EA90 SLX R4 Freehub (Not Too Happy!)

[MikeyHebble]

Howdy all!

My first ever post!! How exciting, I often read a lot of stuff on here so thought I may as well get involved!

I have been riding some Easton EA90 SLX wheels at some points through the winter (Not exclusively I have a few pairs of wheels and it just depends if I'm hill climbing or not) and the freehub of the R4 on the rear wheel has been completely hammered, when I free wheel with the crank in certain position it sounds like a chain saw!

Once I stripped it all down I could see that the seal has been completely breached and the workings of the free hub had been totally clogged up. It comes off so easily its not even funny and I’m not surprised its clogged!

This has led to, on the application of power, instead of engaging with one of the three "teeth" in the free hub it was engaging against the freehub body itself which has led to extreme wear and the noise.

Even though I have stripped, cleaned and re greased it all it still sounds horrendous so I'm off to buy a new free hub body.

I running a Dura Ace 7900 on the Red Dura Ace 10 speed specific freehub body so its not an incorrect match.

So I guess I’m just wondering if anyone else has come across this?

I’m concerned that it may have damaged the hub itself for a start and what do I do if that’s the case?!

Also, for the price, what are Easton playing at here! Not too happy about it to be honest!!

Mike

 

[EastLake68]

I had the same problem with an R4 hub a few weeks after riding in several days of rain on a bike tour. The wheel was a couple of years old, never a problem before. I called Easton, I received a replacement hub the next day, minimal cost. Very pleased with their response.

 

[MikeyHebble]

Well thats good news (I hope). I've emailed them now and if I get no response I'll call in a few days.

I have to say for the price of them I can't believe this has happened, the amount of dirt that got in was unimaginable!

Quiet disapointed! Have you had the same problem since? Mine are only just over a year old, half the problem I think lies with the fact that the freehub comes off soooo easily! I'm not too surprised its happened!

 

[dynomike8]

I have the older generation R3 hubs and they are equally bad in the rain. Its a shame to because they are nice wheels. I usually just replace the bearings once (or twice a year) with something reasonably priced since it happens often.

Just to warn you, I have had OK customer service from Easton over the years but know a few people who have not, seems like you have to catch them on the right day.

 

[MikeyHebble]

I'll kick them in the shins with my Bont's if they try any funny business!

I'm lucky that a guy in my LBC is a good freind of mine so could push from there end if the worst should happen!

I have to say I love the wheels (Well the front one anyway!) but this has put me off another set of Eastons!

Might save the pennies and try to get some carbon Mavic's!?

Did your free hub make an horrendous noise when they went?? This freehub comes off if you undo one nut that has no where for you to put a spanner on it so you can only do it up finger tight!

I'm still in shock by it all to be honest!

 

[James Huang]

That rear hub should not only have an Allen fitting in each end cap (not just the driveside one) but also larger ones in the axle ends themselves so you can not only tighten everything appropriately but loosen everything easily, too.

Sorry to hear about your freehub issues but based on your description, it sounds like this is something that may have been developing over time. Generally speaking, that hub (and hubs from lots of other manufacturers) start out fairly quiet when everything is new and clean. But things will get noticeably louder when/if you get some contamination or if some water has managed to wash away the lube inside.

Also, make sure the freehub body seal is properly seated around the body when you reinstall it. It's not a high-pressure seal so it's still a little more vulnerable to water than some other designs but if you're mindful about it, it really shouldn't present any major problems or warrant regular bearing replacement. I used a test set of EC90 SL tubies all last 'cross season (and it was a particularly nasty one, too) and they're still running very well.

One more thing: do you wash your bike regularly?

 

[MikeyHebble]

Thanks very much for the advice!

I wash my bike weekly, sometimes more if it's really bad weather! An old wise owl rider mate of mine always used to say "Failure to prepare, prepare to fail" if anyone ever had chain slip!

The EA90's arn't my ony wheel set either, I strip it down totally 2-3 times year and rebuild from scratch which is why its even more annoying because I'm so anal about my bike running like clockwork all the time!

Its always gleaming, regular chain, cassette and chainring changes.......

