Replacement wheel cones

[francovendee]

I have a rear wheel that needs new cones, existing ones are pitted and the wheel feels very rough. I'm finding it hard to track down some replacements. The wheel isn't a high spec but is a rigida so not absolute rubbish. I don't want to throw it away as it's only done about 5000 miles. I suspect the case hardening on the cones wasn't up to much. Does anyone have a suggestion where I might get some replacements?
Thanks

[Brucey]

do you know what make of hub you have?

You can -with some difficulty- source replacement cones for very many unbranded hubs that come out of Taiwan, or find others (e.g. shimano) that might fit.

Petra Cycles list quite a few cones.

What you say about the quality may well be true. However very few hubs are adjusted correctly (i.e. with a little play in them which just disappears when the QR is tightened on the frame). If they have no play before the QR is tightened, the bearing preload can be horrendous, and this will very much shorten the life of the bearings. Others have cones and locknuts which are finger tight only; this is bound to end in tears, too.

Incidentally, in the case of an unknown or unverified cone swap I posted details of a test method here;

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=59209

and there is some other useful information too

cheers

[rjb]

You could try polishing the old cones. Check this link out http://www.flickr.com/photos/stronglight/3544459257/

[cromo]

Could the problem of not being able to find replacement cones be temporarily solved by fitting balls of a different size? By that I mean rear hubs normally use 1/4" (6.35mm) balls, so could 6.5mm balls (or 6.0mm) be fitted instead? Presumably the balls will then contact with a different (unworn) part of the cone. I'm not suggesting that this is an ideal solution and as I have never tried it, it could be that it does not work! Balls are not too expensive so it could be worth a try.

[fatboy]

I have a rear wheel that needs new cones, existing ones are pitted and the wheel feels very rough. I'm finding it hard to track down some replacements. The wheel isn't a high spec but is a rigida so not absolute rubbish. I don't want to throw it away as it's only done about 5000 miles. I suspect the case hardening on the cones wasn't up to much. Does anyone have a suggestion where I might get some replacements?
Thanks

More important is what make etc the cones are. As others have said replacements can be hard to come by. http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hub-spares-dept110_pg1/ would be another place to start.

[Brucey]

I had forgotten that SJS sell 'wheels manufacturing' parts. I think Petra Cycles sell some of the same ones too.

There is a chart here;

http://wheelsmfg.com/tech/PDF/wheels_cone_chart.pdf

but be wary; some axles have 26 tpi threading and some (most) are 1mm pitch and the chart doesn't say which is which.

cheers

[Nettled Shin]

Can you find a make and model number on the hub? You might me able to source an identical hub to act as a donor. I've done this before, paying something like £7 for brand new hub from JE James.

I wouldn't fancy grinding and polishing a pitted cone, unless you can nitride harden the new surface at home somehow?