Caught myself setting bearing preload by feel for 8 years until a guy in Dayton asked me one question

Tyler Cooper · 2026-10-09T01:50:05.114019+00:00

I was rebuilding a front hub last Tuesday and the guy whose bike it was watched me tighten the cones and asked if I ever checked it with the wheel still in the fork. Turns out I had been snugging them down with the wheel on the bench the entire time, which means I was never feeling how the axle actually sat under load. He had me put it back in the fork, wiggle the rim side to side, and adjust until the play just barely disappeared. Half a turn of difference, and the wheel spun way smoother than anything I had built that way. How do you all set yours, in the stand or in the frame?

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Caught myself setting bearing preload by feel for 8 years until a guy in Dayton asked me one question | Bicycle Mechanics - Topic Shares