Inspecting new schwinn meridian trike axle bearings

user553

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Sep 19, 2021
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Bought a new Meridian tricycle (26", single speed) that I don't plan on motorizing any time soon.
I opened the box and removed the axle assembly to inspect it. I read online that some people have axle/bearing issues so I wanted to double check what I got.

I grabbed the axle shaft and tried to spin, very difficult and not smooth. Grabbed sprocket for leverage, slightly easier to spin but again not smooth. No grinding/noise, just very tight and can feel "notches" in some areas through the revolution.
I wasn't sure if this was normal so I didn't want to assemble the trike yet.

I removed axle, removed one of the bearing seals and confirmed there was grease in it.
If I insert my finger snugly into the bearing and rotate, it spins pretty easy but again I can feel "notches" or "bumps" during the rotation.
Is this normal? Or does it indicate an issue?

Thanks for any insight, i'll update as I progress in the mean time
 

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Any cartridge bearing that feels other than glassy smooth is ruined. That's their nature. They work perfectly until they don't anymore.

Might as well replace all of them while you have the thing apart. You can reasonably assume they are the very cheapest possible bearings, installed incompetently. When you press the replacements in, make sure you push only on the outer race of the bearings.

However, whether you replace the bearings or not, there's every likelihood that other critical items will fail first. I know that model well, worked on a bunch of them, but I don't think I've ever seen one that was in good operating condition. They're very common at Mardi Gras walking parades, but they often don't go the distance before suffering some show-stopping failure.

The best you can do is overhaul the entire trike-- lube and adjust everything, stress-relieve and tighten the spokes, replace any part that has a problem-- and use it gently. If you don't do the work in advance on your own schedule, you'll surely do it a piece at a time on the trike's schedule.
 
Thanks for all the ink Chalo! While searching forum for old posts about this trike I came across a few of yours.
Sounds like you know the machine well. I trust your advisement that this may be a nightmare but it seems any trikes beyind the meridian increase dramatically in price.

I firstt hoped the bad reviews were due to not having the hub bearings adjusted properly and that it'd be suitable for my uss case of letting my dad pedal around on the flat paved neighborhood roads for exercise. Sadly it sounds like it may not even be able to handle that over a short amount of time.

I have a blind bearing puller kit on the way (i dont think I can get clearance for drif + hammer for the outter bearings) also have some cheap replacements for testing. Will order some timken/SKF if I end up keeping the trike.
Good advice on pressing, i'll use an appropiately sized socket for the outter race & circle tap it in with a deadblow hammer

Once the axle is back in, I just hand thread the inner 23mm nut so its just touching the bearing lightly, hold it in place with cone wrench and use 2nd wrench to tighten down outter nut? It doesnt matter if I do drive/non-drive side first, or does it?

I will research spoke adjustment like you advised. Will have to see if its a job a novice with the right tool is capable of or not.
Thanks again Chalo for the information. Much appreciated.
 
You can use a piece of 1/2" all thread with nuts, washers, and 1/2" drive sockets to press in the bearings. Likewise, if you get a long enough 1/2" steel rod to reach all the way across the frame, you can use that to punch out the bearings.

With radial cartridge bearings like that, it's okay to leave a little end play in the shafts. That's really the only way you know you're not putting an axial preload on them (which they don't like).

It will probably work fine for your dad, if you go through it to correctly adjust the loose ball bearings and condition the wheels. Haphazard assembly is probably the source of the majority of problems I've seen with Meridian trikes.
 
Cheers Chalo, will give it a shot after properly tuning it up, if it goes bad I can always attempt a return.
I'll hand thread the inner nut and leave it kinda loose against the bearing as you mentioned. Thanks for the tips of removal & seating.
I'm betting all the bearings don't feel smooth as glass is because the hub nuts were extremely tight against the bearings right out of the box, so tight that it effected the ability for the axle to rotate, heh.
I'm reading up on how to stress-relieve and tighten the spokes plus the needed tools. Is this something that is a fool's errand for a novice or is it possible to do? I've heard wheel truing is a bit of an art that takes practice, unsure if spoke work is the same thing.
 
I haven't read everything but what springs to mind first is "are the two tubes with bearing really 100% in line with each other"? Does the axle slide easy in and out?
 
Slowco, I've never done this before and am unsure what is normal. I'll explain what happened:
  1. piece of 2x4 wood on ground. Lightly drop assembly down onto wood a few times to drive out axle
  2. Once the drive side of the axle was flush with the outter bearing I could grip the axle and tug it out (didn't come out super smooth, had to use a little force to slowly pull it out in steps
Is it supposed to smoothly slide out with little to no effort? Or does the above list sound about normal?
 
