The contents of my free hub have disintegrated...

My bike started making a funny noise intermittently today when freewheeling. I finished my ride, got home cleaned the bike and realised that the cassette was a bit wobbly.

I undid the end cap holding it in place, pulled it off and saw various bits of bearing all over the place! The inner race of one of the sealed bearings was in two pieces; one stuck to the axle, the other piece was floating about along with the bearings a number of which were split in half!

I can't complain too much, the wheel set was relatively cheap; some NS Bikes hubs on Mavic EN321. I bought them in 2008 and theY have never needed any TLC....until today!

The outer race of he destroyed bearing seems pretty darn stuck in place....no amount of tw*ting it will budge it. Having looed at CRC it doesn't appear that you can get spares for this older hub either. Bummer.

I was planning on getting some new wheels anyhow, but not just yet. I am trying to decide whether to try and pick up a cheapish Hope hub to see me through or try and rustle up some cash for some discounted Easton wheels from CRC. Hmmmmm.

I also don't want to miss much riding whilst off over Christmas.

Eastons rate well at the moment.
I had that to my wheel a month or so ago. Cruch clunk every now and again. No idea what it was. Found it was the bearing, the little collar that holds the balls had come out a little so the balls werent sat in place. No TLC wheels though! Front sounds like a freight train when spun.
Just trying to save to get my rear wheel built but keep getting distracted by shiny bits.

I thought that too.

CRC have some great deals on Easton wheels at the mo. Just hope I get a Christmas bonus this week! Failing that I'll try and find a second hand Hope bulb or something to see me through until I can afford some nice wheels.

I'd go with a bog standard Deore hub and get it laced up to the rim. Shimano hubs are bombproof and superb value. You can get the whole wheel done for less than the Hope hub alone.

I'm struggling to find any second hand Hope hubs as a short term solution, although the bonus looks unlikely so some posh wheels may need to wait a wee while.

I am currently thinking about a Sun Ringle Disc Jockey hub as CRC have 50% off them at the mo. The Sun hub on my Demo 9 made a gorgeous noise as well. At least this is a pretty solid hub that should last a wee while. Only downside is that I'll have to wait to get it laced up.

I don't really want to go sown the route of Shimano hubs - the Deore hub that was on my other half's old bike has the worst pick up ever.