How To Service Cup and Cone Bike Hubs

Cup and cone bearing hubs are found on road bikes, hybrids and mountain bikes. It is more common on modern fairly basic stock wheels however, Shimano use a cup and cone system on all of their hubs.

A decent quality ball bearing or cup and cone hub will last a long time if serviced properly and regularly. Also you may find that as you ride your bike over time your hub needs some re-adjustment to keep your wheels running smoothly but without any annoying wobble!

In this video we show you how to; remove your axle, cone and bearings, properly service the hub and then correctly re adjust the hub tension afterwards.

You need for your cup and cone hub service:

- Grease

- Rag or tissue

- Brake Cleaner

- Cone Spanners

- Magnet

- a Small Pick

- Dish

Icetools make a pretty cool combi style cone spanner set, they aren't the best quality of spanner but good for the infrequent user: https://www.merlincycles.com/icetoolz-cone-spanner-set-44518.html?source=PHG

Trouble Shooting and Tips:

1. On a rear hub it is best practise to start non drive side. This is because you will find it difficult to get a spanner onto the cone on the hubs drive side, it tends to sit inside the free hub body.

2. Most often achieving the correct tension on the cones and bearings is the trickiest part. The idea is to tighten the cone just enough to stop any side to side movement, but also ensure minimal friction between the cone and loose ball bearings so your wheels turns freely. In the video we outline how this is done but bare in mind it does take some practise to get it right.

if you are having any difficulties or just need some further advice do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to help… Good Luck