rear wheel wont stay center

ChrisK1399

hi
so a quick story of my problem

>>>whenever i wash my bike, i take out the wheels for cleaning too, after cleaning the frame(everything what is on it), the wheels and dropout i place the wheels back in the frame, but unless i aling the axle in the same position i took them out, the wheel wont stay true to the brake calliper( 0.5 to 1 mm to one side)
>>>i am obsessed about brake centering and toeing on the rim so they are hitting the rim at the exact same time, when the wheel is in the right position
>>>wheels are both centered
>>> i have cup and cone axle on my road bike, alxe is tight and not bent, cant sort this problem out, same for the front wheel too...

whyamihere

How are you placing the wheel into the frame? Assuming QR and vertical dropouts, it's pretty easy to have them go in slightly off straight. My method for rectifying this is to place the bike on the floor, undo the skewer and place some force on the top of the saddle - This ensures that the axles are butted up to the frame.

ChrisK1399

thanks for the reply

this is the method im using for some time now, the axle scratched the dropouts, you cannot place your fingernail in the scratch, it is more like visual... OCD much for the brakes tho

photonic69

HI Chris,

I too suffer this problem (OCD on brake centering). It happens on my road bike and mountain bike. Mountain bike has disks so it is crucial that the wheel is centered to prevent pad rub.

I filed some notches into one of the flats on the locknut. If the notches are facing upwards in the drop-out (yes I know, Rule 49 etc and bike is upside down) then the wheel is perfectly centered. I turn bike upright, loosen QR and apply weight to the bike and tighten QR again. If I don't do this then the wheels (front or back) are not perfectly centered.

All I can think is that the faces of the locknut are not perfectly at right angles to the axle (manufacturing tolerances?)

ChrisK1399

well, i have to say that mounting the wheel on a floor carpet isnt the smartest idea( i was doing that ), the mechanic (i have visited the servive yesterday for a full revision) mounted the wheel a few times and so on,to show me how to correctly mount it
i have to say it was true to the callipers each time, same with the front


as for your case, the threads might have gotten a little bit flattened, we are talking 1/10 of a mm.

ChrisK1399

PhotoNic69 wrote:

All I can think is that the faces of the locknut are not perfectly at right angles to the axle (manufacturing tolerances?)

yes it might also be the case, since threaded axles are mass-produced