Just to be clear upfront
none of the following work was done on the same day.
I received a front wheel from a customer—a Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5 (custom hub model).
During a crash, the customer's shoe toe got jammed into the front wheel,
breaking one spoke and bending three others.
The images above show the repaired state.
↑Replaced spokes (the three bent ones)
↑This one and
↑This one are
obviously bent, but
↑This spoke appears straight at first glance.
The problem is
the aerobutted flattened section is twisted and
has undergone permanent deformation quite severely.
Even using two spoke wrenches to try to straighten it,
it just twists right back.
↑Replaced spoke (the one that broke)
Next, a separate case—
I received another front wheel from a customer,
also a Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5.
A mamachari (utility bike) hit it from the side,
bending one spoke, but
I ended up replacing two spokes.
The image above shows the repaired state.
↑Replaced spokes
Obviously, the bent one needed replacing, but
the other one was from the adjacent spoke.
When I relieved the spoke tension as a precaution,
there was no deformation, but
based on its location, it seemed unlikely to be unrelated to the accident.
There was a scuff mark, and functionally the wheel would have been fine either way,
but at the customer's request, I replaced it.
And then, yet another separate case—
I received a rear wheel from a customer,
also a Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5.
This is the main topic of this post.
The two front wheels above, I worked on in front of the customers,
so I'm writing about them just as a report,
but this is a wheel from a distant customer.
Without this one, I probably wouldn't have written about the other two at all.
The customer said the wheel had been in use for roughly 4 to 5 years,
and the hub rotation seemed off.
The bearing in the freebody is destroyed.
It doesn't deteriorate to this point in a short period of time.
Not to lecture, but
I wish the customer had noticed sooner.
When I pulled out the freebody,
the grease was depleted, rust had developed, and metal powder from the erosion
came spilling out.
The ball bearings and retainer ring that broke came out,
and the inner race and seal
fell inside the freebody.
The bearing on the right side of the hub shell is rusted and
won't come out easily, so
←←←
→→→
I tapped out the bearing on the non-freewheel side and
reinserted the hub axle to check,
and as shown in the image above, it can be made to wobble and run off-center.
The two bearings in the freebody and
the bearing on the hub shell right side are 15267,
and the bearing on the hub shell left side is 6802.
The only bearing worth salvaging from this wheel is
the 6802 on the left side.
From experience, the 6802, being the only bearing with a smaller diameter, tends to wear out first,
while the 15267 on the right side is usually the most durable—
but this time the 15267 is completely destroyed.
I haven't asked the customer, but
if they've been using a high-pressure washer, this kind of failure happens,
so if they are using one, please don't spray it toward the sprocket.
↑Extracted hub axle
First cleaning pass.
I grip the hub axle with a rag soaked in machine oil,
and rotate the axle with a 10mm Allen key
to remove rust and grime.
Second cleaning pass.
I applied compound to the hub axle
and wet-sanded it with 2000-grit sandpaper—
this usually removes most rust.
The 15267 on the hub shell right side—
as I showed earlier with the axle runout,
a light tap made everything except the outer race break and fall out.
The inside of the hub shell is covered in
rust contamination and metal debris from the bearing wear,
and when I wipe it with a paper towel,
it looks like this.
I removed the outer race of the 15267 from the hub shell right side.
The 6802 on the hub shell left side
wasn't impossible to reuse, but
I decided to replace it anyway.
This thin green seal is something
you only see on bearings that came stock in Evolight hubs (custom hub model).
The image above shows the side that faced outward,
and the side facing inward
has contamination from inside the hub shell.
With the freebody facing outward and
tapping lightly, everything except the outer race fell out,
but this freebody has the problem that when the inner bearing breaks and
the outer race gets stuck inside, recovery is extremely difficult.
I've done it before, but considering the labor involved,
it's faster and cheaper to replace the entire freebody.
This freebody is now an ultra-rare item, though...
↑The seal ring at the end of the freebody,
from the original freebody
has been worn smooth and round by the axle runout.
The part that's peeled back in the upper part of the image
is where I roughly peeled it myself.
This area at the right end
has stubborn, clay-like contamination
of rust-compacted metal powder stuck to it,
and even spraying parts cleaner at close range
wouldn't remove it.
This right end is also being replaced with a new one.
↑Replaced parts
It's fixed.
I did spoke truing and centering, as the rim was slightly offset to the right.
I also had the front wheel from this customer,
but it only had some radial runout in one place—the bearings were fine,
and there was no centering issue.
none of the following work was done on the same day.
