Those of you with knowledge in the Way of the Bicycle, I need counsel.

Let me begin by saying I know nothing about how to repair a bicycle, and mine is a cheap one for cycling in the city.

One of the bearings of my front wheel said life is not worth living and broke down to pieces and flew off.

The shop tells me I need a new wheel. I took the ailing creature back home, removed the wheel and the axle, and found myself with the situation shown in the picture.

Is the piece at the top, still around the axle, part of the fallen bearing or part of the axle? It won’t budge, and the other bearing is impossible to remove because well, it turns. Because it is a bearing.

Do I need a new wheel? A new axle maybe…? I was hoping to save a lot of money by replacing the bearing myself, but it looks worse than I thought.

Thanks beforehand!

EDIT

Thanks so much for all your advice!

Tried the flathead screwdriver and WD-40 to get the inner bushing out, but it was impossible.

In the end, I got both -the bearing and the inner bushing of the bearing- out with the help of a bench vice, a hammer, and some personal frustrations.

The axle looks good and so does the thread.

I’ll now check the rest of my bike for any non-repairable issues, and if nothing appears to be wrong, I’ll buy two new bearings (the one I have left has “6000-2RS” on it) and go to my local repair café, because they way you all describe it, putting on the bearings is delicate business.

Here are also some photos of the hub and the spokes linked to it. I think everything looks okay with the wheel, which is why I found odd the full replacement. I want to believe it is simply because it is easier for them.

  • misery mansion@lemmy.world
    3·
    6 days ago

    Recommend uploading some more pictures. A wheel bearing doesn’t have to be expensive and if the rims, spokes and hub are still rolling then a new wheel seems like an expensive fix

    Can you take some pictures of the hub after you’ve removed the axle, and do you see any damage to the rims (cracking around the spokes?), spokes (loose and can’t tighten or snapped?) or the hub (damage around the failed bearing?)?

    It should be repairable if everything else is OK and the front wheel is obviously way way simpler than the rear

    • wildflowertea@slrpnk.netOP
      1·
      6 days ago

      I updated the post and added some more pictures.

      I don’t see anything wrong apart from a blatant lack of maintenance, so now that I finally got both out, I’ll check the rest of the bike and go buy new ones if everything seems right.

      Thank you for your help!

      • misery mansion@lemmy.world
        2·
        6 days ago

        Sweet, looks like you’re on your way

        The hub and spokes generally look in decent condition so I think once you get a replacement wheel bearing and give everything a clean and greasing etc you should be sorted!