Rear Wheel rubs chainstay

[Kalukis]

I'm had a recurring problem with my rear wheel on a bike I got used last
fall (Jans Schneider steel frame road bike). It tends to end up crooked to
the left and rubbing the tire against the left chainstay. I've tightened
the rear quick release--some people have suggest that it is too tight and
may bind the wheel bearings.

After looking at rear dropouts, I wonder if they are not straight. Would
crooked dropouts cause this type of problem?

Thanks,
Kalukis

[Paul Southworth]

In article >,
Kalukis > wrote:
>I'm had a recurring problem with my rear wheel on a bike I got used last
>fall (Jans Schneider steel frame road bike). It tends to end up crooked to
>the left and rubbing the tire against the left chainstay. I've tightened
>the rear quick release--some people have suggest that it is too tight and
>may bind the wheel bearings.
>
>After looking at rear dropouts, I wonder if they are not straight. Would
>crooked dropouts cause this type of problem?

Perhaps, but a more likely cause is the axle protruding too far past the
lock nut on one side or the other.

--Paul

[Phil Holman]

"Paul Southworth" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> Kalukis > wrote:
> >I'm had a recurring problem with my rear wheel on a bike I got used
last
> >fall (Jans Schneider steel frame road bike). It tends to end up
crooked to
> >the left and rubbing the tire against the left chainstay. I've
tightened
> >the rear quick release--some people have suggest that it is too tight
and
> >may bind the wheel bearings.
> >
> >After looking at rear dropouts, I wonder if they are not straight.
Would
> >crooked dropouts cause this type of problem?
>
> Perhaps, but a more likely cause is the axle protruding too far past
the
> lock nut on one side or the other.

Yes that's one cause. Another is a broken axle.

Phil Holman

[Kalukis]

What I forgot to mention is that this has been happening on several wheels
(with different axles) on the bike.

The latest wheel was professionally built and is brand new, so I think we
can rule out the broken axle theory. I'll look and see about the axle
protrusion, but seems unlikely, given that this has happened with several
wheels.



"Phil Holman" > wrote in message
ink.net...
>
> "Paul Southworth" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >,
> > Kalukis > wrote:
> > >I'm had a recurring problem with my rear wheel on a bike I got used
> last
> > >fall (Jans Schneider steel frame road bike). It tends to end up
> crooked to
> > >the left and rubbing the tire against the left chainstay. I've
> tightened
> > >the rear quick release--some people have suggest that it is too tight
> and
> > >may bind the wheel bearings.
> > >
> > >After looking at rear dropouts, I wonder if they are not straight.
> Would
> > >crooked dropouts cause this type of problem?
> >
> > Perhaps, but a more likely cause is the axle protruding too far past
> the
> > lock nut on one side or the other.
>
> Yes that's one cause. Another is a broken axle.
>
> Phil Holman
>
>

[Werehatrack]

On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 22:41:09 GMT, "Kalukis" > may
have said:

>I'm had a recurring problem with my rear wheel on a bike I got used last
>fall (Jans Schneider steel frame road bike). It tends to end up crooked to
>the left and rubbing the tire against the left chainstay. I've tightened
>the rear quick release--some people have suggest that it is too tight and
>may bind the wheel bearings.
>
>After looking at rear dropouts, I wonder if they are not straight. Would
>crooked dropouts cause this type of problem?

Possibly, but if you aligned and properly locked the wheel in
position, and it actually shifted, there should be scarred paint to
show where it moved whether the dropout is bent or not. On the other
hand, if the axle's badly off center, the QR may not clamp both sides
equally, and the wheel can shift, possibly without scraping the paint
off. (This is unlikely to be the cause of your problem if there's been
no rear hub work done recently.) Or the axle may be broken. Or there
may be a bad bearing in there that is getting progressively worse and
allowing the wheel to appear to shift. (Another poster here recently
found this to be his problem in a superficially similar instance.)

Check everything before buying anything. And wait to see what other
suggestions come up before deciding what to do.

--
My email address is antispammed;
pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.

