[Closed] wheel running off center

Any idea if your wheel was sitting centrally before? I'm going to guess it wasn't, as it sounds like it's just not dished properly - in which case you just need to tighten all the spokes on one side.

Like I said though, without seeing it, I'm guessing!

(Ignore the chump in Halfords, you want your axle sitting all the way up into your fork dropouts.)

EDIT - missed the bit about your mates wheel. Maybe you've bent something.

Photos of fork dropouts, and photo of the fork with your wheel in.

The QR should sit against the dropouts - not adjusted so that the wheel fits - it'll eventually move back into the correct position; i.e. against the base of the dropouts.

It could still be the wheel being out of dish possibly - and could be the same issue with your mate's wheel.

If you can upload some photos someone will be able to give you some advice.

Are you checking its the rim that's out not just the tyre?

Sounds like you've bent something.

Take the air out of the forks and see if they go to full travel and back without any binding or excessive stiction.

You can rule out the wheel for certain by taking it out and putting it back with the disc on the wrong side, if the wheel is at fault it will now be offset to the otherside.

ive let all the air out and they move freely with no rubbing/grinding noises some oild did come out with the air at first but i think thats cos i had the upside down befor that but once i let them stand for a min it stopped straight away

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You can rule out the wheel for certain by taking it out and putting it back with the disc on the wrong side, if the wheel is at fault it will now be offset to the otherside.

^^ This.

Hi yes ive done this previously and its the same with the wheel either way around exept the spokes touch the disc and mounts but it is the wrong way around so im sure thats normal?

could it just be a natural occurance of early 2002/2004 disc forks and modern 2011 wheels/hubs?
or something simple as powder coating on 1 side chiped away and not on the other?

It is very unlikely that you have managed to move the dish of the wheel without actually buckling it. So something is bent or broken.

First the to check is the hub. Take the wheel out and remove the quick release - if it doesn't come out easily you may find the hub axle is bent or broken. Keep the wheel still and rotate the axle, if one end goes up and down you have foun your bent bit! Try pulling both ends of the axle apart - it may be snapped??

Next up borrow a front wheel from anyone - stick it in your fork - is the wheel aligned or the same as yours? If it is the same as yours you have bent or broken the fork.

Those are the only things it is likely to be. Other than something (dirt/stone)between the axle and the drop out on one side.

Next up borrow a front wheel from anyone - stick it in your fork - is the wheel aligned or the same as yours? If it is the same as yours you have bent or broken the fork.

done this mates was same, thing is theres no obvious place where they have bent no cracks no buckles in the powder coating, the only way i can see is if 1 side has gone up and deformed the bridge that holds both sides of the lower forks together, and im certain there wasnt enough force to do this even with damper return on as the still compress but dont return when put under force until i again move the damper lever, maybe its just a factory defualt that no ones ever picked up on.
I may try filing the powder coating out of the otherside and see if its something simple like that..?

cos maybe the guys at decath did the same as the halfords fella to seat the wheel when the built the bike for me (hold wheel where it should be centered, then tighten) maybe its standard practice?

Sounds like there is something wrong with the fork. Taking a file to it is NOT a solution. Get a tape measure out. Is the amount of exposed stanchion the same on both sides? Have you bent a stanchion at the top so one irk leg is effectively behind the other.

Something is bent. Take it to a proper bike shop and get it checked outmproperly.

Not halfords and not decathlon!

any1 recomend a shop around here sk14 area, are the bottom halves easy to obtain if it has bent it, and easy enough to swap out?

How old is the bike? You've not had the wheel out since Decathlon built it?

I suppose you could assume the wheel was not seated in the dropout when they built the bike, and ask them to investigate?

spooky_b329 - Member

How old is the bike? You've not had the wheel out since Decathlon built it?

I suppose you could assume the wheel was not seated in the dropout when they built the bike, and ask them to investigate?

