Rear wheel is nearer NDS (non drive side) chainstay

morxy

Problem:
My rear wheel is correctly dished and true. It has a 700x28mm tyre on it. I mount it in my frame. The tyre is 4mm away from the DS chainstay, but only 2mm from the NDS chainstay

Desired outcome
Rear wheel should be equidistant from both DS and NDS chainstays: i.e. 3mm away from each. (Tight clearance, I know.)

How should I solve?
1. Use a Park Tool FFG-2 to ensure my rear dropouts are directly facing each other. Trouble is, FFG-2 costs £100
2. Insert a 2mm washer between the locknut and the cone on the NDS side of the axle, thereby pushing the rim away from the NDS chainstay.
3. Tighten each spoke that connects to the DS side of the hub, thus pulling the rim 1mm nearer the DS. Trouble is, wheel would then sit askew in other frames
4. Gently file the rear part of the DS dropout - the 10 o'clock region, if looking sideways on - making the DS side of the axle sit, say 0.2mm, behind the NDS side of the axle when clamped, thereby tilting the rim nearer the DS chainstay. Reckless idea probably!

What would you do?

ugo.santalucia

You could do nothing. There is no harm in a rear wheel which is not perfectly central. If it was the front, that would be a different matter, but the rear you won't even notice.
I certainly would not start messing with the frame

me-109

Do other wheels do the same thing in this frame?

morxy

ugo.santalucia said:

You could do nothing. There is no harm in a rear wheel which is not perfectly central.

Good point. I only asked because 2mm of clearance seems minimal. I'd like to run a 28mm tyre, but 25 is probably safer.

me-109 said:

Do other wheels do the same thing in this frame?

Yes. I have a new DA 9000 C24 rear wheel, fresh out the box. It's the same as my other (RS80) wheel. Both are equally true. Both sit 4mm from the DS chainstay and 2mm from the NDS chainstay.

Wheelspinner

morxy said:

Problem:
My rear wheel is correctly dished and true. It has a 700x28mm tyre on it. I mount it in my frame. The tyre is 4mm away from the DS chainstay, but only 2mm from the NDS chainstay

Desired outcome
Rear wheel should be equidistant from both DS and NDS chainstays: i.e. 3mm away from each. (Tight clearance, I know.)

How should I solve?
1. Use a Park Tool FFG-2 to ensure my rear dropouts are directly facing each other. Trouble is, FFG-2 costs £100
2. Insert a 2mm washer between the locknut and the cone on the NDS side of the axle, thereby pushing the rim away from the NDS chainstay.
3. Tighten each spoke that connects to the DS side of the hub, thus pulling the rim 1mm nearer the DS. Trouble is, wheel would then sit askew in other frames
4. Gently file the rear part of the DS dropout - the 10 o'clock region, if looking sideways on - making the DS side of the axle sit, say 0.2mm, behind the NDS side of the axle when clamped, thereby tilting the rim nearer the DS chainstay. Reckless idea probably!

What would you do?

If you have 4mm one side and 2 on the other, you only need a 1mm washer to even things up, not a 2? That would just shift the offset to the other side?

pilot_pete

Surely adding a washer isn’t necessarily going to even the gaps either side of the tyre up though? Depends on the frame design and material etc. Unless it is a traditional metal frame with identical chain stays how would you know where the ‘bend’ is going to take place? Many modern carbon frames have asymmetric chain stays.

Sounds like the frame was made with this offset either intentionally (can’t think why) or in error.

PP

The Rookie

Is the wheel 'square' in the frame? it could be its slightly twisted as opposed to side to side.
Try holding the wheel rim (at front) pushed towards the DS as you do up the QR. One end of the axle will only need to be about 0.2mm out in the dropout to twist the wheel to 1mm out at the rim.

morxy

Wheelspinner said:

If you have 4mm one side and 2 on the other, you only need a 1mm washer...

You're right. My bad!

Btw the frame is a Syncrony RS100, a cheap 6061 aluminium frame from the early 2000s. The seat and chainstays look perfectly symmetrical - both identically angled and thick. That seems to be the designer's intention anyway.

The Rookie said:

Try holding the wheel rim (at front) pushed towards the DS as you do up the QR. One end of the axle will only need to be about 0.2mm out in the dropout to twist the wheel to 1mm out at the rim.

Thanks. I'll try manipulating how the axle sits in the dropouts, ensure it's square... Then I'll try a 1mm washer. Lastly, I'll adjust spokes to bring the rim DS-ward 1mm.

...Or I'll go from 28 to 25mm tyres and gain space that way

ugo.santalucia

If you adjust the dish of the wheel, you make more damage than good. You'd have to relax the tension of the NDS even further, which means the wheel will be weak and spokes might break as a result. As I said earlier, the best course of action is to leave it alone and stop faffing with it.

stealth_rider1

Might be wrong but just to check....do you have a bike with asymmetric chainstays? Some frames with these have off centre dropout centres points compares to the frames centre point.

pinno

None of this really solves the problem if the OP wants to run fatter tyres.
Given 3mm either side of the tyre IF you could centre the wheel, isn't a lot of room.