[Werehatrack]

On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 03:22:29 GMT, "Kalukis" > may
have said:

>What I forgot to mention is that this has been happening on several wheels
>(with different axles) on the bike.
>
>The latest wheel was professionally built and is brand new, so I think we
>can rule out the broken axle theory. I'll look and see about the axle
>protrusion, but seems unlikely, given that this has happened with several
>wheels.

Check the joints on the dropouts as well. You might have a loose one.
This would most likely be something that will require a trip to the
lbs to get fixed. (The probability of this being the problem is, in
my estimation, extremely low, however...but it's still something to
check.)

--
My email address is antispammed;
pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
it's also possible that I'm busy.

[[email protected]]

Kalukis Mottley writes:

> I'm had a recurring problem with my rear wheel on a bike I got used
> last fall (Jans Schneider steel frame road bike). It tends to end
> up crooked to the left and rubbing the tire against the left
> chainstay. I've tightened the rear quick release--some people have
> suggest that it is too tight and may bind the wheel bearings.

I don't know how tight you make your QR or how you close it. A QR
skewer should be screwed in to a point that the lever can be closed
into the clamped position with a perceptible "over-center" response.
That is, the lever, when rotated from the loose position to the tight
one (180 degrees), passes over ha high point and falls into a position
that requires force to open it again. Excessive force will crack the
QR head.

Whether the axle protrusion is too great or the closure force is
inadequate, the result is the same, the right side of the axle moves
forward from the pull of the chain. This can arise from dropouts that
are too thin, which makes the axle extension too large on a wheel that
otherwise works in other frames. It can be that the QR is aluminum
and cannot clamp tightly enough. If the jam nuts on the axle are not
knurled (serrated) they may have insufficient bite on a hard chromed
dropout. In any case, the QR is not clamping the axle sufficiently.

> After looking at rear dropouts, I wonder if they are not straight.
> Would crooked dropouts cause this type of problem?

That makes no difference. If the wheel is installed in the correct
position it should stay there regardless of slight misalignment of the
dropouts. Such misalignment may lead to axle failure because it puts
a constant stress on the axle on which riding loads are overlayed, and
it can cause dropout cracking. But these are not related to your
current problem.

Jobst Brandt

Palo Alto CA

[matabala]

Have had a similar problem, turns out the rear stays aren't exactly the same
length. Seems to have been a manufacturing error. Something to be on the
lookout for, even in "respected" frame builders.

> wrote in message
...
> Kalukis Mottley writes:
>
> > I'm had a recurring problem with my rear wheel on a bike I got used
> > last fall (Jans Schneider steel frame road bike). It tends to end
> > up crooked to the left and rubbing the tire against the left
> > chainstay. I've tightened the rear quick release--some people have
> > suggest that it is too tight and may bind the wheel bearings.
>
> I don't know how tight you make your QR or how you close it. A QR
> skewer should be screwed in to a point that the lever can be closed
> into the clamped position with a perceptible "over-center" response.
> That is, the lever, when rotated from the loose position to the tight
> one (180 degrees), passes over ha high point and falls into a position
> that requires force to open it again. Excessive force will crack the
> QR head.
>
> Whether the axle protrusion is too great or the closure force is
> inadequate, the result is the same, the right side of the axle moves
> forward from the pull of the chain. This can arise from dropouts that
> are too thin, which makes the axle extension too large on a wheel that
> otherwise works in other frames. It can be that the QR is aluminum
> and cannot clamp tightly enough. If the jam nuts on the axle are not
> knurled (serrated) they may have insufficient bite on a hard chromed
> dropout. In any case, the QR is not clamping the axle sufficiently.
>
> > After looking at rear dropouts, I wonder if they are not straight.
> > Would crooked dropouts cause this type of problem?
>
> That makes no difference. If the wheel is installed in the correct
> position it should stay there regardless of slight misalignment of the
> dropouts. Such misalignment may lead to axle failure because it puts
> a constant stress on the axle on which riding loads are overlayed, and
> it can cause dropout cracking. But these are not related to your
> current problem.
>
> Jobst Brandt
>
> Palo Alto CA