Rohloff wheel wobble

[wheezy]

I have something like two to three mms of movement at the rim of my wheel, and when I'm man-handling the bike there's a definite clonk as the wheel settles into place when it touches the ground. It's only done about 6000 miles, but seen its fair share of wet weather and off-road use.

I've read elsewhere on the web about (top cap?) bearings wearing out and producing this effect, and it not meaning that it shouldn't be ridden... but does anyone here know any different?

Will this eventually result in a return to Germany, or Bridgwater?

[julk]

Sounds like bearing wear in rear wheel or headset loose for front wheel.

Which wheel is it?

Either way I would be unhappy not to have it sorted free of charge after that small a mileage.
Julian.

[rualexander]

Helen Lloyd (takeonafrica) had a wobbly rear Rohloff  wheel halfway through her african adventure, she continued to ride half the length of Africa on it without problem and had the bearings replaced after her trip

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=2638.msg12738#msg12738

Also see her update on the bearing replacement by SJSC towards the bottom of this page of her website :

http://takeonafrica.com/bike-expedition/bike-equipment-review-after-25000km/

[wheezy]

Yes, sorry, it's the Rohloff hub I'm talking about.

I saw the various blogs etc. by Helen Lloyd, rualexander, which made me suspect something similar, despite the limited mileage. Seems there's a few others out there who've had repeated experiences of the same thing.

I was wondering if anyone here had any experience of this, or if it really is uncommon?

It's not an SJS bike, but does anyone know if they do general Rohloff warranty work (if it's covered, after 6 years!)?

[Andre Jute]

That Helen Lloyd story about the wobble is fascinating -- thanks for the reminder. Ms Lloyd was in rather special circumstances, and she was authorized to ride the wheel in that condition. When, against informed expectation, further damage was done, the authorities manfully shouldered the cost. So I think the take-away message is that a wobble on a Rohloff wheel due to hub cap bearings needs to be fixed sooner rather than later, and should definitely be reported to the appropriate authorities immediately as something that could, and in Lloyd's case did, turn out to be pricey if left too long (in her case for SJS and Rohloff, not for her).

[il padrone]

Check your quick-release or axle nuts first. I had just such a sound as you describe, had me just a tad worried - on closer inspection I discovered the Pitlock skewer was not tight enough. Quick tighten and the noise was gone 

[wheezy]

Coincidentally, I've just returned from doing that... and it's enormously improved. Still a small wobble, but no longer significant I'd say. I vaguely recall being careful not to do my security skewers up too tight when I swapped out my QRs. What a c**k!