Apparently Saturday's mail was not put out until yesterday because when I looked in my box on a lark on my way to the hot tub yesterday afternoon there was my new axle! Last night I got ambitious and decided to at least start to install it along with the new chainring and chain. I got the old axle out with no problem. The issue was that since the threads are stripped on one side of the old axle I knew I could not screw that side's bearing cone off without the risk of stripping it too. My first attempt was to use the cones that came with the new axle. They have dust covers built onto them and after putting them on it felt like the dust covers would interfere with properly adjusting the bearing play so I went to Plan B. Plan B involved sawing the old axle in 2 so I could screw the cone off the good threads on the inside. I got out my hacksaw and started sawing away on my steps. The steel was pretty hard and soon killed the blade but I kept going and eventually go through, probably after waking up the entire neighborhood (it was about 9:45 by now).
The Old Axle Cut in 2 (Set up to Check Dropout Alignment):
Once I had both old cones it was the work of a few minutes to set up the bearings and tighten everything up. I checked the dropouts using the axle above and found what I already knew that they were out of whack pretty badly. The front of the dropouts measured about 4.75" inside and the rear was 5.00". The wheel is about 4.625" which left a gap of almost 3/8" where the wheel sits. The gap was too big and the flair made it very hard to get the wheel straight, especially with the old stripped axle which required 2 wrenches to tighten. I first took my large adjustable wrench to the dropouts to see of I cold bend them inward into a more parallel alignment. The are too fat and strong although if I laid the bike down and blocked up the high side and really leaned on it I might have bent them one side at a time. Instead I laid the bike on its side and took a brief shot at bending the rear triangle in. It also is very strong and springy so after a cursory attempt I gave up and put the wheel on as it was which was OK with the new axle and new nus with rotating washers but a bit troublesome.
I put on the new chainring and chain and adjusted the tension and went for a quick ride down the street 200 yards and back. It all felt good so I called it a night with the idea in mind to revisit it this morning.
Ready to Go Except for Chain Tension:
This morning after looking things over I took off the back wheel and first set the bearings a bit tighter then set about to see if I could adjust the frame. This time I was willing to lean in it more and made some progress. It is not perfect but much better and putting on and removing the wheel is much easier now. I also took my big wrench to one of the front brake caliper arms which was skewed inward at the front then reset the brake pads and all is well in that department.
Front and Rear of Dropouts after "Adjustment", Much Better!
Front Brake with Much Better Alignment:"
After checking to see that the chain and dropouts have enough adjustment to switch between 16 and 20 tooth rear cogs I removed the lock ring and fixed gear and put on the new 16 tooth freewheel Pure Fixie sent me. This gives me the option to change gearing if I desire and still have coasting ability. I am not ready to ride fixed gear, at least not for now.
Dual Freewheels:
Ready to Go:
Yes, the Differences are not Very Obvious:
Apparently Saturday's mail was not put out until yesterday because when I looked in my box on a lark on my way to the hot tub yesterday afternoon there was my new axle! Last night I got ambitious and decided to at least start to install it along with the new chainring and chain. I got the old axle out with no problem. The issue was that since the threads are stripped on one side of the old axle I knew I could not screw that side's bearing cone off without the risk of stripping it too. My first attempt was to use the cones that came with the new axle. They have dust covers built onto them and after putting them on it felt like the dust covers would interfere with properly adjusting the bearing play so I went to Plan B. Plan B involved sawing the old axle in 2 so I could screw the cone off the good threads on the inside. I got out my hacksaw and started sawing away on my steps. The steel was pretty hard and soon killed the blade but I kept going and eventually go through, probably after waking up the entire neighborhood (it was about 9:45 by now).
The Old Axle Cut in 2 (Set up to Check Dropout Alignment):
Once I had both old cones it was the work of a few minutes to set up the bearings and tighten everything up. I checked the dropouts using the axle above and found what I already knew that they were out of whack pretty badly. The front of the dropouts measured about 4.75" inside and the rear was 5.00". The wheel is about 4.625" which left a gap of almost 3/8" where the wheel sits. The gap was too big and the flair made it very hard to get the wheel straight, especially with the old stripped axle which required 2 wrenches to tighten. I first took my large adjustable wrench to the dropouts to see of I cold bend them inward into a more parallel alignment. The are too fat and strong although if I laid the bike down and blocked up the high side and really leaned on it I might have bent them one side at a time. Instead I laid the bike on its side and took a brief shot at bending the rear triangle in. It also is very strong and springy so after a cursory attempt I gave up and put the wheel on as it was which was OK with the new axle and new nus with rotating washers but a bit troublesome.
I put on the new chainring and chain and adjusted the tension and went for a quick ride down the street 200 yards and back. It all felt good so I called it a night with the idea in mind to revisit it this morning.
Ready to Go Except for Chain Tension:
This morning after looking things over I took off the back wheel and first set the bearings a bit tighter then set about to see if I could adjust the frame. This time I was willing to lean in it more and made some progress. It is not perfect but much better and putting on and removing the wheel is much easier now. I also took my big wrench to one of the front brake caliper arms which was skewed inward at the front then reset the brake pads and all is well in that department.
Front and Rear of Dropouts after "Adjustment", Much Better!
Front Brake with Much Better Alignment:"
After checking to see that the chain and dropouts have enough adjustment to switch between 16 and 20 tooth rear cogs I removed the lock ring and fixed gear and put on the new 16 tooth freewheel Pure Fixie sent me. This gives me the option to change gearing if I desire and still have coasting ability. I am not ready to ride fixed gear, at least not for now.
Dual Freewheels:
Ready to Go:
Yes, the Differences are not Very Obvious:
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