Rear wheel stay gap.

plowmar
plowmar Posts: 1,032
edited March 2011 in Workshop
I have just switched wheels between my bikes and have noticed that on one the gap between the rear wheel and the stays is greater on one side than the other. (The wheel change may be coincidental as I hadn't noticed it before.)

I have released the Q R and the wheel can be moved into a more central position but as it is re tightened it moves slightly to the left looking from the rear - away from the cassette side. There is no wheel binding on the stay and it appears to run freely.

Do I have a problem - major or minor - and what can I do to remedy it?.

Comments

  • nicklouse
    nicklouse Posts: 50,675
    the tyre is not central between the stays?

    is it central on the other bike?

    if it is not central on both bikes it need redishing and tensioning.
    "Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
    Parktools :?:SheldonBrown
  • Berk Bonebonce
    Berk Bonebonce Posts: 1,245
    If you get a perfectly dished rear wheel, ie. the rim is in a perfectly central position in respect of the hub, and put it in a frame ... it does not necessarily mean that the frame is out/misaligned if the rim does not sit centrally between the chainstays/seatstays. In the case of vertical dropouts, it is sometimes the case that if they are ever so slightly misaligned it can have a magnified effect through the wheel.

    If it were me I would take wheel in bike to LBS and have them tweak the wheel ever so slightly so that the rim is re-aligned into a perfectly central position in respect of the chainstays/seatstays. Do not let anyone tell you that the frame is defective.
  • mrdsgs
    mrdsgs Posts: 337
    to check that it is a dishing issue rather than a bent frame, put the rear wheel in with the cassette on the left hand side. tighten qr skewer, if the larger gap is now on the other side, it is a badly dished rear wheel, if the larger gap is still on the same side, the wheel is fine but the frame is bent!
    Colnago Addict!
  • plowmar
    plowmar Posts: 1,032
    Thanks mrdsgs that sounds logical.

    The wheel is a brand new RS80, fitted by LBS, would this be a typical fault and would any damage be done by riding the bike?

    Berk Bonebonce haven't had any accidents with the bike. Can you 'bend' a carbon frame?
  • Berk Bonebonce
    Berk Bonebonce Posts: 1,245
    plowmar wrote:
    Berk Bonebonce haven't had any accidents with the bike. Can you 'bend' a carbon frame?

    You can't bend carbon, as you know. But my point was that with frames with vertical dropouts a tiny mis-alignment in the dropouts will be magnified and seen as a misaligned wheel.

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