If I read this correctly....

thequeenscheese - Member

Next up borrow a front wheel from anyone - stick it in your fork - is the wheel aligned or the same as yours? If it is the same as yours you have bent or broken the fork.

done this mates was same,

By same I assume OP means that same as his wheel, eg offset, then it cant be the wheel. This can be confirmed by putting OP wheel in mates bike. What bike is that in the background? Can that be used to help isolate the fault?

How old is the bike? You've not had the wheel out since Decathlon built it?

Would marzocchi fork be considered low to mediun in rating/quality (pre the china move 2002-2004 these i think) and could possibly leave the factory like this?

I know [b][u][i]shortcut[/i][/u][/b] will tell me off now but filed a few mill off oneside and its pretty good now with just some tyre wobble wich i guess is just the tyre.. either they were either knackered now or this will work well, there is still maybe a mill of rim travel if something is held upto the rim then spin but for off the shelf stuff this is pretty average no? how is the balancing done by tightening spokes?

hard to tell from the pics, but from your description it sounds like the fork is bent.

does the lockout only lock one leg? If so and if it doesn't have a blow-off function for big hits, then maybe it's bent at the brace slightly during the impact.

Looks to me like the forks are twisted.

hard to tell from the pics, but from your description it sounds like the fork is bent.

does the lockout only lock one leg? If so and if it doesn't have a blow-off function for big hits, then maybe it's bent at the brace slightly during the impact.

as far as i can tell it doesnt ive got some pdf instructs can i upload them here?

Difficult to tell from the pics, but in the 2nd pic, looks like they are bent to me

If you can get hold of an engineers square, rest one edge against the stanchion with the bottom resting against the top of the lower and pointing towards the other lower. The other end on the engineers square should tock the top of the other lower at the same point (if you see what I mean). If it doesn't, then the forks are more than likely fubar'd

down this link to get the instructions it says 2006 but im sure mine are 2004...

Sorry for the hi-jack, but I'm having a similar problem. Took the tire off tonight, tried the wheel on both ways, seems to be out by about 5mm (i.e 2.5mm adjustment to center it). I serviced my hub a few days ago and there was no problem with the axle being bent, so I know the hub is fine. It's not buckled though, just totally off center....

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Difficult to tell from the pics, but in the 2nd pic, looks like they are bent to me

If you can get hold of an engineers square, rest one edge against the stanchion with the bottom resting against the top of the lower and pointing towards the other lower. The other end on the engineers square should tock the top of the other lower at the same point (if you see what I mean). If it doesn't, then the forks are more than likely fubar'd

yeah they almost still fine deffo only millimeters (well was before a took a couple of mill out of the notch where the wheel sits)lol seem fine now tubes move freely im certain thell be fine untill they break haha ..

whats the correct amount of air to put in them? in 13-14stone and had around 150lbs in is that about right?

What bike is that in the background? Can that be used to help isolate the fault?

its my old1 now the missussess tried that wheel but its v and wouldnt spin cos the spokes hit the caliper but the wheel was off the same when i fitted it, like a numpty i didnt try this 1 in the old bike, biut im certain its the forks just if and when they were bent/twisted from new/before i got them/by me, surley should take a little hammer and tbh it was more of a roll than downward forced landing and i doubt i even got 2ft of air..

somethings not right if the spokes are fouling the caliper. sounds like bent forks.

somethings not right if the spokes are fouling the caliper. sounds like bent forks.

their not unless the weheels the wrong way or from the other bike which is V brakes

I can't help thinking that filing the dropouts to 'fix' this is going to result in a future visit to A&E!

Thequeenscheese. - yes filing was stupid! I suggest new forks.

Other guy - that rebuilt a hub - I suggest you check you did it properly!! And that the bearings are fully seated and that you have the parts all in on the right sides - there is ofte. A difference between disk and non disk sides and I guess you got it wrong!! Swap them over!! And try a different wheel!

Shortcut, the wheel was off center before the hub was serviced.

I can't help thinking that filing the dropouts to 'fix' this is going to result in a future visit to A&E!

im only talkin 2mill if that most of it was powder coating, and like ive sadi for all i know they have been like this all along or as long as iv had them, and its the only fix i can see as i doubt theyd bend back such a short distance especially without stressing them even more.. and i dont have £200 at the min to replace

Can't see that filing a couple of mm out of the seat of the dropout is going to cause any catastrophic failure, as long as the quick release still clamps onto a flat surface.

