[NC-Biker]

Last year both my wifes bike( 26) and mine (29er) had some slack when you would pedal,then stop,then start again. It would take a 1/4-1/2 turn on the pedals for the rear wheel to engage. I found this out on mine when I was going down a hill and started to pedal up the other side,just about ate the handlebar due to the slack.

Here's my dilemma...I took both of them to my LBS today and he checked them over and said he rode both of them but didn't notice anything. He did mention that he adjusted some things,so I figured that took care of the problem.

I get home and mine is still doing it,didn't try my wifes. He's always done right by me,so I'm not sure how he didn't notice it.

Should I take them back and have him recheck them? I don't want to piss him off and make it seem like he doesn't know what he's doing.

I have considered taking it to another LBS to see if they notice what I am talking about,but I would have to drive an hour or so to do that and then the price to check it due to the bike being purchased at another LBS. All my routine maintenance is FREE at my home LBS.

I am looking for a new 29er wheelset,so I was thinking about switching out the wheelset and see if that takes care of the problem.

Is it normal to have this slack? Am I looking at this wrong and everything is ok? It's weird that both bikes were doing the same thing at the same time.

What would you guys do? I really don't want to switch LBS,but if he's missing things,oh well.

 

[sodak]

First question is did the tech ride the bike to try and feel the issue?

Second question is how did you explain this problem to the tech?

I am asking this because I get so many customers who come in the shop with all sorts of explainations of their issues. Sometimes it is very hard to understand exactly what is wrong without riding it. And even then I may not feel what your feeling.

When you say "slack" I can only think of pawl engagement of your rear hub. What type of rear hub are you running? Are the bikes new?

 

[NC-Biker]

(1) Yes,I mentioned that he did ride them both.
(2) I told him exactly what was going on and when it was happening.
(3) The bike is 3 yrs old and he did mention that the hub may be bad when I was explaining the problem to him. The hub is the stock hub,not sure of brand/model.

I was also thinking about getting another hub to see if that makes a difference,but not sure what to get because the hub is stock without any sort of info and if he didn't notice it to begin with and he didn't think it was the hub,then why bother.

 

[sodak]

What are the models of bikes?

 

[NC-Biker]

2011 Rockhopper Comp 29er
2011 Myka HT Disc (wife)

 

[AZ]

Dirty, gummed up pawls, service the hubs.

 

[sodak]

I quickly looked into the bikes and noticed they must have Specialiazed branded hubs? Their spec lists give this as both rear hubs: Forged alloy, hi/low flange, double sealed, ground race, machined disc mount and flange, QR, 32h. I have not worked with Specialized bikes enough to know much about their hubs or the issues they may have.

From my chair here, I'd look at the hubs. Do you have a lot of miles on the bikes?

AZ that is what I am thinking too.

 

[NC-Biker]

Around 150 +/- a few miles.

I see "doubled sealed". Am I going to actually be able to get inside the hub? I have the tools to do it,so thats not a problem.

Dirty pawls would be a simple fix.

 

[Fleas]

Sounding like a dirty/gummed up freehub.

If you backpedal does your chain go really slack?

-F

 

[NC-Biker]

Sounding like a dirty/gummed up freehub.

If you backpedal does your chain go really slack?

-F

A little.

 

[NC-Biker]

Here's what the free hub looks like. The only info I found on the Hub was SP9206 JF.

 

[sodak]

^ That looks pretty clean and fresh to be gummed up. Even the factory grease is fresh. hmmm... Can you spin the hub and feel the pawls engage? Do they feel smooth? Does it feel like its "missing" a pawl when you try to engage them? I am sort of at a loss here considering both the bikes are doing this and this hub pictured looks like it is new out of a box.

 

[AZ]

Open it up and have a look.

 

[NC-Biker]

^ That looks pretty clean and fresh to be gummed up. Even the factory grease is fresh. hmmm... Can you spin the hub and feel the pawls engage? Do they feel smooth? Does it feel like its "missing" a pawl when you try to engage them? I am sort of at a loss here considering both the bikes are doing this and this hub pictured looks like it is new out of a box.

I can spin the hub by hand and I do feel them engage. It does seem to rotate a little rough though.

 

[NC-Biker]

Open it up and have a look.

I looked,but don't see how to take it apart. There is a seal that does come out on the teeth side,but the only thing underneath is a lot of small ball bearings. I can't get to those either.

 

[Harold]

I cleaned mine out last year and used Phil's Tenacious Oil on my pawls. my hub has been beautifully smooth and silent since. going to do the same to my wife's #2 bike when her #1 bike gets fixed.

 

[NC-Biker]

I cleaned mine out last year and used Phil's Tenacious Oil on my pawls. my hub has been beautifully smooth and silent since. going to do the same to my wife's #2 bike when her #1 bike gets fixed.

Can you actually see your pawls?

 

[NC-Biker]

I have a buddy with a set of Wtb Frequency I23 with SRAM x9 hubs that he wants to sell. Can be used tubeless or clinch. I just need to get something so I know what I have. That way if I need to replace something, I know what I need to get part wise.

Too keep from making another thread,if you have any suggestions on a wheelset for my wifes 26 and my 29er,let me know. We mainly do a lot of fire roads,green ways,pavement and gravel.
I will go and run some trails on my own,but nothing too technical.

I'm probably going to go ahead and get new tires to put on them while I'm at it.

 

[Harold]

not from the outside. Gotta pull the freehub body off. I have Mavic wheels with sealed cartridge bearings. Remove a simple nut on the drive side axle and slide the body off and there are the pawls. clean the pawls off, and clean the interior of the freehub body, apply a drop or two of the oil to each pawl, and reinstall the freehub body.

With loose bearings, you'll have some more steps and probably have to clean the bearings/cups/cones and install new grease. My wife's #2 bike is going to be like that. I may have to replace some of those parts as the wheels are old and sound like there's no grease left inside. The bike hasn't been ridden for awhile, so I'm not sure how long it's been like that.

 

[NC-Biker]

Yeah, I can't see my pawls at all. The picture of my free hub is all I see.

Where the free hub teeth are on the free hub,just line into grooves on the actual wheel. I guess that there not anyway to get into my free hub to get to the pawls.