Gitane Mixte - rear wheel issues: is it the dropouts?

[Cataboo]

I have no idea - but I just pictured you gallivanting around europe now or on safari in Africa, so I was surprised to see you post.

[IvonaDestroi]

I have no idea - but I just pictured you gallivanting around europe now or on safari in Africa, so I was surprised to see you post.

LOL, still waitin on findin that job. On the upside I got unemployment again. I went to an interview for a hostess job at a brewery yesterday and there were 40 applicants ahead of me, really, I counted heads and there were 40 people interviewing for one position! I really don't like doing this whole unemployment thing, its driving me crazy!!!! Well, if my new man ever gets his army pension he promised he will take me himself. We will know in a month

[tulip]

LOL, still waitin on findin that job. On the upside I got unemployment again. I went to an interview for a hostess job at a brewery yesterday and there were 40 applicants ahead of me, really, I counted heads and there were 40 people interviewing for one position! I really don't like doing this whole unemployment thing, its driving me crazy!!!! Well, if my new man ever gets his army pension he promised he will take me himself. We will know in a month

Hey, ho, Ivana, my favorite punk-rock fashionchick! Can you post a picture of the bike and wheel? Maybe that will help us to picture it better.

Crazy about that hostess job!

As for the man, just remember...A Man Is Not A Financial Plan! Take care of your own jellybeans no matter what!

[DebW]

You can take the frame to a good bike shop or framebuilder and ask them to check the alignment. They should check that the dropout faces are parallel and in line, and that the stays are properly centered on the bottom bracket. There are standard tools to check this.

One thing you can check on your wheel. Take out the quick release skewer with the wheel in the bike and see how much axle protrudes into the dropout. The axle end should not be flush with or protrucing past the outer face of the dropout, but recessed inside it, yet long enough to be supported by the frame. If the axle were too long, then the quick release would not hold it in place and the wheel would slip as you ride and apply pressure to the pedals. Different frames can have different dropout thicknesses, and 70s bikes sometimes had a thick derailleur hanger on the derailleur that effectively made the dropout much thicker. If the wheel you just put on originally came from such a bike and the new bike has the derailleur hanger on the frame, or just has thinner dropouts, this could explain the problem, and the fix is easy. You'd either have to move both cones to change the axle spacing outside the lock nuts, or cut the axle shorter with a hacksaw.

[IvonaDestroi]

One thing you can check on your wheel. Take out the quick release skewer with the wheel in the bike and see how much axle protrudes into the dropout. The axle end should not be flush with or protrucing past the outer face of the dropout, but recessed inside it, yet long enough to be supported by the frame. If the axle were too long, then the quick release would not hold it in place and the wheel would slip as you ride and apply pressure to the pedals. Different frames can have different dropout thicknesses, and 70s bikes sometimes had a thick derailleur hanger on the derailleur that effectively made the dropout much thicker. If the wheel you just put on originally came from such a bike and the new bike has the derailleur hanger on the frame, or just has thinner dropouts, this could explain the problem, and the fix is easy. You'd either have to move both cones to change the axle spacing outside the lock nuts, or cut the axle shorter with a hacksaw.

Ok, so I took out the skewer and took some photos. Also both the schwinn that the wheel came off of and this bike have a 1/8" derailleur hanger.

Also, I measured the length from dropout to dropout straight line from derailleur hanger on both bikes, and for the schwinn I got 5 1/4" and on the Gitane 5.0". Of course I'm using a ruler and eyeballing whats straight... but i measured again counting the derailleur hangers which should each add 1/8 and they did so the numbers matched both times.

so the schwinn dropouts are 1/4" wider then the gitane ones from what I can tell.

I'm trying to picture what you meant by flush or portruding past the outer face, I'm not sure if this is looking right:

Left Side:






Right Side:



Is 1/4" difference enough to cause this problem? Do they look right on the pictures?

[IvonaDestroi]

O-M-G.

So I was returning the supposedly functioning wheel to its original bike when.... dink dink... my axle landed on the floor in two pieces!

I put it back together and put the bearings back in, then gave the wheel a ride just to see, and I didn't even notice a difference from before! Feels fine! Wonder how long that's been goin on for...

Do they have an emoticon for banging your head against the wall? I think I need one...

Didnt take a pic, but here is one that looks exactly like my break:



So now I need 2 new axles!!!! AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW, original question still pertains. It works fine pieced together on the schwinn so i dont think this particular break caused that problem on the gitane... maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. I give up for today. I need a beer...

[DebW]

Broken axles on freewheeled rear wheels are common because of the length of unsupported axle on the freehweel side. Even if this wheel seems fine to ride while broken (and they frequently do), it's not a good idea. Go buy 2 new axles. Take the old ones with you to the LBS to get the length right and try screwing the cones on the new axle. Axles come with 2 different threadings, and they are so close that you can turn the cones 3-4 revolutions on the wrong axle before they bind. Buy cones wrenches also if you want to do this job yourself.

Looking at your first picture of the L.H.S. above, I'd say the axle protrudes beyond the outside of the dropout face and is too long, yet in the 2nd picture it looks a bit recessed. The quick release doesn't work right unless the axle is recesses about 2 mm.