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Advice on what to buy for someone who snaps rear axles often

Bicycles Asked by Twiggeh on April 22, 2021

To start off, I have snapped my rear axle on my current bicycle four times already. Usually the wheel never "dislocated", so I was fine, but the last time I almost drove off a 10m drop because I almost lost the rear wheel. (It got stuck between the seat pole thing and was held on by the chain.)

I have no clue about bicycles though. I just bought what the dealership recommended to me at the time of purchase. (I would gladly read up & learn about that stuff, but I have the case of mountain stupid, where I do not even know what terms to look up…)

I have been riding every day on a relatively steep decline / incline (~20%) which is paved with beton (concrete) blocks, and I am quite heavy (120kg with clothes). That weight is still under the "rated for" weight of my current bicycle, but I’m guessing the axle snapping is caused by my weight.

The bicycle originally had a "tube" axle which you could tighten with a lever. Originally I replaced it with an identical one, which also snapped so I tried replacing it with a solid one, hoping that would be better but that snapped too. Twice.

I am really unsure what to do about it / what to get now, and was hoping I could get some advice of what to look for. I live in Europe, so if you are going to recommend a product it would be great if I wouldn’t have to import it.

My current bicycle is from a company called "Bulls – The Ride You Want", but I couldn’t find anything about them online except for a really crappy advert on YouTube.

2 Answers

You almost certainly have a 7 or 8 speed freewheel hub. They can do this, especially 8. Google those terms along with broken axles.

8 speed freewheel hubs had some years of prominence circa 2000-2001 and then were rejected by the industry because of these problems. They have now made a return due to manufacturers answering the pressure to fit so many other name features into a low price point. They're cynical trash.

If the above surmising is true, get a compatible cassette hub wheel and a cassette, plus a new chain.

Answered by Nathan Knutson on April 22, 2021

There is one other possibility that bears mentioning:

If the hub is somehow deformed, such that the bearing cups are not "square" to the axle, then the rotation of the hub can tend to "grab" the cones and turn them on the axle. This can increasingly tighten the cone and increase the tension on the axle, causing it to snap.

I had a front wheel with this problem -- broke two axles before I replaced it. After replacement I examined the hub closely and it was indeed slightly deformed -- slightly bent sideways. I suspect that this was due to some accident during manufacture or initial assembly.

Answered by Daniel R Hicks on April 22, 2021

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