How tight should I squeeze my balls?

[smegballs]

When adjusting cup & cone wheel bearings I can never get them at the sweet spot, well at least not when doing them by myself. I need a third hand.

With that in mind, is it better to run them too tight or too loose? Currently I err on the side of too loose, and I can normally get them with reasonable, ie with a small bit of play perceptible when trying to waggle the rim.

Tip's for wheel bearing adjustment in general?

[el_oso]

first off, do you have the proper tools?

When I still used cup and cone bearings I used to tighten twice after re-packing. My preferred technique was tighten up until they were slightly too tight, then back off 1/4 turn. Go for a ride up the road and check again and re-tighten 1/8 of turn.
____________________
Duke 390
Previous: '05 XR125L | '96 XJ600S Diversion |'05 Suzuki GSXR1000 | '05 Honda CBR125-R | '97 YZF 600R Thundercat | '11 Honda CBR250
Car: Jeep Wrangler 4.0L

[smegballs]

[pikey666]

clamp axle end in a vice to stop it turning, a proper axle grip is better but you dont need to clamp it that hard anyway.
if you dont have a vice then the over tighten by 1/4 turn and then the axle turning as you lock the nuts usually gets you in the right area.
it is better to be fractionally too loose on the cones because the qr puts a little extra force on the axle when the wheel is in the frame.

[D O G]

Cup and cone are the work of the devil.

When you replace your wheels, make sure they are cartridge bearings, bazillion times better.