If the axle came out without needing the use of excessive force it should be fine.
With the axle out, the bearings should rotate very smooth without any resistance or feeling "notchy".

The most common mistake when mounting bearings is hammering them in by hitting the inner bearing race while it's the outer race that needs to be hammered into a tube or hole. Thereby transmitting the hammering from the inner race through the bearing balls to the outer race. That leads to dents and damage to all three. If this is the way the bearing were installed at the factory then you'll have replace the bearings and mount them the right way.
 
If the axle came out without needing the use of excessive force it should be fine.
With the axle out, the bearings should rotate very smooth without any resistance or feeling "notchy".

The most common mistake when mounting bearings is hammering them in by hitting the inner bearing race while it's the outer race that needs to be hammered into a tube or hole. Thereby transmitting the hammering from the inner race through the bearing balls to the outer race. That leads to dents and damage to all three. If this is the way the bearing were installed at the factory then you'll have replace the bearings and mount them the right way.

user553 said:
Bought a new Meridian tricycle (26", single speed) that I don't plan on motorizing any time soon.

But not planning on motorizing it is obviously the biggest problem :lol:
 
Bearing+puller+spoke wrench should be here tomorrow.

I read about a technical service bulletin that support has, I called and got the TSB.

The adjustment TSB is kinda odd, maybe just worded poorly? It seems to suggest tightening the nuts in case there is noise during operation. Maybe they mean to just ensure the outter nut is very tight up against the inner nut so that the spacer doesnt shift around in event that the nuts get loose? 
meridian_rear_axle_adjustment.jpg
I will still initially adjust the inner nut to have barely any force up against the bearing.

SlowCo, good advice! Yup I bet the bearings were damaged due to that.
----

ZeroEm said:
watch rear wheels. They are weak


ZeroEm, cheers buddy! I read that especially the drive side spokes break.
Do you think it's due to spoke nipples not being properly tightened new out of the box? I tried the thing where you pinch in two spokes and most seemed tight but a few bowed in alot more when pinched.

I think a spoke wrench will solve that? 
 
The rims are weak, not the spokes. That is my mothers trike and had to true the wheels a couple of times. I keep the spokes tight so do not have spokes braking. Some day I will just put stronger rims on. The front is a small geared motor laced up from grin and have not had any issues with the front wheel or forks.

Just keep your spokes tight and wheels true. My trike is my mothers (81yrs) so it does not get treated hard or has a lot of miles. Have road it a few times, the basket is handy for running after parts. It will do 20 mph but have turned down the power to about 600w.
 
Just wanted to update:
Also included better pic
(NOTE: i'm using a 3/8 socket extension to serve as an example axle)

After I removed the original bearings I found that some of the bearings still didn't feel "smooth as glass" but did feel more smooth than when they were in the housing (without axle inserted)
This makes me wonder if the issue is the housing itself isn't milled to spec and was causing some slight binding to occur in the bearing?
Support is sending new bearings + axle but i'm concerned if the above finding means that I need a new axle housing assembly?
-----

Second thing I noticed:
Inspected spacer tube: I believe it is supposed to sit snug against the inner ring face's on the two bearings?
When bearings are pressed in I still noted the spacer had slight axial play so there's no way it can support the two inner ring faces, right? Also it's not perfectly square on each end.
Should this be a precision part or am I wrong about it's purpose?
 

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Still looking at the pictures but seems to be something missing. I'm with you, something needs to center the spacer on the axel.
Does it seem that the spacer is to stop the bearing from being pushed in when tighten? If the bearings are a press fit why need the spacer?
The locking collars keep the axel centered correct?


by user553 » Sep 25 2021 5:43am

Just wanted to update:
Also included better pic
(NOTE: i'm using a 3/8 socket extension to serve as an example axle)

After I removed the original bearings I found that some of the bearings still didn't feel "smooth as glass" but did feel more smooth than when they were in the housing (without axle inserted)
This makes me wonder if the issue is the housing itself isn't milled to spec and was causing some slight binding to occur in the bearing?
Support is sending new bearings + axle but i'm concerned if the above finding means that I need a new axle housing assembly?
-----

Second thing I noticed:
Inspected spacer tube: I believe it is supposed to sit snug against the inner ring face's on the two bearings?
When bearings are pressed in I still noted the spacer had slight axial play so there's no way it can support the two inner ring faces, right? Also it's not perfectly square on each end.
Should this be a precision part or am I wrong about it's purpose?
 
