Rear wheel sideways "play"

Hi, searched the forum on this topic and not found anything. While fitting a new tire to my Fuji track 2010 rear wheel (bike is approx 2 months old) I noticed a significant side to side play in the hub (which is probably why the bike has felt a bit weird lately), and with a bit of searching I've come across this:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html
I noticed the cone on one side had unscrewed so I was able to tighten it back with my fingers, far enough that the wheel still turns freely on the axle but with no play side to side. However when I got back on the bike there's definitely some kind of new noise coming from the rear hub.
My question to your lfgss:ers - Sheldon says to minimise wiggle, but do all wheels realistically have a bit of side to side play, if so how much?

I have the same, but with coaster brake. Need to repack the hub with grease and tighten it up.

Other bikes don't have any play. It's more of a slight tap to the side - it shouldn't feel loose.

assuming what you are screwing in is in fact a cone (i.e. you have cup/cone bearings and not sealed bearings) then you are half way there. There should be another (lock) nut to hold the cone in place once you have found the sweet spot of adjustment. You will need a pair of cone wrenches to do this properly. Also, check the other side's cone and lock nut are locked together.

If it's a sealed bearing hub, the 'adjustment' is simpler but you can get it wrong and have a wobbly wheel.

There should be zero play, regardless of your hub type. If it is a quick release axle a small amount of play should be left but this will disappear when the mechanism is tightened. Running with a loose cone could have damaged the bearings, possibly producing the noise. Either that or you tightened it too much.

take the wheel out
make sure one cup and cone are locked nice and tightly together
put the wheel back in the frame and tighten up the axle nut on the tight cup and cone to hold the wheel in the frame so you can adjust the loose one accordingly
start with the loose cone, adjust it until there's no play in the wheel, then undo it just a fraction (when you tighten up the cones locknut it will compress the cone a tad), hold the cone in the same position with a spanner and tighten up the cones locknut, see if the wheel is nice and smooth then adjust if needs be (it might take a couple of go's)
tighten up the axle nut and go for a ride

i've been told that its better to have a little (and i mean very little) play than to have it to tight

Cheap wheels ill always have a little bit of play. But we are talking 2-3mm at the tyre. More is going to damage the bearings and risk braking the axle.

If its 2 months since you bought it it is warranty, so take it back to where you bought it and get them to sort it out.

But the stock Fuji Track wheels are very poor quality.

Thanks everyone for the replies, especially the step by step guide 1234.

After spraying some WD40 in through the cones the noise has disappeared, but still interested in being able to service this myself as there is a tiny amount of play... and I want to be able to service every part of my Fuji. Do I need 1 or 2 cone wrenches? And are the sizes 13/15mm as per Sheldon?

fuck, wd40 on the cones?

wd40 contains white spirit so:
-you will destroy any rubber sealing part faster than ever
-it creapes in your bearings, sealed or unsealed and dissolves the grease in there (partially at first, faster when done regular)

• you'll ruin the bearings faster
  
  

friggen use the teflon spray that comes with the muc off set, if any as no spirit in that and do take the hub apart and give it a service.
now! go on, do it!
clean and regrease the cup and cone bearings and/or renew (or in case of relatively new cartridge bearings, repack) them cartridge ones.

and you'll need def two wrenches. decathlon have cheap ones for 6 quid. stamped ones but usable. the sizes are to be checked first, but the decathlon ones come slotted to fit 13 up to 17.

good grease (the white tube with the red teflon grease stuff inside) is good and cheap_ish there too for about a 5er.

Arse. I just assumed WD40 was an all purpose oil, I've pretty much sprayed everything on my bike with the stuff.
Off to the LBS...

repack cartridge bearings - long version

use your wd40 to resolve the grease and to clean the raw bearings - you'll see whot i mean with the dissolvant nature of wd40. lubricate with a good load of grease, i use too much but love when it bleeds out the grease as in nothing gets in type of thing.

don't worry if the bearings don't run freely afterwards, they are not supposed to. they will run smooth under load.

Cheers reeen

wd40 is first a resolvent secondary a very light teflon oil. not suitable for all rubber parts nor moving parts like chain and bearings as it is simply too light to hold a lubricating film while under pressure.

i'd also wouldn't use it on new brakes, as they are greased by assembly and wd40, you know, resolves the good lubrication on it.

it is very good for stuck parts, rusty stuff, bearings or chains that are rusted stiff, may be restorable with it, but have to be properly oiled/greased after derustification.

often peeps use gt85 on their bikes as it seems to contain less spirit. i prefer the teflon spray that comes in the muc off double or white lithium spray grease like sg85, if i feel the need to stop my saddle squeaking. all else is either chain oil or grease.

take the wheel out
...

i've been told that its better to have a little (and i mean very little) play than to have it to tight

wrong. as for bearings, tight it has to be. in case of cup and cone, where you set the tension, it has to be tight but not so much as in 'it makes you feel the balls through the axle' kind of thing. you'll notice once you try, but no play. once you got past that point, give it a tad more and try spinning the axle.

a bit loose is loose and will be much worse under load. a bearing with play rattles itself to death in no time.

as someone who has a hub in which has sideways play I can advocate taking the hub apart, cleaning it all up, repacking the bearings and greasing that baby up!

for the long term good of your wheel it is worth it, though if you have warranty just get a new set as your bearing racers may be knackered and it is frustrating if you are fiddling round tightening or loosening your hub cones every time you take your wheel off as that is what happened to me.

