New bike, faulty?

stewart.d.campbell
stewart.d.campbell Posts: 34
edited April 2011 in Family & kids cycling forum
Just bought a 16in wheel silverfox from argos for my 7 year old and upon getting it home have discovered that the rear wheel seems very stiff sounds gritty as well and i can see slight movement in the chain going over the rear sproket like the axle is bent.If you cycle the pedals backwards it is even stiffer, should it be stiff when new, think ill prob put it back.

Comments

  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    If the axle has cup and cone bearings maybe they're done up far too tight.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • stewart.d.campbell
    stewart.d.campbell Posts: 34
    just loostening the wheel to allow it to slide forward a bit has made it much looser.
  • stewart.d.campbell
    stewart.d.campbell Posts: 34
    going to post a couple of pics and hope someone can tell me if this is built right, there are three nuts on the axle outside the frame a narrow one a flanged nut and a capped nut and then on the inside there is what i imagine are the cones so should the narrow one be inside the frame, thanks.
    Image044.jpg
    Image045.jpg
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    Having two big nuts like that on the end of the axle looks odd to me.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
    Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
    Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!
  • baudman
    baudman Posts: 757
    Nuts probably for (evil) stablisers/training wheels.

    In any case... just bought? Straight back to the store, IMHO.
    Commute - MASI Souville3 | Road/CX - MASI Speciale CX | Family - 80s ugly | Utility - Cargobike
  • PeeDee
    PeeDee Posts: 88
    Hi,

    If it eased off when you moved the wheel then the chain was too tight. That would cause the grindingsounds and movement in the drivetrain as the chain goes past the tight spots.

    You should be able to push the chain up and down slightly in the centre, if it feels tight then you need to move the back wheel in a little. Try the chain in a few places as chains are not uniform and have tight sections and slacker sections.

    If its still stiff and noisy, then take it back to the shop. Bear in mind though, that an Argos kids bike isn't ever going to be a piece of precision engineering!

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