cone interchangeability

hey kids!

So I have been repacking an old helicomatic hub (which is stupid and I know I should get a new one but bear with me) and I am hoping to replace it with a solid axle instead of the QR it came with. The trouble is that the cones are a funny threading that doesnt match the axles I have floating about. I am wondering if I can get away with just using any old cones??

I know there might be problems with sealing, but I am going to have those anyway since the old metal seal bits are knackered. The problems with spacing should be moot as I am switching to solid axle and it is for an old flexy frame...

The bearings only come in contact with a tiny part of the cone right? So what will be the problem??

Thanks!!

My experience suggests that you should be able to get away with the cone being-more-or-less the same size- I've not had any fatal problems with mixing and matching- fractionally different diameters on the bearing face etc is what you are worrying about, huh? Should be OK. Get OLN dimension right though, no excuse for getting that wrong, get washers/ally spacers as appropriate.

yeah thanks for the input. I was basically just wondering if using cones meant for a 1/4 on a 5/32 bearing is going to cause them to shatter or something?? Not sure how I think this will happen, but image the slightly different radius of curvature will make the pressure point on the races slightly different?? I have thrown it together in the mean time and it certainly seems to spin just fine, will test it later under load to see what happens.

I suspect the difference in size will cause the bearings/cone to wear out quicker. This may also wear out the bearing face on the hub as the bearings change shape to match the cones. It'll work but for how long I wouldn't hazard a guess