How much to replace a rear hub on a bicycle?
by admin on Sunday, February 20th, 2011 | 4 Comments
I have this real cheap mountain bike from Walmart and the rear hub seems to either need adjustment or needs to be replaced. How much would this cost if I took it to a bicycle repair shop for a cheap mountain bike?
Parts and labor would easily cost more than the bike itself.
Hence the term “Wally World cash-blackhole-special.” You wouldn’t have had this problem had you bought a real bike from a real bike shop in the first place.
It will depend on what is wrong. If it’s just the freewheel it can be replaced easily. If the hub is damaged it would be cheaper to buy a new wheel. A freewheel replacement would be around $20.
Learn a lesson I trust? If you really want to do it right, so this never happens again, replace the entire wheel & hub assembly with a double walled rim & a cassette type hub vs. the freewheel hub. Total price would be in the range of $80 to $85 to do it yourself. Links below.
If not – trash the bike. This is exactly why discount store bikes are called “disposable” or “throw away” bikes.
Try to adjust it first. Those things were assembled in a hurry and they come loose. You can do that yourself. It could be the runner and cone that form the bearings getting loose. If you have not lost any balls is very simple thing. Even missing a couple balls you could still ride for a while. This is a simple repair and is a good thing to learn on a cheap bike but it could happen in an expensive one too although not so likely. If you have some mechanical inclination you could fix it to better than new. It is also recommended to repack the bearings with grease as regular maintenance, so you should learn how to do it anyway. No need to buy a new tire every-time that the bearings need adjustments. Follow the link.