I received a front wheel from a customer—a Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5 (custom hub model).
During a crash, the customer's shoe toe got jammed into the front wheel,
breaking one spoke and bending three others.
The images above show the repaired state.
↑Replaced spokes (the three bent ones)
↑This one and
↑This one are
obviously bent, but
↑This spoke appears straight at first glance.
The problem is
the aerobutted flattened section is twisted and
has undergone permanent deformation quite severely.
Even using two spoke wrenches to try to straighten it,
it just twists right back.
↑Replaced spoke (the one that broke)
Next, a separate case—
I received another front wheel from a customer,
also a Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5.
A mamachari (utility bike) hit it from the side,
bending one spoke, but
I ended up replacing two spokes.
The image above shows the repaired state.
↑Replaced spokes
Obviously, the bent one needed replacing, but
the other one was from the adjacent spoke.
When I relieved the spoke tension as a precaution,
there was no deformation, but
based on its location, it seemed unlikely to be unrelated to the accident.
There was a scuff mark, and functionally the wheel would have been fine either way,
but at the customer's request, I replaced it.
And then, yet another separate case—
I received a rear wheel from a customer,
also a Nomu Lab Wheel No. 5.
This is the main topic of this post.
The two front wheels above, I worked on in front of the customers,
so I'm writing about them just as a report,
but this is a wheel from a distant customer.
Without this one, I probably wouldn't have written about the other two at all.
The customer said the wheel had been in use for roughly 4 to 5 years,
and the hub rotation seemed off.
The bearing in the freebody is destroyed.
It doesn't deteriorate to this point in a short period of time.
Not to lecture, but
I wish the customer had noticed sooner.
When I pulled out the freebody,
the grease was depleted, rust had developed, and metal powder from the erosion
came spilling out.
The ball bearings and retainer ring that broke came out,
and the inner race and seal
fell inside the freebody.
The bearing on the right side of the hub shell is rusted and
won't come out easily, so
←←←
→→→
I tapped out the bearing on the non-freewheel side and
reinserted the hub axle to check,
and as shown in the image above, it can be made to wobble and run off-center.
The two bearings in the freebody and
the bearing on the hub shell right side are 15267,
and the bearing on the hub shell left side is 6802.
The only bearing worth salvaging from this wheel is
the 6802 on the left side.
From experience, the 6802, being the only bearing with a smaller diameter, tends to wear out first,
while the 15267 on the right side is usually the most durable—
but this time the 15267 is completely destroyed.
I haven't asked the customer, but
if they've been using a high-pressure washer, this kind of failure happens,
so if they are using one, please don't spray it toward the sprocket.
↑Extracted hub axle
First cleaning pass.
I grip the hub axle with a rag soaked in machine oil,
and rotate the axle with a 10mm Allen key
to remove rust and grime.
Second cleaning pass.
I applied compound to the hub axle
and wet-sanded it with 2000-grit sandpaper—
this usually removes most rust.
The 15267 on the hub shell right side—
as I showed earlier with the axle runout,
a light tap made everything except the outer race break and fall out.
The inside of the hub shell is covered in
rust contamination and metal debris from the bearing wear,
and when I wipe it with a paper towel,
it looks like this.
I removed the outer race of the 15267 from the hub shell right side.
The 6802 on the hub shell left side
wasn't impossible to reuse, but
I decided to replace it anyway.
This thin green seal is something
you only see on bearings that came stock in Evolight hubs (custom hub model).
The image above shows the side that faced outward,
and the side facing inward
has contamination from inside the hub shell.
With the freebody facing outward and
tapping lightly, everything except the outer race fell out,
but this freebody has the problem that when the inner bearing breaks and
the outer race gets stuck inside, recovery is extremely difficult.
I've done it before, but considering the labor involved,
it's faster and cheaper to replace the entire freebody.
This freebody is now an ultra-rare item, though...
↑The seal ring at the end of the freebody,
from the original freebody
has been worn smooth and round by the axle runout.
The part that's peeled back in the upper part of the image
is where I roughly peeled it myself.
This area at the right end
has stubborn, clay-like contamination
of rust-compacted metal powder stuck to it,
and even spraying parts cleaner at close range
wouldn't remove it.
This right end is also being replaced with a new one.
↑Replaced parts
It's fixed.
I did spoke truing and centering, as the rim was slightly offset to the right.
I also had the front wheel from this customer,
but it only had some radial runout in one place—the bearings were fine,
and there was no centering issue.