Loose wheels?

[skyrockett]

So as most of you may or may not know, I've recently started riding again after a long break. One thing that really bothers me is how loose my wheels are, they wobble side to side even though the bolts are fully done up tight. I've tried replacing the bolts with no success, also changed bearings..
It's an ethic deck and tilt forks, with Root industry wheels (old protos went to shit, they too are loose) and for the life of me I can't figure out why the fuck they don't fit properly? Any help would be appreciated

 

[instinctscooter]

are the spacers in the deck the right size

 

[Beyond16]

So as most of you may or may not know, I've recently started riding again after a long break. One thing that really bothers me is how loose my wheels are, they wobble side to side even though the bolts are fully done up tight. I've tried replacing the bolts with no success, also changed bearings..
It's an ethic deck and tilt forks, with Root industry wheels (old protos went to shit, they too are loose) and for the life of me I can't figure out why the fuck they don't fit properly? Any help would be appreciated

When you install the bearings in the wheel, they don't just drop in without force, right? My bearings always fit in the wheel tight enough that I cannot push them in with my hands. If the bearings just drop in, then the outer race could jump around in the wheel. If there is nothing obvious like that going on, the problem almost has to be the bearings themselves. I find some bearings are tight when new and some are looser. The 'flash flood' bearings that come with River Rapids are fairly tight, with little play in any direction. That sounds good at first, but for me it can be difficult to make them spin freely once installed. Razor Pro bearings are looser than flash flood bearings. With Razor Pro bearings, I can spin the wheel with my hand and it will continue to spin for a long time before stopping. Sometimes I have sideways play with the Razor Pro bearings, but to me it is an acceptable trade for drag free bearings. I just measured, and I have 5 thousandths of sideways play on the front and less than one thousandth on the back. The front has like 20 thousandths of run-out, so 5 thousandths of bearing play is no big deal. These measurements are at the outer edge of the wheel, where the aluminum meets the polyurethane. How much sideways movement do your wheels have?

 

[skyrockett]

When you install the bearings in the wheel, they don't just drop in without force, right? My bearings always fit in the wheel tight enough that I cannot push them in with my hands. If the bearings just drop in, then the outer race could jump around in the wheel. If there is nothing obvious like that going on, the problem almost has to be the bearings themselves. I find some bearings are tight when new and some are looser. The 'flash flood' bearings that come with River Rapids are fairly tight, with little play in any direction. That sounds good at first, but for me it can be difficult to make them spin freely once installed. Razor Pro bearings are looser than flash flood bearings. With Razor Pro bearings, I can spin the wheel with my hand and it will continue to spin for a long time before stopping. Sometimes I have sideways play with the Razor Pro bearings, but to me it is an acceptable trade for drag free bearings. I just measured, and I have 5 thousandths of sideways play on the front and less than one thousandth on the back. The front has like 20 thousandths of run-out, so 5 thousandths of bearing play is no big deal. These measurements are at the outer edge of the wheel, where the aluminum meets the polyurethane. How much sideways movement do your wheels have?

bearings were tight to put in, I used a bearing press.. Also I have no idea what the measurements are, I'll try measuring it though

are the spacers in the deck the right size

Yes. Also tried putting 2 washers either side of the wheels..

 

[Beyond16]

I guess you have the type of axle that tightens to a certain point then stops. My Razor El Dorado had that, and I replaced them with grade 10.9 flange bolts from belmetric.com. With axles that tighten to a fixed length, the wheel is tight only if all the spacers are of the right length. One problem is the spacer inside the wheel, between the bearings. Some are 10mm long, and others are 10.5mm. Also, some spacers are not hardened, and can get compressed if over tightened. You _are_ using the spacer inside the wheel, between the bearings, right? I suppose with those special axles, that spacer could be forgotton and the wheel would still turn. You mentioned adding washers to each side of the wheel. Did the washers clamp down solid when you tightened the axle? It kind of seems like even having enough space to add two washers points to a problem. I tried washers with my Razor axle, and there wasn't enough space. I had to find some thin shims instead. Eventually I ground the end of the axle so it would tighten down more. But finally I switched to standard bolts. I wonder why these special axles are used? I guess the small smooth ends are nice. It also prevents cheap bearing spacers from getting crushed by over torquing when a plain bolt axle is used. But the downside is that if any of the spacers are a little short, it won't clamp down like it is supposed to.