Its a proper let down, you literally wouldnt have known it was happening, I came across it stretching my hams half way through a ton ride when my pedals came to about the 11 o'clock position (From the chain ring side) and this horrendous noise just bellowed out of it!

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

Might save the pennies and try to get some carbon Mavic's!?

Mavic isn't exactly an upgrade from your Eastons, actually a downgrade. You'd just be swapping one horrible hubset for the king of jank hubs. If you're planning on dropping that much loot go with Edge, the hubs (DT) alone are reason enough.

Hey Mikey, I think what James was getting at when he asked you if you wash your bike regularly is to make sure you're not dousing the parts of the bike that contain bearings with water. You can cut the lifespan of sealed bearings in less than half if you use water around them. Sealed doesn't mean waterproof. Every time somebody comes to me with ruined bearings in hubs I ask them how they clean their bikes, and the answer is always "with a hose", or "pressure washer". Use furniture polish around your hubs, sounds weird, but you won't contaminate your bearings because it's wax based and cannot penetrate the seal like water can.

 

[brianf7]

I am having similar problems with a prolight hub . The seal is sticking and causing it to jam up the free hub I have renewed the seal with a teflon one that I found in my junk box but I dont go out in the rain these days. I am a fair weather cyclist now.

You may note last couple of years we had no rain in Victoria .

 

[MikeyHebble]

I never use a hose or pressure washer to clean it, just soapy water in a bucket with a sponge/brush! I don't use furniture polish though and will give that a blast! Every little helps!

I live in Wales so riding in fair weather from this point of the year onwards isn't an option and the bike does get fairly clogged sometimes! Its the pain of British winter miles!

What's the best way to get all the dirt out from around the free hub with minimum water?

I do love the Easton's for their build quality, ROCK SOLID! I now realise they are going to take some looking after though!

Intersting though, having been back to my LBS to buy a replacement shimano 10 speed red freehub, the one I had on my wheel although red in colour, was totally different to the one I was given (Both fit the wheel).

The one that came with the wheel looked like hyper drilled out lightweight version of the standard red 10 speed?!

Will be looking at Edge wheels this afternoon while I'm bored in work!

 

[James Huang]

Hey Mikey, I think what James was getting at when he asked you if you wash your bike regularly is to make sure you're not dousing the parts of the bike that contain bearings with water. You can cut the lifespan of sealed bearings in less than half if you use water around them. Sealed doesn't mean waterproof.

Yup, that was exactly what I was getting at. Even a low-pressure hose can still get water into areas that would otherwise almost never see any. In my almost fifteen years of working in shops, I saw fewer than half a dozen bikes that died because they weren't cleaned regularly but countless others that were obliterated from the inside-out because they were washed so frequently. Anytime a super-clean bike came in, I automatically checked the bearings and almost without fail something needed to be replaced.

 

[RDV4ROUBAIX]

What's the best way to get all the dirt out from around the free hub with minimum water?

Don't use water around there at all. Remove the fhub, take some Q-tips dampened with furniture polish and clean it. If you have access to a pneumatic duster that would get all the remaining grit out of there with minimal effort. Re-grease the pawls and put back together. Now you're ready to rock & roll.

 

[James Huang]

Just to clarify: I'm not saying not to use water at all. It's just if you do, you have to accompany it with much more frequent and rigorous maintenance than you might otherwise do with just a wipedown.

As I'm sure you've all noticed, Pro Tour bikes are *always* spotless during competitions and they're vigorously pressure washed every day. But then again, they're also inspected every day, too, with cable replacements coming every few days and bearing replacement often coming every few weeks.

In short, you can't have one without the other.

 

[TexPat]

Isn't that the hub with the bearing preload adjuster on the non drive side? If so, I recently had to replace the bearings in a new one after an overzealous customer tightened it up too much. The hub should feel slightly loose from side to side when properly adjusted as I recall.

 

[MikeyHebble]

Interesting update: Dropped Easton an email re dissatisfaction and they are sending me another freehub and replacement bearing adjuster/seals for both wheels.

Score! Impressed with the customer service!