Can you damage steel drop outs?

[iLB]

Having some issues with the tracking of the front wheel on my steel frame.

If I loosening the QR and pop the wheel in it sits dead straight in the fork, nicely aligned at the crown and centre of the front rack. Tighten the QR and it stays there, as you would expect.

However after about half a mile of riding it will shift towards the non drive side so that the tyre tread is almost rubbing on the inside of the fork crown. I can reseat it as described above, and make the QR even tighter than it needs to be but the problem still presents.

For context it's a new front wheel, new rotor, new disc caliper. Penny for your thoughts?

A

 

[midlife]

I thought all that "lawyers lips" stuff meant it couldn't slip?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

The problem may be that you are trying to make the QR tighter. QRs work via a camming action and if overtightened you can negate that. You also want internal cam QRs if you want to maximise force.

 

[Ian H]

Disc brakes?

 

[iLB]

Disc brakes?

yup

 

[guitarpete247]

Is the axle straight or been damaged. I had a rear axle bend years ago. Kept getting same problem of it going out of true.

 

[Ian H]

yup

It sounds like the brake is forcing the wheel out. Happened quite a lot in the early days of disc brakes, before they realised that they had to change the angle of the drop-out to stop it. Nowadays through-axles make it impossible.
Not sure what you can do. One possible fix might be to use a simple security skewer with allen-key tightening rather than a quick-release lever.

 

[fossyant]

Check brakes are aligned. If it sits straight not tightened and tightened, the wheel is being forced out. What happens if you release the QR ? Does it drop back straight ?.

There is a reason 'through axels' are getting more common, not just on suspension, but disc brake forces are quite high compared to rim.

 

[iLB]

Check brakes are aligned. If it sits straight not tightened and tightened, the wheel is being forced out. What happens if you release the QR ? Does it drop back straight ?.

There is a reason 'through axels' are getting more common, not just on suspension, but disc brake forces are quite high compared to rim.

Yup, goes straight when released.

I've switched out for another skewer for the morning to see what happens and will keep an eye.

I'll also try to get to work without using the front brake and see if that helps any.

 

[fossyant]

Have you and Shimano skewers spare. They are amongst the best.

 

[iLB]

Have you and Shimano skewers spare. They are amongst the best.

Agreed, but alas no.

Thanks for the tips all, shall report back.

 

[fossyant]

Meant 'Any'.. Pudding fingers typing on a phone.

Worth checking, but could very well be the brakes causing the issue.

Anything changed on the bike. Is this a new problem, is bike new, are any parts new ?

 

[iLB]

Brakes and wheel are new, brakes are HY RD's which orginally came on the bike but I switched them out.

Frame and fork came half way round the world with me in 2016.

 

[iLB]

Stayed off the front brake this morning, wheel hasn't moved at all...

 

[Globalti]

Are there signs of scuffing of the paint on the LH dropout or paint on the notched inside of the skewer bolt, indicating that braking force is pushing the axle downwards?