Road Bike Wheel Alignment

If your tire wobbles when your bike is in motion or if just a small section of your wheel hits a brake pad you will need to have your tire fixed by a professional at a bike shop.

Road bike wheel alignment. Elevate the bike spin the wheel and sight the gaps between the rotor and pads. The fork will need to be replaced. You may have to adapt these instructions for the caliper and cantilever brakes which were used on older bikes but the general principles are the same. Global cycling network 2 319 437 views.

When i spin it freely on the bike or when i spin it when the wheel is off if feels clunky like the axle is spinning into grooves or notches. Check for pad rotor rub. If its the same its a frame or dropout alignment problem. I m fairly new to bike repair aside from regular maintenance.

With your bike on the floor loosen the quick release lever or axle nut if no qr is present. It could be the wheel it could be a bent dropout or maybe just a bad wheel install in the dropouts. Apply downward pressure on the bike to ensure the frame and axle are in contact. It was when i had the off road tyres on that i noticed that the rear wheel was out of alignment.

Straighten a bike wheel with the simple gt method. For a bike wheel laterally out of true this is what you do. The most common wheel problem is a lateral or sideways bend. Lately i ve noticed by rear wheel has not been spinning properly it s a shimano 105 hub and axle.

Hang the bike up. Leave the wheel on the bike and the tire and tube inflated. If your wheel wobbles from side to side as it spins the wheel is warped. I discuss the various causes and and explain how to repair them.

If it is now closer to the left chainstay it the wheel. Rear wheel alignments for bikes can be tricky since it involves the tension of the spokes. It will need to be fixed by tightening selected spokes with a spoke wrench. Re tighten the quick release lever.

To rule out the wheel flit the wheel around the wrong way and insert in the dropouts. I realigned the rear wheel and checked the quick release and it seemed tight enough certainly as tight as i have had them on any other bike but the wheel still went out of alignment. If your bike has been in an accident and the fork has been bent you can t align the wheel. In a wheel with perfect alignment all the spokes have the exact tension.

You could also try another wheel. Straightening a bike wheel is more of an art than a science but it is a skill anyone can learn with enough practice. This type of problem can t be fixed by aligning the wheel with the frame. I show the steps a rear bike wheel might be off center or rub the insides of the chain stays of the frame.