12
Installing Wheels in a Frame

Alignment

Whenever you use a wheel to check alignment, make sure that the hub is adjusted to have practically no play, or you won’t be able to judge the alignment.

First, be sure the wheel is properly aligned. On front wheels, the notches in the fork end must be resting on the axle ends. Hold the bike upright by the handlebars and push the bike down over the axle. With a nutted axle, hold it down and tighten one nut. Then push the top of the wheel toward the tightened side as you tighten the other nut. With a quick-release axle, keep weight on the handlebars as you clamp the quick release.

On rear axles, install the hub loosely in the dropout fork ends. Then grip the tire at the chainstays with your left hand, pushing the wheel backward against the derailleur mounting clip but holding the tire centered between the chainstays. While holding it in this position, tighten the nuts or clamp the quick release. If you have properly adjusted the rear-axle positioning screws, a derailleur clip, and the matching adjusting clip, or have properly aligned the dropouts (see chapter 19), you merely push the wheel back against the stops.

With nonderailleur nutted-axle bicycles, hold the wheel in the same way and tighten the chain-side nut. Then check the chain tension as you rotate the pedals. If it is too tight or too loose, “walk” the axle forward or backward by loosening only one side at a time and wobbling the wheel to make the untightened end move. The chain should have minimum perceptible looseness. Then tighten the chain-side nut and loosen the other side to realign the wheel in the new position.

Proper Clamping

The second necessity is to have the wheels clamped firmly in the fork ends so that they won’t shift or come off while riding. Make regular inspections to ensure that this is the case.

Nutted Axles

With a wrench, apply the proper tightening force to each axle nut in turn. If the nut doesn’t turn, it was tight and it still is. If it turns, it was loose and is now tight.

Adjusting and Testing Quick Releases

Each time you install a quick-release wheel, check the clamping force. The lever must require considerable force to clamp, but it must move all the way parallel to the frame to remain clamped. If the quick release is not so adjusted, unclamp it and turn the adjusting nut at the other end. Tighten it if there was insufficient clamping force; loosen it if you couldn’t move the lever all the way over. Then reclamp the wheel, testing it for adequate force and correct final position. Generally, the adjustment is correct when you feel the clamping force begin when the lever is about ⅔ of the way from full open to full closed. Readjust the nut until this level is achieved. Whenever you reclamp a quick-release hub, always mentally check that the lever requires adequate force and ends up in the correct position.