Bent hub dust cap question

trent gregory hill said:

Folks,

Here's another question, though this one is sadly "for reals," as the youth of today, in their
infinite linguistic creativity, say. I wound up overhauling a batch of hubs today, and in the
process bent not one, not two, but THREE! dust caps on my wife's Shimano RSX-equipped bike. I
attribute this hamfistedness to being sick as a dog and tired to boot.

My stupidity and its causes aside, is there any hope for fixing these? In checking the archives,
the consensus seems to be that they aren't available readily as replacement parts, and therefore
the best thing to do is to munge them back as straight as you can and try not to worry about it,
which would be easy had I done it on my bike. But my wife's?! I fear marital disharmony is in the
post. Either that, or the speedy acquisition of parts for a new, better wheel.

Help me!

Trent

Yep, just get them reasonably back in form. The metal is soft so just as it's not hard to bend them
out of shape it's not hard to get them back into shape. A gentle tapping with a hammer and small
piece of wood against a wooden bench will get it pretty good. The only thing to fear is repeated
aggresive bending, which would lead to fatigue failure.

"John Albergo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

trent gregory hill said:

Folks,

Here's another question, though this one is sadly "for reals," as the youth of today, in their
infinite linguistic creativity, say. I wound up overhauling a batch of hubs today, and in the
process bent not one, not two, but THREE! dust caps on my wife's Shimano RSX-equipped bike. I
attribute this hamfistedness to being sick as a dog and tired to boot.

My stupidity and its causes aside, is there any hope for fixing these? In checking the archives,
the consensus seems to be that they aren't available readily as replacement parts, and therefore
the best thing to

do

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is to munge them back as straight as you can and try not to worry about it, which would be easy
had I done it on my bike. But my wife's?! I

fear

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

marital disharmony is in the post. Either that, or the speedy

acquisition

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of parts for a new, better wheel.

Help me!

Trent

Yep, just get them reasonably back in form. The metal is soft so just as it's not hard to bend
them out of shape it's not hard to get them back into shape. A gentle tapping with a hammer and
small piece of wood against a wooden bench will get it pretty good. The only thing to fear is
repeated aggresive bending, which would lead to fatigue failure.

Yes, you can beat them to death. You can also get them reasonably straightened but I had a problem
getting the hole round enough to allow free rotation about the cone. <rub, rub

Along these lines, what's the best way to remove soft metal dustcaps?

New hubs almost always benefit from an overhaul but I find it difficult to get in there without
damaging the dustcap (most recently had difficulty with a Shimano HG-20).

Bruce

"trent gregory hill" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Folks,

Here's another question, though this one is sadly "for reals," as the youth of today, in their
infinite linguistic creativity, say. I wound up overhauling a batch of hubs today, and in the
process bent not one, not two, but THREE! dust caps on my wife's Shimano RSX-equipped bike. I
attribute this hamfistedness to being sick as a dog and tired to boot.

My stupidity and its causes aside, is there any hope for fixing these? In checking the archives,
the consensus seems to be that they aren't available readily as replacement parts, and therefore
the best thing to do is to munge them back as straight as you can and try not to worry about it,
which would be easy had I done it on my bike. But my wife's?! I fear marital disharmony is in the
post. Either that, or the speedy acquisition of parts for a new, better wheel.

Help me!

Trent

Bruce Lange said:

Along these lines, what's the best way to remove soft metal dustcaps?

I've always used a screwdriver, since I am not overly concerned about scratching them or deforming
them a bit. Maybe a skinny-enough plastic tire lever would be gentler.

As far as rubbing of the munged dustap on the axle -- that can be taken care of with a dremel.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | It is a scientifically proven fact that a mid life crisis can _`\(,_ | only be cured by
something racy and Italian. Bianchis and (_)/ (_) | Colnagos are a lot cheaper than Maserattis
and Ferraris. -- Glenn Davies

In article <OFofa.191340$eG2.26568@sccrnsc03>,

Bruce Lange said:

Along these lines, what's the best way to remove soft metal dustcaps?

New hubs almost always benefit from an overhaul but I find it difficult to get in there without
damaging the dustcap (most recently had difficulty with a Shimano HG-20).

The best way is probably a thing called a "J-tool" which is basically a a small J-shaped hook that
goes into the hub and pulls it out from the metal side. But if you have the axle out anyways, you
can just push it out with a screwdriver from the opposite side, which should hit the same metal part
of the dust cover.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

"trent gregory hill" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Folks,

Here's another question, though this one is sadly "for reals," as the youth of today, in their
infinite linguistic creativity, say. I wound up overhauling a batch of hubs today, and in the
process bent not one, not two, but THREE! dust caps on my wife's Shimano RSX-equipped bike. I
attribute this hamfistedness to being sick as a dog and tired to boot.

My stupidity and its causes aside, is there any hope for fixing these? In checking the archives,
the consensus seems to be that they aren't available readily as replacement parts, and therefore
the best thing to do is to munge them back as straight as you can and try not to worry about it,
which would be easy had I done it on my bike. But my wife's?! I fear marital disharmony is in the
post. Either that, or the speedy acquisition of parts for a new, better wheel.

These are (in?)famously difficult to remove without deformation. So don't feel special if you
bent them.

Using a freewheel tool on the inside surface, tap the dustcaps flat again on an anvil. Now find a
socket of the appropriate diameter and press the cap over the socket with the freewhel tool so as to
form the inner opening round once more. Some sockets serendipitously have a step on the outside
that's perfect for this operation (Sears brand 3/8" drive 7/16" is ideal for your rear caps!)

Occasionally, a particularly mangled dustcap will need a quick pass with a file along the inner
opening to remove a sharp protrusion.

You wife need never know - they are mild steel and can be reformed to be unnoticeably like-new in
appearance.

--
Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.orgOpen ↗ Open every day since 1 April 1971

Quoted message said:

"trent gregory hill" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Here's another question, though this one is sadly "for reals," as the youth of today, in their
infinite linguistic creativity, say. I wound

up

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

overhauling a batch of hubs today, and in the process bent not one, not two, but THREE! dust
caps on my wife's Shimano RSX-equipped bike. I attribute this hamfistedness to being sick as a
dog and tired to boot.

My stupidity and its causes aside, is there any hope for fixing these? In checking the archives,
the consensus seems to be that they aren't available readily as replacement parts, and therefore
the best thing to

do

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

is to munge them back as straight as you can and try not to worry about it, which would be easy
had I done it on my bike. But my wife's?! I

fear

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

marital disharmony is in the post. Either that, or the speedy

acquisition

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

of parts for a new, better wheel.

"Bruce Lange" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:OFofa.191340$eG2.26568@sccrnsc03...

Quoted message said:

Along these lines, what's the best way to remove soft metal dustcaps?

New hubs almost always benefit from an overhaul but I find it difficult to get in there without
damaging the dustcap (most recently had difficulty

with

Quoted message said:

a Shimano HG-20).

Agreed! They are a [censored]!

In a new hub, there's no reason to remove them. Just open, add lubricant and close.

It is necessary for thorough cleaning of a used hub, though.

--
Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.orgOpen ↗ Open every day since 1 April 1971

trenty! charge into "DIY" in bike.tech and therein lies a recipe for dustcap adjustments.