Apparently the Hed3 has a bunch of shims in the hub to take out the play. It appears that the shims in yours are not doing their job quite right, unfortunately a lot of shops have no idea that these shims are even in there, let alone that they can fix teh problem you're having. I would suggest to call HED and ask them how to fix it, or who in your area is capable of fixing it.

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Gerard Vroomen
3T.bike
OPEN cycle

Thanks Gerard, I will heed your advice...so just what exactly is a 'shim' (in case Australian's have a different term for it)?

Geoff,

A shim is like a really thin "washer". Basically a thin peice of metal to take up the slack.

Thanks Shane....so there is is likely to be 'slack' between the wheel and the casette?

Geoff, at the risk of insulting you, start by checking the axle and making sure that it is adjusted correctly. If it is not, be assured that there will be some play in the wheel evident at the brake pads.

The shims are for truing the wheel, they are not there for adjustment. Do not let a shop take the cassette body off. The shim is behind it, and if the body is removed the wheel will not be true when it is put back together. Messing with the axle is fine, you can take that on and off all day long, but do not remove the cassette body.

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Andy Tetmeyer (I work at HED)

I have an old set of specialized trispokes. The rear freewheel body has a wobble in it. Is this normal to this specific wheel?

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E-Z

--It ain't a good idea to swim near MY bubbles!

Thanks Andy...no insult taken..feel free to talk to me like I am a three year old when it comes to do with bike mechanics...so the shim goes on the outside of the casette (i.e. not in between the cassette and the wheel)?

Geoff, there is a cassette and a cassette body, lots of people (including me sometimes) use the terms interchangeably, even though they are not. The cassette is the stack of cogs - it is what slides onto the hub. The cassette body, or freehub is the splined cylinder that remains on the hub. It has the ratchet mechanism that lets the wheel coast one way but not the other.
The shim, usually just one, is behind the body. You can't see it. The only way to get to it is to take the axle out and stick a 10mm allen wrench inside the hub and unscrew the body. DON'T do it. Not only is there a shim sitting in there, but the body is also installed in the position that makes the wheel the most true before resorting to the shim.
There are 10 possible body positions (picture a clock face with 10 instead of 12 numbers). When the wheel is trued, first you check eack of the 10 possible body positions by assembling and dissembling the hub for each possible spot, then add a shim of the right length and thickness to make the wheel as true as possible without making the hub bind. It is harder to master than it is to explain. It is about a 1 hour task for me, and I can only manage a hack job, I am far from good at it.
That being said, checking the axle adjustment is fairly easy, and there is really nothing that can be screwed up by even going so far as removing and replacing the axle, assuming that it is adjusted correctly when it is re-installed.
-Andy(yes, I work at Hed)T

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Andy Tetmeyer (I work at HED)

ps:
cassette wobble is normal due to the shim.
To clarify, the shim is between the body and the wheel.

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Andy Tetmeyer (I work at HED)

Thanks for your advice...just to clarify, is it something I need to be worried out? If yes, I will go to my LBS with a printout of your advice.

I would have it checked. You can email me at : hed@iswest.com and let me know what they find out.

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Andy Tetmeyer (I work at HED)