Uneven friction in front hub after rebuild I serviced my old mountain bike after 6 years of use. This included replacing balls and regreasing the hubs of the bike. When I tightened the lock nut on the front axle and checked for wobbling the axle felt like it was okay (no wobble). And when checked if the wheel turned freely, the wheel turned smoothly for almost a full turn but I'm getting enormous friction at one specific angle.

I've loosened  the nuts to check if the hub was overtightened. Then friction disappears but wobbling comes in instead.

My front hub is a Shimano HB-RM60. I've replaced my bearings with 3/16" ones.

I've disassembled and reassembled all parts twice, but couldn't find what causes the friction at that particular angle. Now I am not sure whether I cross threaded something or something is in bad condition (like a cup or cone). Is there any advice I could take to check it?

Update:

Apparently my axle is bent. I think this is my problem.

Update 2:

I've replaced my axle with the new one, lubed and packed up everything. Now the wheel turns smooth constantly.


An addition to answer is, after checking cup and cones, check the axle too.
Disassemble the hub, clean away the grease, and carefully inspect the surfaces of the cups and cones.  If you see irregularities then that's probably "spalling" and it means that the part must be replaced.