Tom Hayes wrote: "Yesterday, after fitting a track bike with a rear
wheel and tightening thelocknuts on the dropouts, I noticed that the
wheels did not spin smoothlyand stopped abruptly. I surmised that
tightening the locknutsl onto theframe squeezed or put too much pressure
on the cones, forcing it against thebearings instead of riding smoothly.
I used a different rear with the sameresult. The spacing in the rear
drop-outs is about 114 mm, and the wheelsare approximately the same from
locknut to locknut. As it is right now, theonly way I can get the wheel
to spin smoothly is to tighten the locknutsinto a position where, when
riding the bike, I would for sure pull the rearwheel forward or make it
go into the chainstays. Anyone have experience with such a problem and
might know a ready solution?Both wheels have cup and cone bearings."
Tom, I adjust cup & cone bearings in the following fashion to avoid this
problem. Add a heavy washer between the lock nuts and the outer nuts
with the wheel out of the frame. Tighten the outer nuts to the same
tightness you use in the frame, and feel the bearings for freeplay/drag.
Adjust as necessary. It helps if your locknuts are always kept to a
higher torque than the outer nuts, so the outer nuts can't over come the
preload. By using the washers, you can spin the axle and get a sensitive
touch. If the wheel is in the frame, you lose the sensitivity due to the
greater leverage/inertia of the rim. You can do the same with a quick
release hub, but the washers should be close to the same thickness as
the drop outs to keep the tension in the quick release similar to when
they are in the frame. If you have some loose dropouts, they would work
great. Davis JensenLomita, CA USA