[Closed] cracking noise from rear hub

Ah, 'the dreaded where is that crack coming from' question.

usual response about asking if it does it sitting in the saddle, out of saddle etc.

However, if I'm forced to guess, in my experiences that sounds a lot like a free hub issue: pawl cracked, free hub bearing exploding - but thats just a first guess 🙂

Friends Giant also suffered from a lot of creaks and cracks from the lower pivots, but it was possible to check that by standing to one side of the bike, placing a foot on the pedal and giving a good old push to flex the frame. the crack was able to to be diagnosed quite quickly then, as not coming from a 'rotating' part.

Check suspension bolts as well...my bike was a screaming banshee and I was convinced it was the BB...it wasn't, my suspension bolts were dry and needed a wee touch of grease and loctite. Absolutely silent now.

pull your cassette off and take a look, been chasing my own sounds similar to this and i'm pretty sure its due to one of the smaller clusters of gears on my sunrace cassette nibbling away at the freewheel. All i could do was grease it all up and retighten the retaining screw, which wasn't as tight as id have liked when i released it

Cracking sound is almost certainly a failed bearing. More of a creak/click and it's likely to be a dry interference fit somewhere.

Cracking sound is almost certainly a failed bearing

^^^^ This. although last time for me it was the actual hub shell that's cracked/split

Broken hub axle?

Thanks all, I too believe this is a hub failure. So having never replaced a sealed cartridge hub before I'm assuming this is a fairly big job;

- cassette off and all the spokes removed
- remove disc from old hub
- Install new hub and lace all spokes to correct tension
- install disc and cassette.

Is that the rough sequence ? I'm guessing 1 1/2hr roughly.

I'd look at replacing bearings/freehub before you think about replacing the hub.

I too believe this is a hub failure

Have you checked the hub? If it is cracked it'l be quite obvious. As above though, its more likely to be a bearing in the hub or freehub tbh

Thanks all, I too believe this is a hub failure. So having never replaced a sealed cartridge hub before I’m assuming this is a fairly big job;

– cassette off and all the spokes removed
– remove disc from old hub
– Install new hub and lace all spokes to correct tension
– install disc and cassette.

Is that the rough sequence ? I’m guessing 1 1/2hr roughly.

A) next time you swallow a fly, stop short of solving it with a cow as your first step.

B) sealed cartridge or any other (common) type of hub makes no odds to the strip and rebuild but that said if you can completely strip and rebuild a wheel in an hour and a half this is clearly a troll.

Thanks for the advice all.

but that said if you can completely strip and rebuild a wheel in an hour and a half this is clearly a troll.

I'm asking a genuine question about something I have never done before, not sure how you got to calling troll...

So having never replaced a sealed

I’m guessing 1 1/2hr roughly.

As above hub bearings replaced before replacing hub. If it turns out the hub itself is goosed then you have a set of replacement bearings in the old hub. But I'd guess at goosed bearings somewhere. Shock bushing?

Is that the rough sequence?

No. Not at all.

Id spend some time on YouTube, there are bound to be some instructional videos for it on there.

TBH you're giving out clues that you don't know how a hub works. Unless you're prepared to make a dogs-cock of it, ( its always a risk) it might be best to get it into a shop and in pay the money.

I’m asking a genuine question about something I have never done before, not sure how you got to calling troll…

OK.

Your hour and a half "guess" is probably about right of a bit optimistic for someone who has built a lot of wheels. My suggestion it's possibly you being a little disingenuous is you've somehow come to the "humble brag" end of things for your guess whereof expect you to be at the big chunk of time end (most people find the idea of wheel building a bit daunting and expect it to be a complete pig if they've not done it before) and your mention of the bearing type is sufficiently out of place as to feel like its intended to deliberately mislead.

So to address your question...

Stripping and building a wheel, if you've got the tools and never done it before is not a quick job. My first build took I reckon about 2 hours to methodically remove the busted rim then 6 maybe 8 hours all told to build true and tension (it could have been half or twice that mind as it was in sessions of an hour here and there over a few weeks.)

That it's a sealed hub makes no difference to the method or time.

If you've not got the tools you can increase the time to build one quite significantly simply ws things like nipple drivers save a lot of time.

Stripping and building the wheel is about the last thing to try.

If its only under power its unlikely to be a problem with the shell. Get a diagram for the hub and take it apart, still in the wheel, look for any broken parts or failed bearings. You'll likely find it's an easily identified and replaceable part.

For what it's worth, I'd lay good odds it's nothing to do with your wheel. Have you got a spare you can swap it with to try?

Check your suspension pivot bolts and bearings, grease your rear axle.

Check your mech hanger.
Check your bottom bracket
Cranks.
Pedals.
Saddle rails.
Seatpost.

These are all more likely than a wheel problem if it's only when you're stamping the pedals.