Back wheel not in line

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citybabe

Keep Calm and OMG.......CAKES!!
I fixed a puncture in my back tyre and I don't think I've got the wheel is in line because I seem to have lost a couple of gears.
I've had this prob before when I've taken the wheel off but because I needed a new free-wheel the chap at the bike shop said he'd sort it.
How do make sure that my wheel is lined up properly in future please
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Turn the bike upside-down, loosen the quick release and make sure the axle ends are properly settled in the slots in the dropouts, then close the QR carefully.

Are you tightening the quick release by closing the lever so that the word "closed" is visible from outside? It should need enough pressure to leave an impression on your hand, the coarse adjustment is done by tightening and loosening the cap at the other end of the QR.
 

Oldlegs

Frogs are people too.
Location
Norwich
Look at the brake pads - assuming they are properly centred to start with.

If the rim is closer to one than the other shove it over a bit before doing up the quick release.
 

battered

Guru
OK. In that case you need to eye it up in the slot (I presume it's a sloping slot, near horizontal?) and ensure it's square before tightening the nuts. The brake can also be used to get it in position once its in the slots. Also check thast you have loosened both wheel nuts equally to remove it, so it goes back in the same position.
 

lukesdad

Guest
Have you had the new freewheel fitted ? If not no matter how you fit the wheel you ll still have problems.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Ah, okay. The problem with a nutted axle is that it can be difficult to tighten the two nuts without one or both of them pulling the wheel out of line.

I always find that the best way is to tighten each side gradually, tightening the first just enough to prevent the second moving the axle then tightening the second then returning and re-tightening the first and so on, keeping an eye on wheel alignment all the time. If you happen to have a third hand that you can use to keep the wheel pulled forward into the dropouts, so much the better.

An additional problem can be that your bearing cups are loose and tightening the axle nuts can loosen them further, leaving you with a wobbly wheel. To prevent this you need a set of very thin cone spanners, which will enable you to tighten the locknut onto the cone while preventing the cone from rotating. If you're not confident, this is a 5 minute LBS job.
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
I used to have a bike like that and in the end i marked the frame with a pen both sides so i knew how far to put the wheel in ,made it very simple to gt it in straight .
 
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