Riding on bent forks...thats another matter 🙂

u cant tell there bent, and i only get out on it mostly at wkends or at most twice a week i will take it and get it checked over but im sure its fine..

Good bike shops near Hyde are northwest mountain bike centre in cheadle or evens cycles at the national cycling centre I work there and the mechanics are spot on

cheers i will nip in at some point cos i also think the hub/dish may well be out by half a mill or so if this isnt the norm for runof the mill products....
in fact ill try n come monday before im away on holl and it will be praying on my mind..

matt1986

How big of a job is it to swap the lowers out for new/new second hand good ones?
can it be done at home any special tools required ?

Been a while since I have had/worked on but is this not just cup and cone bearing set to far to one side of the axle. As I recall you used to be able to have more free axle on one side vs the other if you did not build correctly. If you have been filling out the drop outs then the forks are FUBAR'd now any way. The QR is only meant to stop the wheel coming out and not stop it moving fore and aft in the drop out

Been a while since I have had/worked on but is this not just cup and cone bearing set to far to one side of the axle. As I recall you used to be able to have more free axle on one side vs the other if you did not build correctly. If you have been filling out the drop outs then the forks are FUBAR'd now any way. The QR is only meant to stop the wheel coming out and not stop it moving fore and aft in the drop out

not sure about the wheel its as it turned up brand new, but i dont think there FUBAR'd from filing they are either knackered already or if its what ive done then i can easily do the otherside the same, and i know a top bike should be spot on to 100th of a mill but this aint they arnt gonna break, but i d think ive slightly donr the axle/hub as there is a little rimm wobblenow its seating centered......
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not sure about the wheel its as it turned up brand new, but i dont think there FUBAR'd from filing they are either knackered already or if its what ive done then i can easily do the otherside the same, and i know a top bike should be spot on to 100th of a mill but this aint they arnt gonna break, but i d think ive slightly donr the axle/hub as there is a little rimm wobblenow its seating centered......

to be honest the wheel not running centered is the least of your worries, if the brace does crack, the only thing holding them together is your QR.

For the sake of [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=597&SortBy=Price ]£100 for some Toras[/url], i personally would not risk it. A mate had a fork disintegrate just as he hit a tiny jump, ****ed his face up to the point where we didn't recognise him and cracked a vertebrae in his neck causing nerve damage

in which case i will repair them, how difficult of a job is it to do myself if i got hold of some good lowers?

1) Filing them is bad. You have altered that particular surface and it will likely now be more likely to crack from where you have filed it.

2) You still do not appear to have found out what the original problem is, you've just hidden it by some bodging. Whatever was wrong with them will still be wrong with them and likely to be slightly worse here

3) Many people have suggested things to do, but it's not clear whether you have done them or not. You seem to be obsessed with getting new lowers even though they may not be the issue

Why don't you take them into a decent bike shop to have them give them a once over?

thequeenscheese - Member

in which case i will repair them, how difficult of a job is it to do myself if i got hold of some good lowers?

it's an easy job, but you need the exact pair of lowers for that fork, and the right amount of oil, plus i think you might need a ground down socket to undo the footnuts

Is it worth taking the tyre of the wheel taking the wheel to a bikeshop and getting them checking the wheel dish? This would eliminate the wheel or prove it was the problem.

Taking the wheel out and putting it back in the wrong way round will show if it's a dishing problem.

True but it can be difficult to tell if the spokes hit the disk caliper and I would have thought if the forks were bent they would not move nicely.

Is it worth taking the tyre of the wheel taking the wheel to a bikeshop and getting them checking the wheel dish? This would eliminate the wheel or prove it was the problem.
Posted 1 day ago # Report-Post
Dibbs - Member

Taking the wheel out and putting it back in the wrong way round will show if it's a dishing problem.
Posted 1 day ago # Report-Post
Bruce - Member

True but it can be difficult to tell if the spokes hit the disk caliper and I would have thought if the forks were bent they would not move nicely.

