Rear axle

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midlife

Guru
Easy, take the wheel off, plonk it in the ground and spin the axle. If it spins true then its straight.

It takes a shed load of force to bend a solid axle, did you park a Chieftain tank on it?

Shaun
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
Only time I ever saw an axle bent was when my father rode over a sewer grate with those lateral slots in it. Front wheel made it over, back wheel dropped in. Bent rear axle, bruised(severely) tail bone. Dad rebuilt the old 3 speed hub with a new axle. Quite involved, but we had a book with drawings to show us how. Over a few hundred bikes fettled, I've seen many a wobbly freewheel, but only 3 bent axles, and one broke outright.
 
Location
Loch side.
Chromoly steel axles don't bend. They crack or break. Take it off, seal the one end with chewing gum and immerse the axle in a glass of water whilst blowing into the other end. You'll see bubbles coming out the side. It is broken.
 

midlife

Guru
As mentioned, old freewheels precess to some degree when the wheel spins which is the likely cause of the op's observation.

Shaun
 
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