Seat/Chainstay Misaligned

Dr.Millah

Working on an old frame and it seems the seatstay/chainstay on the left is misaligned with the seatstay/chainstay on the right. I noticed it when i put the rear wheel on and ive made sure its not the wheel that is at fault. ( the wheel is perfectly center between the chainstays)

But at the rear brake mount the wheel is around 1/8" to the left of centre

Any way i can fix this? The lack of symmetry is killer

Explosive_Cornflake

Is it that dropouts aren't perfect either side?
Filling down one side to meet the other maybe?
I assume the wheel bolts on?
Is it going to have a lack of gears?

Dr.Millah

Explosive_Cornflake wrote: »

Is it that dropouts aren't perfect either side?
Filling down one side to meet the other maybe?
I assume the wheel bolts on?
Is it going to have a lack of gears?

The dropouts are in ok condition i think the rear triangle is just a small bit out of whack.
Yea, wheel bolts are on. One side is pushed all the way into the dropout and the other side is a few mm forward to line the wheel with the chainstays. But the brake block is not centered over the wheel no matter what i do. The right side of the triangle seems to be a little lower than the left.

And yea, it will have a sufficient lack of gears. :cool:

Dr.Millah

I today tried benting with the dropouts bolted together and using a long bar as a lever with no luck at all. Didnt even make any difference that i can see and i was applying a lot of force.

Would a bikeshop have equiptment to re-align the rear triangle? Or if no is there any better method of getting it back in place?

I want to avoid filing until all else fails.

kona

from that picture the wheel is out of whack. The brake mount looks fine relative to the rest of the frame.

Dr.Millah

kona wrote: »

from that picture the wheel is out of whack. The brake mount looks fine relative to the rest of the frame.

I would never be that stupid . In the picture the frame is leaning a bit to the right which makes it look odd.

The wheel is brand new and i have tried 2 other wheels which are in perfect condition. Its just the left dropout is around 3mm lower than the right hand side, so when i bolt the wheel in it puts it off at an angle.

kona

Dr.Millah wrote: »

I would never be that stupid . In the picture the frame is leaning a bit to the right which makes it look odd.

The wheel is brand new and i have tried 2 other wheels which are in perfect condition. Its just the left dropout is around 3mm lower than the right hand side, so when i bolt the wheel in it puts it off at an angle.

not all axles have the same spacing though. You may have to add spacers on the axle to align it. I reckon thats what the problem is, I really doubt its the frame.

Dr.Millah

This might make it more clear.

kona

Dr.Millah wrote: »

This might make it more clear.

Can you move the L/H side of the wheel further down the drop out to-wards the front on the bike? or move the R/H further back?

Dr.Millah

Yea, the dropouts are horizontal so there is plenty play. I need to leave the left side 1/2mm in front of the right side to line up even between the chain stays. But no matter what i do the wheel will not line up in the seat stays due to one dropout being 2/3mm higher than the other.

Dr.Millah

Made a DIY alignment tool and its very clear that one dropout is higher than the other.

kona

Dr.Millah wrote: »

Yea, the dropouts are horizontal so there is plenty play. I need to leave the left side 1/2mm in front of the right side to line up even between the chain stays. But no matter what i do the wheel will not line up in the seat stays due to one dropout being 2/3mm higher than the other.

Ah right, ye its a bit of a predicament all right? sounds like it could have been in a crash or taken a serious whack.

Best thing would be to apply heat, but to get it all straight again will be impossible as the steel will have streched from the original hit, and from the heat.

Is it the left one thats sitting higher? or is it the right one sitting too low?

Best solution would be to forget about alignment between the chainstays, and try get it even on the seat stays. That way the brake will line up.

Could be a idea to check for cracks in the frame. 2-3mm is quite alot of strech for steel of a bikes thickness.

Dr.Millah

kona wrote: »

Is it the left one thats sitting higher? or is it the right one sitting too low?

Best solution would be to forget about alignment between the chainstays, and try get it even on the seat stays. That way the brake will line up.

Could be a idea to check for cracks in the frame. 2-3mm is quite alot of strech for steel of a bikes thickness.

Think its a little of both (one too high one too low). I have checked the rear triangle for any cracks but could not see any. I will strip the paint to be sure of this. Its a cheap 20year old road frame so maybe it was never properly aligned day one or something because it would have wanted to have been one HELL of a whack to knock it that far out.

No matter how much force i applied in each direction i got zero movement. (forces on triangle law springs to mind)

I might file 1 or 2 mill of the top of the dropout that is too low in an effort to raise the axle of the wheel, but im not too keen on this idea.

kona

Dr.Millah wrote: »

Think its a little of both (one too high one too low). I have checked the rear triangle for any cracks but could not see any. I will strip the paint to be sure of this. Its a cheap 20year old road frame so maybe it was never properly aligned day one or something because it would have wanted to have been one HELL of a whack to knock it that far out.

No matter how much force i applied in each direction i got zero movement. (forces on triangle law springs to mind)

I might file 1 or 2 mill of the top of the dropout that is too low in an effort to raise the axle of the wheel, but im not too keen on this idea.

Id heat the steel before trying to lever it, should make it softer, the best place would be at the lugs as it will be strongest here, to get 2-3mm is going to be a hassle.

IMO the frame is junk, id save the hassle and potential destruction of the frame and buy a new one. do you know anybody that can weld?

Dr.Millah

kona wrote: »

Id heat the steel before trying to lever it, should make it softer, the best place would be at the lugs as it will be strongest here, to get 2-3mm is going to be a hassle.

IMO the frame is junk, id save the hassle and potential destruction of the frame and buy a new one. do you know anybody that can weld?

I have big doubts in getting 2/3mm out of it as-well. Ba*tarding Frame!

kona

Dr.Millah wrote: »

I have big doubts in getting 2/3mm out of it as-well. Ba*tarding Frame!

Id say it will ride ****e anyways:( , to do it right its a new frame.