Already done this and mentioned it in an earlier post, AND I PUT MY MATES WHEEL IN AND HIS WAS IN THE SMA PLACE SITTING TO THE RIGHT,
AND HIS WHEEL IS FINE IN HIS BIKE AND AS I HAVE SAID I WILL BE TAKING IT TO GET CHECKED WHEN I GET A MOMMENT TO DO SO.

1) Filing them is bad. You have altered that particular surface and it will likely now be more likely to crack from where you have filed it.

2) You still do not appear to have found out what the original problem is, you've just hidden it by some bodging. Whatever was wrong with them will still be wrong with them and likely to be slightly worse here

3) Many people have suggested things to do, but it's not clear whether you have done them or not. You seem to be obsessed with getting new lowers even though they may not be the issue

Why don't you take them into a decent bike shop to have them give them a once over?

I'll ;look into changing the lowers if i can find some but prob end up letting a shop doit, and theres no point swapping these for some cheap forks that will break even easier..

LOL good rant

theres no point swapping these for some cheap forks that will break even easier

No, you stick with your bent, filed down, 10 year old forks. Far less likely to break. 😯

No, you stick with your bent, filed down, 10 year old forks. Far less likely to break.

Ahh I se ud ratyher take to the road in a brand new robin reliant than a 1960's landrover with your kids and drive into a wall at high speed?...same principal

Yes, exactly the same principle. The old kids in a car crashing into a wall analogy.

Can't believe didn't I think of that.

I think uve missed the point - landrover tougher better stronger fixable - more expensive not CHEAP new and shiny.

You have bent your fork when crashing - put a sideways force thru it.

i wouldn't ride it again

thats upto you its fine for me..

Actually the car analogy is incorrect, the Euro NCAP ratings on new cars far exceed the safety standards used for older vehicles.

I think it was Top Gear or Fifth Gear than ran a fairly unscientific test of ramming an old Volvo estate (which were built like a brick poo-house) into a new base model Yaris.... the Crash test dummy in the Yaris was essential fine, but the dummy in the Volvo was a mess.

Anyway, could the powder coat on the inside of the other dropout have actually worn down enough to cause the wheel to be mis-aligned? be interesting if you can get some decent callipers and measure the difference.

If they are bent, I'd be inclined to bin them and buy some new ones - if you have a crash on them again like you did recently they *could* break, and you *could* end up in A&E with a bit of fork stuck in you, or a break and bruises.

It's all personal opinion - personally I wouldn't like to risk it, but I'm risk adverse. If you're happy to take the risk, then cool - I'm sure loads of folk have ridden wonky forks without any trouble too.

Actually the car analogy is incorrect, the Euro NCAP ratings on new cars far exceed the safety standards used for older vehicles.

I think it was Top Gear or Fifth Gear than ran a fairly unscientific test of ramming an old Volvo estate (which were built like a brick poo-house) into a new base model Yaris.... the Crash test dummy in the Yaris was essential fine, but the dummy in the Volvo was a mess.

for sure your right but i think with mtb forks you get what you pay for and if id have had those sudgested for £100 both i and they would be in a pretty worst state than we are now..., and i concur that lots of peeps most likely have oe do ride with less than perfect forks and or other parts of a bike for that matter, i do class myself as competent enough to judge wiether they beyond usalbe or not..

I do think the wheel also took a knock so this for sure ill get checked outand the forks if thier out are knackered ill just fix..

The £100 toras will be far better / stronger / safer that the ones you have that are bent.

Seriously if you have given them enough impact to bend them they are compromised for safety greatly

I think you guys are confusing bent with what ive actually done if they have gone im talking a couple of mill at the most, if these or any forks cant put up with sutch a small incident then they were not safe from the day they left the factory, get some metal/alloy whtever you fancy go and bend it be generous go for 1 hole cm see if it breaks...

peeps come on! stop telling me that they will kill me they wont, im not an office waller i work with my hands im a practical guy ive restored classic cars, i do all my own motor repairs, my pops was an engineer and mechanic i think i can tell if some basic engvineering and bearly (if any) bent forks are gonna kill me..

thequeenscheese

the point is its a cast part that will have been bent - bending castings weakens them considerably does it not.

