I have a set of Mavic Ksyrium SL's on my Orbea Mitis. Should there be a little play in the hub? When the wheel is stationary and I push it side-to-side to make sure it is properly seated in the fork, it seems like there is a little "play" in the wheel. I have a set of Campy vento's as well and they don't seem to do it as much. Is this normal or do I need to take the wheel to LBS and have the hub looked at? Thanks in advance, Scott

I have a set of Mavic Ksyrium SL's on my Orbea Mitis. Should there be a little play in the hub? When the wheel is stationary and I push it side-to-side to make sure it is properly seated in the fork, it seems like there is a little "play" in the wheel. I have a set of Campy vento's as well and they don't seem to do it as much. Is this normal or do I need to take the wheel to LBS and have the hub looked at? Thanks in advance, Scott
No, there should not be any side to side play in the hub when mounted on the bike. Take it in. - TF

No, there should not be any side to side play in the hub when mounted on the bike. Take it in. - TF

Yeah, what he said.....

You can adjust that play out of your mavic wheel with the tire lever/ bearing adjustment tool supplied with your wheels. If you don't still have the tool, you can go to your local shop and purchase one. They can probably show you how it's done also. If you do have the tool, you will see that one end is a tire lever and the other end is a crescent shaped tool with some little pins sticking out of it. Those little pins go in the holes on one side of your hub, and you just turn that part of your hub clockwise just enough to remove the play. This is done easily with the wheel still on the bike.

Before you adjust the wheel itself, make sure your skewer is tight enough.

You can adjust that play out of your mavic wheel with the tire lever/ bearing adjustment tool supplied with your wheels. If you don't still have the tool, you can go to your local shop and purchase one. They can probably show you how it's done also. If you do have the tool, you will see that one end is a tire lever and the other end is a crescent shaped tool with some little pins sticking out of it. Those little pins go in the holes on one side of your hub, and you just turn that part of your hub clockwise just enough to remove the play. This is done easily with the wheel still on the bike.

Thanks wonlap, I made the adjustment with the tool. It did seem to reduced the play in the wheel. I noticed that the wheel spins less freely, too. How tight or loose should it be? It seems if it is too tight the play is gone, but the wheel spin is reduced. If the wheel spins easily, there is too much play side-to-side. Do you just find a balance between the two? Thanks again for you help. Scott

Thanks wonlap, I made the adjustment with the tool. It did seem to reduced the play in the wheel. I noticed that the wheel spins less freely, too. How tight or loose should it be? It seems if it is too tight the play is gone, but the wheel spin is reduced. If the wheel spins easily, there is too much play side-to-side. Do you just find a balance between the two? Thanks again for you help. Scott

Yes, the perfect spot lies somewhere in between. There will almost always be a small amount of play, so don't make it so tight the wheel doesn't spin.

Mavic actually recommends for Ksyrium hubs that there be a "little" play in the hub. How much is a little? I don't know for certain, but they recommend some.

You're on the right track, if you're still unsure what the correct adjustment should feel like take your wheel to your local shop for help. If your wheel was ridden for a long time while loose the bearings may be damaged and should be replaced for optimum performance.