Bicycle Tutor

I have a Schwinn Sprint I am restoring (early 80's). I disassembled the front and rear bearings and cleaned and greased them. The rear wheel needed truing so I took it to my local shop (afraid to attempt on my own!). When I got it back, I reinstalled the wheel and I can't get it to center. I can center with the lower frame, but when I do the top is off by 3/4 inch or so.

This is my first attempt at disassembling a rear wheel so did I do something wrong or is it because the wheel was trued incorrectly?

   
   

One of a couple things probably happened:
1. You moved some of the axle spacers from the left side to the right side. Can't see the axle great in the picture, but from what I can see it looks ok. If you only took apart one side of the axle, there's really no way for this to happen.
2. When the shop trued the wheel, they messed up the "dish" meaning that the rim is no longer centered over the axle. Possible if they really weren't careful.
3. The frame is a little tweaked and someone previously re-dished the wheel to adjust for the fact. I've done this on older beat up bikes. The frame is off so you adjust the wheel to correct for the frame. If you put that wheel into another straight frame, it will then be off center. When the shop trued your wheel, they "corrected" the dish so now the frame tweak is revealed.
Fixes:
- If the shop is easy to get to, take the wheel back to the shop and ask them to check the dish. Preferably, take the frame with you so they can see what's happening.
- If you have another bike you can fit this wheel into, see if it centers in that frame or if it is still off. If it centers, it's probably the frame that's tweaked.
- Run a piece of string from one rear dropout on the frame, arond the head tube, to the other dropout. Then measure from the string to the seat tube. If it's different on either side, you know the frame's bent. It coudl still be bent if these measurements are even, but this will pick up most larger bends.
- Look at the gap between the freewheel and the frame. If it's begger than 1/4-1/2 inch or looks bigger than you remember before, you may have messed up the axle spacers. (Also if you noticed that the derailleur adjustments were off suddenly)
- Finally: learn how to true a wheel! It's really not hard and can be very satisfying. I recommend it
good luck

Thank you for the input Dave. I will go out tonight and see if my spacers are ok. It's too late to go to the shop tonight. When I figure out what's going on I will post back my results.
I've been really excited about working on my bike. I think about it at work! I even bought a set of basic tools and cone wrenches from Ebay so I could do the job right. When this ones done my kids have some projects lined up for me with their bikes!

Hi, I have a Jamis Komodo 1.0 and after I cleaned out the ball bearings inside the back hub, the skewer rod began to slip out of the rear “drop out” on the right side (where the chain is) as soon I ride my bike. After riding, the wheel is also not centered on the frame and rubs the frame. What might be causing the skewer rod to move out of the right rear “drop out”?

   
   
   
   
   

I don't see anything obvious in the photos. Any chance you just don't have your skewer tightened down enough? If the wheel is pretty well centered in the upper frame (seat stays) and is just rubbing at the bottom (chain stays), I would guess that is just from the skewer slipping and the wheel getting pulled over when you put force on the pedals.

Yes, I tightened the skewer rod very tight, its just slips anyway whenever I go over dirt or rocks. Thank you anyway Dave, I appreciate you trying to help.

Well, I found out the dish was not right on the rear wheel. The repair shop asked me if it had been hit but It never was. It has been in my Mom's garage for almost 20 years and was ok when I stored it.

It cost another ten bucks and I also replaced some missing bearings in the rear cone so it's still worth it.

This is a nostalgia project as well as a learning one. I am looking forward to some quality riding time!

By the way, I took the whole bike in this time and they filled the tires to correct pressure and the front one bulged and blew over night. The tires are 20 years old too! One more trip and some adjustments to the gears............Ride like the wind!

Below is a picture of old Silver still in process of restoration.