# Cup & Cone adjustment - Alfine 8



## find_bruce (May 8, 2011)

I noticed that there was a little movement in my rear wheel & investigation revealed the cup & cone bearing was a bit loose.

Adjusting the bearing up to finger tight however & the wheel becomes graunchy when pedaling, bearing spins nice & smoothly on freewheel however.

On opening it up, there is 2mm movement side to side of the entire assembly on the axle. I don't remember that being there before.

Any suggestions on what may be the issue or further investigations ?

Cheers

Bruce


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## JonathanGennick (Sep 15, 2006)

find_bruce said:


> Adjusting the bearing up to finger tight however & the wheel becomes graunchy when pedaling,


Grit inside maybe? Are you able to open up the hub and clean things out and maybe even put in some fresh bearings? (Maybe pay a shop to do the work if it's outside your comfort zone).

Sometimes a cone nut can be chipped or pitted, and then a hub will run rough when things are snugged up enough for the bearing balls to have to run against the damaged surface. I dislike those cases because measuring and sourcing cone nuts is kind of a pain in the neck.


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## vikb (Sep 7, 2008)

I'd open the hub up and clean/lube the internals. Reassemble and see how it feels. Folks are using ATF instead of the Shimano cleaning/lube solution to keep costs down.


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## wschruba (Apr 13, 2012)

It's normal for the internals to move when the cone is backed off--that is what holds the whole thing in, and why it's recommended to adjust the hub cone up in a vise, or with the LH nut backed off on a bike.

Vikb is correct, though. You have no idea if the grittiness is related to the bearing adjustment without opening it completely. Rumbling internals are usually a good indication of needing to be cleaned, though.


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## find_bruce (May 8, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions. Cleaning & lubing is always a good suggestion - I have done so every six months or so & everything seems good.

Wouldn't grit make the bearings crunchy both directions of rotation?


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