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Anyone know where I can find a service guide for the rear hub? My bike started making a sort of cracking noise and last time I had that on a previous bike it was my free hub going...so I'm wondering if I can do anything to prolong the life of the free hub if I can take it apart and give it a clean or something.
Not had a proper look yet but assume it just pulls apart? Rather than starting the job and then finding I'm wrong, I'm wondering if anyone has a guide or exploded diagram of how it all goes together?
Thanks.
Might just be spoke tension - when mine made creaking/cracking noises it was that. I think that with fewer spokes than some wheels they are sensitive to it and are perhaps not tensioned that brilliantly from the factory.
Assume you have tried the Sun Ringle website?
Failing that: suntech@hayesbicycle.com
This guy may or may not still be there: John Trusky – Warranty & Tech Support Coordinator.
However, if it's anything like the Jumping Flea the Freehub will simply pull apart just like a regular Hope hub. And again if it's anything like the Jumping Flea you'll find a needle bearing and a cartridge bearing in the Freehub. Neither are user replaceable / serviceable. The NB will almost certainly be full of crap 'cos the hubs are badly sealed for UK conditions. Best you can do is flush it out / re grease it and inspect for any obvious signs of damage. IIRC you cant even get at the cartridge bearing to pop the seals off. The rest of the hub main bearings are solid enough so unlikely to be any issues there.
Long term I didn't find their rear hubs to be sealed well enough / up to UK conditions and changed to Hope.
p.s - don' ride it any further til you've done this. The symptoms are identical to mine before it exploded.
There is a tool/fitting which screws into the end of the freehub body and allows you to flush oil/grease through the freehub, clearing out all the crap. My local wheel builder did this to mine and I was amazed at what was in there. Mine is a demon 2 hub and as said above the freehub is not user serviceable. Mine is still going a year on.
I think this is the type of thing http://morningstartools.com/Pages/FreehubBuddy.aspx
I think they are more like the Dirty Flea hubs which are user servicable as I had a wheelset with Dirty Flea hubs and changed all the bearings in it.
Nothing wrong with the design, just poor quality OEM bearings. Once fitted with Kaesae bearings they performed faultlessly.
I had my Black Flag wheelset for something like a year and the bearings were still good so maybe they are now using stainless ones.
Reading this with interest, since I have a set that I bought a couple of months ago when they were heavily discounted on crc.
I've read elsewhere that they are dirty fleas. I've been meaning to take them apart for a bit of preventative maintenance, but I've not got around to it yet.
Anyone found any Pawls and springs so I can stock up my spares box?
There are two sealed bearings in the freehub, circliped in. The free hub pulls off easily but you have to undo something else that is obvious - sorry cannot remember even though I only did this job on a set of blag flag pro's about 2 months ago (must be an age thing 🙁 ).
Once you get the free hub off, the pawls are also free to fall out/be inspected, they seem quite robust.
The standard bearings seem to be absolute rubbish, I have two sets of these wheels and both have gone prematurely with no obvious influx of mud/grit, now chaged to SKF on one set to see how they get on.
My experts got sent back due to a cracking type sound on full load grunts, happened when brand new though so may be different. It was flex allowing the pawls to grind on the hub inners.
My experts do this too scruff, but then I know the bearings in the free hub are on the way out. Plenty of hubs with make this noise if your free hub bearings are dying. I can get my pro2's and my bulbs before to do it if the bearings in the free hub body were over old.
That was easy. Emailed SunRingle for an exploded diagram and it arrived 20 minutes later. The drive side end cap screws off then the freehub pulls off. Pawls exposed on end. Cleaned the pawls and freehub body as well as the inner ring and hub.
Dropped a load of Pedros Wet Lube on pawls and inner ring and put it all back together. Quieter click and sounds smoother, still clicks like it should. No visible signs of any damage which is good...may be a bearing on the way out but they all felt smooth and turned silently when i turned them.
Will find out tomorrow night if the cracking noise has gone.
Took 10 minutes