[BanzaiRider]

I have a set of 04 Mavic Crossmax XL and I basically don't know much about wheels/hubs. However I do most of my maintenance myself usually with the manufacturer instructions or help I get from the forums.

Last night I was cleaning up my rear derailleur and chain when I realized something strange. When I back pedalled, the rear wheel was moving. Normally I think a rear weel would stay still and you would just ear the clicks of the hub but now it was moving slowly as well as the usual clicks.

Could it be some crap in the hubs or freewheel? I took off the chain, the cassette and re-tightened, everything seemed normal.

Those wheels are new, I've done maybe 10-15 rides on them this season and only one where there was some mud. I'm not 100% sure if this symptom was always there or if it just started.

Thanks for your help.

 

[toad]

might just need to be ridden more

some hubs have a break-in period were you the freewheel is pretty tight until ridden for a while. Sounds like this is normal, I wouldn't worry about it. -t

 

[bulC]

Mavic freehubs different than most

I've worked on a couple friends' mavic freehub wheels, dunno the models, that had the same problem, the freehub would tend to rotate with the wheel.
What I discovered is the bearing play adjustment on the axle affects the smooth turning of the freehub body, which is pretty bogus in my opinion. If yours is like the ones I played with, you can adjust the hub bearings with a pin spanner in a ring cover on the hub's left side. S'posed to be cool because you can supposedly adjust the bearing play with the wheel in the frame. If this sounds like your hub, try backing off the axle bearing adjustment just a tad and see if the freehub starts turning freely again.

 

[BanzaiRider]

Hum interesting, I think you have it...

What you describe is definitely like my hub and a tool was supplied with my wheels. On the instruction manual they just say that "bearing play adjustment" is a very precise operation and should only be done by a service mechanic. They don't give any type of specifics like number of turns...

What is this "bearing play" adjustment exactly? If I back it in or out too much is there a danger to scrap the bearings? How shoud I gauge the amount of "play"?

Thanks a lot.

I've worked on a couple friends' mavic freehub wheels, dunno the models, that had the same problem, the freehub would tend to rotate with the wheel.
What I discovered is the bearing play adjustment on the axle affects the smooth turning of the freehub body, which is pretty bogus in my opinion. If yours is like the ones I played with, you can adjust the hub bearings with a pin spanner in a ring cover on the hub's left side. S'posed to be cool because you can supposedly adjust the bearing play with the wheel in the frame. If this sounds like your hub, try backing off the axle bearing adjustment just a tad and see if the freehub starts turning freely again.