Arse. I just assumed WD40 was an all purpose oil, I've pretty much sprayed everything on my bike with the stuff.
Off to the LBS...

If you want something for everything, use GT85 or some generic teflon spray for a quid from a supermarket.

http://www.parker-international.co.uk/2825/GT85-GT85-Spray-Lube.html?referrer=froogle&utm_source=google&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=pid2825

WD40 is actually best for degreasing :-) - like cleaning an old chain or when you want to adjust old hinges in your front door.

For bike parts use proper lubrication. I use blue grease and Weldlite for nuts.

The evening's entertainment:

plus some KY Jelly and you are sorted for an evening in.

as someone who has a hub in which has sideways play I can advocate taking the hub apart, cleaning it all up, repacking the bearings and greasing that baby up!

for the long term good of your wheel it is worth it, though if you have warranty just get a new set as your bearing racers may be knackered and it is frustrating if you are fiddling round tightening or loosening your hub cones every time you take your wheel off as that is what happened to me.

So I took the wheel apart, cleaned the axle, bearings and cups, regreased the cups and put the bearings back in. Then used the spanners to exactly tighten the cones on to the right level, and to tighten the lockring hard against the cone. All seemed good, but when setting the chain tension I took the wheel on/off a couple of times, and noticed that the cone was loose again with a bit of "play". Suspect it is from when I am tightening/loosening the axle bolts that this happens. I held the cone in place with the wrench the final time and it seems fine now.
Jimbo - it sounds similar to your situation with having to muck about with the cones when you take the wheel off, what part exactly do you mean may be worn out - I didn't see any bearings racers as I understand the term?

Cheap wheels ill always have a little bit of play. But we are talking 2-3mm at the tyre. More is going to damage the bearings and risk braking the axle.

If its 2 months since you bought it it is warranty, so take it back to where you bought it and get them to sort it out.

But the stock Fuji Track wheels are very poor quality.

Sound Advice.

when tightening and loosening the track nuts, the cone nuts sometimes come loose due to the fact that the track nut gets torqued up much more than you'll be able to with cone spanners at the cone nuts. try tighten the counter nut on the cones as hard as you can (a bit of cloth around the cone spanners usually helps me for more grip, less pain) and as advised earlier, hold the cone nut with a spanner when going at the track nuts.

some bike shops may have counter nuts for cones that have a ruffed up, antislip surface and 'bite'
a bit into the dropout. the on-one hubs have these for example, it might be a replacement idea.

please tell me how you get on with the dry lube for the chain. i found it rather suboptimal compaired to the gfinish line cross country oil. i guess, make sure you use plenty and often.

ah, and also grease the end of the axle, the track nuts as well as the integrated washer on the them but remove the grease from the dropouts and grip area of the nuts. so that they tighten and loosen with minimal friction.

when tightening and loosening the track nuts, the cone nuts sometimes come loose due to the fact that the track nut gets torqued up much more than you'll be able to with cone spanners at the cone nuts. try tighten the counter nut on the cones as hard as you can (a bit of cloth around the cone spanners usually helps me for more grip, less pain) and as advised earlier, hold the cone nut with a spanner when going at the track nuts.

some bike shops may have counter nuts for cones that have a ruffed up, antislip surface and 'bite'
a bit into the dropout. the on-one hubs have these for example, it might be a replacement idea.

please tell me how you get on with the dry lube for the chain. i found it rather suboptimal compaired to the gfinish line cross country oil. i guess, make sure you use plenty and often.

OK that makes sense re: the torque. Will tighten it a bit harder next time but I am a bit concerned about the slenderness of the spanner which seems to imply not to tighten it too hard, or maybe that's just so it fits in the gap...

My counter cone does actually have the ruffed up surface, so will just use the spanner when taking the wheel off if the tightening doesn't work. I'm eyeing up a Phil hub at some point in the future and I gather they don't even have cones?

I'll let you know about the dry lube, might try the wet cross country stuff next time but this should pick up less grit, don't mind applying it once a week if that's what it takes!

shit man, i apply the wet stuff every week, every other i rub my chain (only my chain here, mate! *pervs) down a bit with an old towel, every 3 or so, complete degreaser/rinse clean and relube session.

... but i do about 130mi during weekdays, easy.

dry lube is basically wax. it take on dirt less but lubricates less as well and gets shed off more than oil does. it seems to be a bit less stain producing than oil on my trousers, carpets, garage floor, laundry sink tho.

i forgot to mention my bed sheets ^ but that is another story!

Cheap wheels ill always have a little bit of play. But we are talking 2-3mm at the tyre. More is going to damage the bearings and risk braking the axle.

If its 2 months since you bought it it is warranty, so take it back to where you bought it and get them to sort it out.

But the stock Fuji Track wheels are very poor quality.

i think you have something against "cheap " parts. Nothing wrong with cheap parts, if you look after them and set them up properly.

As for "cheap wheels will always have a little play" is complete bollocks.
Sry to say it but i hate it when people say things which are untrue.