I changed rear tires the other day using my spare wheel, and immediately noticed that the bike was harder to push than before. Riding the bike seems okay and I'm not hearing any odd noises, but when I jack the rear wheel up and spin it in neutral its hard to turn 3/4 of the way around and less-hard the remaining 1/4. Even in the "less-hard" position it is still harder than it should be. It also makes a very faint clicking noise (almost inaudible) when your ear is right down by the wheel and you're spinning by hand. It's not the brake pads, which I also replaced, as I spread them apart from the rotor and they are not dragging.

I'm leaning toward a bad wheel bearing, like maybe a needle that's out of place. This wheel has been stored inside the house for two years since last used. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

If you changed wheels could it be as simple as the 'new' rotor being a little thicker than the 'old' one and dragging on the brake pads?

 

Well you know the drill " It was fine till I did (insert modification or maintenance item here)" so either you put something together wrong or something you used is bad, correct? Spare wheel, had you used it before? If you had used it before and it was ok before the bearings could be bad now but if it was ok before it is unlikely they went bad sitting. If you never used it before the bearings could have been bad from the get go , maybe. As you are taking it off go slow to check your assembly just in case you were the guilty party.

 

Sounds like either the bearings or maybe you possibly got the wheel on misaligned?

 

I was thinking either a seized bearing/dirt/rust whatevs, or overtighten the belt and the wheels cocked?

 

Sealed wheel bearings are ball not needle or roller and none of the above just go bad from sitting. Sure you got everything back in place correctly?

 

Is something rubbing against your belt?

Zach

 

Thanks for all the replies. Upon further inspection, it seems the problem was the brake after all. I noticed that the inside pistons were retracted all the way in while the outside were out maybe 1/16" or more. It was as if the caliper wasn't positioned properly. Also, front section of the caliper support (metal thing that fits through the axle and onto the frame in front) had protruded outward about 1/8" in the front. I'm accustomed to watching for the rubber bumper than can easily get out of position, but that wasn't it. I released the pad bolts and the axle nut and dropped the inner pad, and that caused the caliper support to move into the frame better. The wheel spun around much easier, too.

I dropped the wheel and nothing seemed wrong, so I put it back together again. The wheel moves better and the bike now pushes around easier. I'm wondering if I'll just need to wait 'til the inner pad wears a bit, as these pads are new (EBC Kevlar).

I'm still not sure what was/is happening, but I'm a bit perplexed about why the inner pistons are completely retracted while the outers have not. It's as if the caliper is mounted a bit too far outward. Maybe that's normal for these older-style brakes ('99-07) and I really hadn't noticed this before. Hogdoc, what say you? After a 10-mile ride the rear rotor was very hot, but it always is, even when not used--as has been the case on every bike I've owned. I'm still thinking the inner pad may be dragging a bit.

 

It must be something in the air! I recently had my Billet-6 front calipers serviced and fitted new pads (six each rotor!). Went out for a test ride today and the front brake locked on after a few miles. Got trailered home and went over what might have caused it. I had replaced the hand lever, which was fouling on the master cylinder piston rod, so it couldn't move freely. At least I hope that is what caused the problem! Will try riding again tomorrow. We're heading from the UK to Poland in a few weeks and things are getting a bit tight, to ensure this thing is fit!

 

As an update, everything seems to have loosened up well in the past day or so. I think the inside pad thickness was right on the borderline of being too thick and was causing it to drag on the rotor.