Especially with a QR fork I simply would not trust them

yes of course it does doesnt mean they going to fall apart, there cast alloy not iron besides this i havnt said theyve not been affected my point was that thier either gonna be fine like this or they will knackered most rants have been about the 2mill of filing ive done which to this will cause a problem is ridiculous, im begging to get the impression that this generation is too easy to disguard instead of repair something that is perfectly usable, we arnt talking bent beyond all recognition, we're talking about fractions out and as ive said already o strongly believe they have always been like this before/when i purchased them reconditioned..

My dad was an electrical engineer on frigates in the RN but it that does not qualify me to know how ships work.

Teeth will cost more than new forks.

In your first post you say you crashed sideways and bent the wheel- My bet is you bent the fork as well then

a casting that has been bent will be weakened I would have thought

anyway - you asked for advice and have been given it. Your choice

seems pretty silly to be riding around on bent 10 year old forks tho for the sake of £100 ... not like they were top of the range even 10 years ago

no-one is going to stop you riding on them, but ****, i wouldn't. not a chance, especially QR. broken forks = broken face! 🙂

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all you need to do is crash in the opposite direction and theyll bend back to where they were 😀

I'm not entirely sure why I'm posting on this thread, I think it's cos I'm confused.

The way I see it: 1) Guy crashes, notices fault with wheel. 2) Guy asks for advice re. fault on forum. 3) Forumistas diagnose that fault does not lie with wheel or axle, ergo fault must lie with fork. 4) Forumistas that guy asked for advice, advise guy that said faulty fork is dangerous and should be replaced. 5) Guy rejects replacement advice and bodges repair.

Does this cover it?

OP-I understand that you're good with your hands and you and/or your father (I can't be bothered going back to check who at this stage) have a background in engineering, but please, listen to the advice.

You may believe wholeheartedly in your tried and trusted Zokes, even after the bodged repair, but none of us are trying to sell you anything here, we just don't want you to hurt yourself.

You can get a very very good set of forks that are better built and work better than your old bodged Zokes for a couple of hundred quid. Have a look at the SID's or Reba's on the buybikebits.co.uk website for instance. Whatever you do, stop riding structurally unsound kit.

pretty certain i aint bodged a repair cos according to you guys there is no repair only replacement - cant bodge something there isnt lol, but like ive said i will be getting them checkout 1 to absolutely determin the fault and 2 to makesure they aint gonna fall in half and end up like the guy in the pic, but even if there fubar all il do is swap the lowers for some more that are goodand may aswell do the seals etc in the proccess seems pointless "forking" out more than i need 2, they were brandnew refurbed when i got them and have only done 50miles at a push so ive had nothing like my money out of them and i think there actually 2006 not older so not quite the 10years old..

and all the advice has been 97% good my origional q&a's have been answered and for this i say thanks, but i personally dont think they are particualy as dangerous as some folks believe especially for the use they get from me, but for sure if i had a spare £300 at the min i would buy some new ones, (i would have bought some new ones to begin with not recons)..

not sure about the technical term for the top tubes but does any1 know if these have varied in size over the years, ie does it matter if i pickup a 2002-2008 set of lowers?

thequeenscheese - Member

I think uve missed the point - landrover tougher better stronger fixable - more expensive not CHEAP new and shiny.

Aye, this makes total sense. Except you've already broken your old forks so apparently they're not that strong. And what's been suggested as a replacement is a set of Toras, which are tough as old boots.

ah sorry to all there i did miss the point that the tora being refered to are rockshock tora i sorta picked up on tora being a pants brandname, but i dont want those because i want air sus as theses are and if i can fix these for £60 quid or so (dunno maybe thats cheap) then id rather do that id say these were also pretty decent for the high mid range price they would have comanded when they were new as second hand and recons still do...

