shop has? You won’t notice a great difference either way really, just keep on top of the maintenance.

My LBS was shut so just went to evans cycles which didn’t have the right size.
My dad can get them from work so just wanted to know which type.
Cheers will go for the chromed ones.