front wheel? is this a good enough fit?

stpboy

iv just got my new wheel i tried to fit it but it woudnt go in so i took out these 2 bolts and now it fits


this is how the axle sits, obvoiusly it will go in more when i tighten the wheel but is this enough axle?




and this is how the bolt sits up to the forks


any help will be much appreciated

RevellRider

No, that is wrong. Those locknuts prevent your wheel bearings from loose

Monty Dog

By removing the outer locknuts, the axle cones are free to unwind themselves so expect to have to readjust your hub bearings frequently. Riding with loose cones will result in knackering your bearings and probably the hub.

nicklouse

as above. put them back and re lock them on the cones.

Shackster

nicklouse wrote:

as above. put them back and re lock them on the cones.

Being careful of course to properly adjust the cones before you tighten the locknuts so the axle turns freely with minimal play. You need to use two spanners at once, one to hold the cone and one to tighten the locknut against it. If you don't know what all this means take it back to the shop before you knacker the wheel you've just bought and which clearly doesn't fit between your fork dropouts!!!

PashleyRider

Suprised nobody has pointed out the missing foot bolt from the forks too!

stpboy

cheers for the help guys. is there a thinner lock nut i can get? Pashley i didnt know what that bolt was and tried to undo it and it snapped, was it important?

RevellRider

There aren't usually thinner lock nuts and a mountain bike has a standard width for it's axle. I'd check that the forks aren't bent in some way.

The bolt that has snapped in your forks holds the lower legs on.

stpboy

my old wheel fitted no problem, this new wheel seems strange because hardly any axle will be showing once iv put those locking nuts back on. The forks have been through a lot since that bolts snapped so im not too worried about it atm

nicklouse

often only 4mm or less visible. the distance between the nuts should be 100mm as should the distance between the fork drop outs.

The Rookie

stpboy wrote:

cheers for the help guys. is there a thinner lock nut i can get? Pashley i didnt know what that bolt was and tried to undo it and it snapped, was it important?

Yes it holds your forks together, they are now dangerous as the end of the lower can and probably will pull out the lower, best case it will be rattling around causing extra damage, worst than that is the forks could jam or even come apart if the other bolt can't take the load 2 are meant to take.

Strip forks, try and remove stub, reassemble with new bolt - or just get new forks.

While I very much support DIY bike maintenance - STEP AWAY FROM THE TOOLBOX, PUT THE TOOLS DOWN, PUT YOUR HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEAD - before you hurt yourself, please please please, ask first act afterwards. Calling the lock nuts bolts is rather worrying!

stpboy

i took out the spacer between the cones and the locking nut thats gave me a extra 2-4mm so now it fits, will it be ok without the spacer? And i guess ill have to try rebuild the forks or something

ilovedirt

stpboy wrote:

i didnt know what that bolt was and tried to undo it

excellent

nicklouse

stpboy wrote:

i took out the spacer between the cones and the locking nut thats gave me a extra 2-4mm so now it fits, will it be ok without the spacer? And i guess ill have to try rebuild the forks or something

if the hub is now 100mm then yes. if it is 99mm then NO put it back.

mrmonkfinger

The Beginner wrote:

Yes it holds your forks together

QFT...

supersonic

This is a death trap. Measure the over locknut distance of the hub.

And out the bolt back in the fork!

dv69

stpboy wrote:

any help will be much appreciated

I can't tell from your picture if there are flats of an allen bolt visible in the hole. Does the bottom of the fork look like this with a recessed hex socket?



Some forks have a recessed bolt on one leg and you may have just broken off an adjustment (rebound?) knob. That may be the reason your forks haven't fallen apart. Take a look at this service video:
http://www.rst.com.tw/ct/techsupport/techsupport.jsp?f=TF1263606687110&s=2

Don't use the forks if there isn't a bolt!

stpboy wrote:

i took out the spacer between the cones and the locking nut thats gave me a extra 2-4mm so now it fits, will it be ok without the spacer?

Have you tried measuring the length of the axle on your original hub? If you don't have calipers you could just push the skewer through the axle and mark on the skewer where the ends of the axle are then measure with a ruler. Check to see if the old axle is the same size as the new one. Do you know the part numbers of the old and new hub?

stpboy

i dont have the old wheel anymore unfortunatly, but i tried my hybrids wheel and that fitted fine so i took the axles out of both wheels and measured and there both the same, put it back together minus those spacer things and it fits in. I took the bolt out on the other side of the forks and that came out ok, but the snapped side needs to be drilled out. Thanks for the info on the service btw

The Rookie

Those spacer things are LOCKNUTS, without them the cones will rotate and either tighten the bearings or loosen them, either is not acceptable.

mrmonkfinger

stpboy wrote:

spacer between the cones and the locking nut

The Rookie

Argh OK, no mention of spacers in the first post at all.....but as the nuts were called bolts I was perhaops over pesimistic.