Just in case you missed my note, that isnt the axle in the pic but a 3/8 socket extension for demonstration (I was unsure about your context if you were asking why the bearings/axles arent tight on the bar pictured)
The housing has a shoulder milled inside all 4 holes for bearings, they can only be inserted to proper depth due to shoulder.
The locking collar just slides up flush against the inner bearings. (attached pic showing locking ring when properly installed)
The spacer is nearly as long as the housing but is approx 1-3mm too short to perfectly butt up against both inner rings. Maybe it isnt to spec?
 

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This is one wheel drive as well (back right wheel has keyed 'D' hole that axle mates to
Prob the same set up as your mother's one if its a single speed meridian as well
 
A little late, but yes, the inner compression tube being too short and then tightening up the nuts side loads the bearings, and the instructions basically say if there's creaking, tighten it up more, but that only works if the compression tube is the perfect length.
Sometimes they cut the axle tube a little short or long which throws the spacing off also.
Too long makes it so no matter how tight you make the nuts, it's not pressing the bearing into the sockets, and they shift side to side during turns.

You don't want to overtighten the bearings in the non drive wheel, as it has a compression tube in between there too, that also sometimes needs trimming or shimming.

I messed with a few Meridians that by the time the rear end was welded up, it had subtly bowed the axle tubes, which isn't great for the bearings.
I think you can get self aligning bearings that might help, but no idea if they make them in the size you need.
 
Did not realize how bad all this was/is. This trike they welded a washer to the hub and it has a square cut hole for the axel. Have been waiting on it to fail. I try not to ride the bike in fear of causing damage. should not be hard to fix and do it right. Think I only paid $200 for it.
 
Thanks Voltron, very useful information!
I guess that not only does the spacer have to be the precise fit that it also has to be flat on both ends to ensure full contact?
Kinda wondering how to ensure the spacer remains centered while pressing in a housing's second bearing.
If the spacer is precisely sized, once the 2nd bearing is in the spacer wouldnt be able to be moved because it'd be the exact length between the bearings, right? Or does it not need such perfect fit?
 
It needs pretty close to perfect fit, as it will compress a little, and ideally square ends, but if then whole thing it off, then who knows...

Esp if your dad is hard of hearing, maybe its not even an issue for a while. I've worked on some you could minimize the creaking, correcting with shims, or light compression tube grinding, or a little locktite in the bearing sockets, or a little bit of all three . :)
It would sometimes still creak a little, but depending on the use profile, i.e. low speed, not ridiculous load in the basket, no teenagers driving it tilted up on two wheels etc, its still spins around if you know what I mean.

If you already have parts coming, I would reassemble it with the janky bearings, figure out shims and preload on it, then run it to near destruction to see how much it even matters. It's not like the whole back end will shear off or anything.

Keeping the brakes tuned up right might be the most important thing esp during the break in period. :thumb:
 
Much appreciated for the insight Voltron!
Will go ahead and try it out, will report back.
May end up freezing the bearings for a few hours to make installing a bit easier, will report
 
Update:
After installing new bearings I tried sliding the new axle schwinn/pacific-cycle sent me.
The axle slid effortlessy into the first housing (through both bearings)
Once it reached the second housing's first bearing it required some wiggling. It entered the bearing's bore a little but quickly started to bind.
I assume that the axle should slide through the 2nd housing just as effortlessly as the first one.
I checked the axle's position in the bearing's bore and seen it was very off center by atleast 1-2 mm (pic attached, arrow pointing at the gap)

Based on this I believe the alignment of the two housings are out of spec.
Called support and they're shipping me a new rear axle assembly, will see how that one looks. It arrives today.
 

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SlowCo said:
I haven't read everything but what springs to mind first is "are the two tubes with bearing really 100% in line with each other"? Does the axle slide easy in and out?

So my first thought was correct.
Hopefully the new axle frame will be better.
 
Aye SlowCo, you were correct!
I removed axle shaft from new assembly because they sent me one with a rusting sprocket. I shot some mobil1 red synthetic grease using a long needle into interiors of both housings around the spacers (not sure if this will help much but figured it wouldnt hurt)
Axle is attached to frame, wheels are on.
Now inspecting the wheels/spokes as suggested

Nipples are 3.45mm, bought park sw-42 wrench
Spoke dia is 2mm, steel, round, 18 spokes on each side, 26" rim
Bought a cheap tension gauge, most spokes read '25' on gauge. A few spokes are around 28, two or three are much lower at 19-20

I assume I just tighten/loosen the outlier spokes in order to best get them around '25' like the majority of them were from factory.

Will update.
 
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