Don't forget - you don't know what is broken on your forks. Uppers of lowers - much easier to just replace the whole lot.

New forks from a major manufacturer will be better than a mediocre pair of 10 year old Marzochi's. You could get some second hand ones off the sales or wants on here!

Under the Forks tab at this website; http://www.marzocchi.com/Template/detailHomepage.asp?LN=UK&idC=1592&IdFolder=122 is a link entitled "forks by model year". You will potentially find your forks there but there may well be issues.

Marzocchi (and all other fork co's.) make alot of forks that are OEM (original equipment),that means that they are slightly different in spec & styling so identifying yours may not be easy. Get in touch with Windwave on 0239 252 1912 for more help.

Replacement stanchions/crowns/lowers are damned expensive even for old forks, I had a set of 2006 Marzocchi Bombers that need new stanchions and was quoted £150 iirc, the forks were worth about £50 at the time.

BTW, technical term for bits of a fork from the top down, sorry in advance for patronising:
Long single tube your stem attaches to=Steerer
Bit that sits at bottom of steerer and connects steerer to forks legs=Crown
2 Bits that stick out of bottom of crown and don't move=Stanchions
The three parts above are often collectively known as the CSU=Crown Steerer Unit and these days are usually replaced as one part.
2 Bits that slide up and down on stanchions=Fork Legs or Lowers

sorry in advance for patronising:

or up to and terms tut typos..

Okay, my turn:

1. Is if definitely the forks? Have you tried a known good wheel or the wheel in a known good fork? The photos aren/t much good as you need to take them square on with a reference point.

2. If the fork have you tried tweaking it a bit - if you identify the misalignment then take each leg in a hand and try and tweak it. Not ideal and I accept no responsibility if it breaks doing it or when riding. Although if it breaks when doing this then you definitely didn't want to ride them.

3. I wouldn't want to file down the drop outs. I've seen a bit of your rant but I really wouldn't want to file down drop outs. There is a lot of force on drop outs when you hit the brakes amongst other things.

take the paint off by all means (I assume you mean the inside of the hole) but if still not enough then maybe add a small layer of nail varnish or epoxy to the other side. But not too much and make sure the QR still fits nicely in the counterbore on the outside.

3. I wouldn't want to file down the drop outs. I've seen a bit of your rant but I really wouldn't want to file down drop outs. There is a lot of force on drop outs when you hit the brakes amongst other things.

take the paint off by all means (I assume you mean the inside of the hole) but if still not enough then maybe add a small layer of nail varnish or epoxy to the other side. But not too much and make sure the QR still fits nicely in the counterbore on the outside.

ahh maybe i didnt make myself clear when i mention id filed the dropout, i havnt made the drop our widerf, ive only made it deeper-thus the slot is now 2mill longer so the axle mounting point still fits snugg as do the qr nuts and the wheel now sits centeral but the wheel has a 1mill wobble so either i need to take a little more-the forks are trashed entirely-or the wheel took a knock aswell, so when i get back from italy next wk i will nip them somewhere (prob the national center as sudgested earlier) just to be sure...

thequeenscheese - Member

thats upto you its fine for me..

Sorry but this is thread closed. You have asked for advice which has been given but you chose, which is your right, to ignore it. I would ask though if you were going to ignore it why ask for the advice in the first place.

Sorry but this is thread closed. You have asked for advice which has been given but you chose, which is your right, to ignore it. I would ask though if you were going to ignore it why ask for the advice in the first place.

i think ull find that mostly the advice given is opinion not educated advice,are you and these posters Metallurgical Engineers, Fabricators, make marzocchi forks for a living? Has any of the posters had a set of forks break on them? ifso please make it known.
I have accepted all the advice and taken it onboard but dont get in a huff if i decide for my own reasons not to take your advice, is the thread closed no you have kept it alive by replying with your non comment, and if you read the thread some posters are in agreement with me, niether do i recall asking if riding the forks was an issue i asked what could cause the problem i had.