OK so I'm not a beginner any more and have taken my wheels on and off probably dozens of times now to fix punctures or swap tyres. But this seemed like the best place for this post as I'm clearly still doing some kind of n00b error!
I nearly always struggle with getting the rear wheel back. Getting the cogs past the derailleur, the disc inserted into the caliper and the hub into the dropouts all at the same time. 9 times out of 10 it takes me 3 or 4 attempts with mucho swearing. A common tip is to put it in the smallest rear cog for starters. I've tried this but for some reason I find it easier on the second or third smallest. Either way it doesn't make a huge difference. It's still a pain in the arris.
I find it way easier with the bike inverted, as it's easier to press down into the dropouts while navigating the disc between the pads, but apparently this is frowned upon by some. With the bike in a stand I can't push up hard enough because it just twists the clamp in the stand. On the bikes with a rack it's a little better as I can squeeze the rim and the rack between by finger and thumb. But those with no rack it's so flipping fiddly. Ironically the bikes with QR are by far the worst. I have to unscrew the feckers several mm to get the clearance which makes a mockery of the concept. Well I guess they do release quick but they certainly don't re-attach quick.
Least fiddly bike to change the rear wheel on is my Felt VR40 with TAs. Second hardest is my Giant hybrid with QRs and a rack. Hardest is my Orbea Gain ebike because in addition to the above the wheel is 2kg heaver and I have to twizzle the axle to the right orientation, and then while it's going in the flipping chain spins the axle 90%!
Any tips? I've seen loads of videos and they all seem to just magically go in by sleight of hand!
I nearly always struggle with getting the rear wheel back. Getting the cogs past the derailleur, the disc inserted into the caliper and the hub into the dropouts all at the same time. 9 times out of 10 it takes me 3 or 4 attempts with mucho swearing. A common tip is to put it in the smallest rear cog for starters. I've tried this but for some reason I find it easier on the second or third smallest. Either way it doesn't make a huge difference. It's still a pain in the arris.
I find it way easier with the bike inverted, as it's easier to press down into the dropouts while navigating the disc between the pads, but apparently this is frowned upon by some. With the bike in a stand I can't push up hard enough because it just twists the clamp in the stand. On the bikes with a rack it's a little better as I can squeeze the rim and the rack between by finger and thumb. But those with no rack it's so flipping fiddly. Ironically the bikes with QR are by far the worst. I have to unscrew the feckers several mm to get the clearance which makes a mockery of the concept. Well I guess they do release quick but they certainly don't re-attach quick.
Least fiddly bike to change the rear wheel on is my Felt VR40 with TAs. Second hardest is my Giant hybrid with QRs and a rack. Hardest is my Orbea Gain ebike because in addition to the above the wheel is 2kg heaver and I have to twizzle the axle to the right orientation, and then while it's going in the flipping chain spins the axle 90%!
Any tips? I've seen loads of videos and they all seem to just magically go in by sleight of hand!
