Rear wheel digging into frame

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kingkong8247

Member
While riding I noticed the rear wheel is off center. Flip the bike over and loosen the quick release and I can tell that there is some play. Looks like the wheel has been digging into the frame making the mounts uneven. Instead of the wheel riding like this: | , it rolls like this: \
Pictures speak louder than words:
IMAG0472-1.jpg

IMAG0473.jpg

From being uneven the front part of the tire is hitting the frame and starting to gouge that out.
IMAG0475.jpg



Any ideas on how to alleviate this problem?
 
my solution is either warranty or buy new, unless you want to weld something in there to make the quick release smooth and straight against the frame.
 
Make sure the wheel is true, it might be "out of disc", I think that's the correct term.
 
i believe the term is "dish". Could be that or maybe the rear wheel axel is broken/bent? Or the rear triangle or dropouts/chainstays of your frame could be bent. Or it could just be your rear tire just doesnt have enough clearance and when the rear wheel flexes on turns, it rubs the frame. This is common with trying to run newer larger volume tires on older XC frames that were built before fatter tires were around.
 
Definitley stop riding until you get that checked out. Your causing serious damage to the frame. It could be as simple as something wrong with the wheel being out of true or the dish being off. Hopefully nothing is wrong with the frame.
 
I had it tuned up recently and only took it out on a trail once since then. Use it mostly commuting.

When it was tuned they trued the wheels and the rear wheel appears to spin without wobbling or anything. They also didn't mention anything about it so they either missed it or it started to happen after it was at the shop.

If I torque the hell out of the quick release it stays in the correct position but I don't want to ride with that over-torqued.
 
If it's not the dish or wheel being out of true, your original suspicion appears to be correct. i.e. that dropout looks pretty messed up from the photo. If that's the case, I can't really think of anything other than replacing the frame. Maybe a ghetto fix can be using some kind of steel plate (a washer perhaps?) or sanding it down, but those options don't really feel safe to me.
 
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soundz said:
i.e. that dropout looks pretty messed up from the photo. If that's the case, I can't really think of anything other than replacing the frame. Maybe a ghetto fix can be using some kind of steel plate (a washer perhaps?) or sanding it down, but those options don't really feel safe to me.
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100% with soundz. That dropout looks really bad, and it's doesn't take much for the wheel to run at the wrong angle and rub.
You said it just got tuned/trued....did you take the rear wheel off since then? If not, and not to throw anyone under the bus, I'd talk to the shop that did the work. If the wheel was never seated correctly in the dropout, what you have there would be the result. I've learned to be REALLY careful getting the hub seated square in the drop.

A quick google search didn't find me any obvious "dropout repair" kit or solutions aside from some welding or triangle replacement. Not great news...🙁
 
extremedave said:
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You said it just got tuned/trued....did you take the rear wheel off since then? If not, and not to throw anyone under the bus, I'd talk to the shop that did the work. If the wheel was never seated correctly in the dropout, what you have there would be the result. I've learned to be REALLY careful getting the hub seated square in the drop.
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Nope, haven't taken the wheel off until the other day when I took the pictures.

It's a Cannondale CAAD 4 aluminum frame.
 
I have had the same issue and it was a loose cone bearing that allowed the wheel to wobble slightly under load. It was enough to cause sporatic rubbing on the frame. I tightened the bearing and solved the problem.
 
The mangled area circled in yellow is a replaceable derailleur hanger. As long as the non-drive side is not similarly mangled, you may just need a new hanger. Something like this:

Cannondale%20A239X.jpg


IMAG0472-1.jpg
 
I looked earlier today to see if I could just get one of the replaceable derailleur hangers but that part actually isn't damaged. It's just to the side of the replaceable part.

So I brought it back to the bike shop to see what they thought. I told them no one mentioned it during the tune up and the guy said he probably wouldn't have even noticed it. They did say they are going to see what they can do to help. He said he's going to try a bolt on axle and hopefully that will be able to hold it in place well enough.
 
Take it to a shop and ask them to put a Frame Alignment Tool on it to see if the rear triangle is torqued at all.
Lenny
 
see if they can clean up that dropout face, as well. check for correct rear wheel dish and loose hub bearings, and consider running a narrower rear tire if you are running something large-ish now.

the thru-axle bolt will only solve the problem if the wheel was getting torqued out of position while pedaling due to a weak QR skewer.

keep an eye on that driveside chainstay in the future, looks like you lost a bunch of material.
 
kingkong8247 said:
Any ideas on how to alleviate this problem?
Click to expand...

My first post and it's about a bike that I used to own...I'd recognize that f3000 with the purple cable guide anywhere (is the dopers suck sticker still on there?).

Is that an actual gouge or just paint worn off? I ask because I owned that bike from 2003-2010 and the paint was worn from the chain stay when the cones on a wheel came loose (wheel went to heaven many years ago).

My last ride on that bike was 24 Hours of Allamuchy in 2007 on a 4 man team with Jim Vreeland. It then sat in my basement until I sold it in 2010.

I'd say check that the QR was seated all the way. That's from the Occam's Razor of bicycle maintenance.

-Jay
 
Jay,

Yup the sticker is still there haha. Pretty cool you noticed it.

The bad news is that it's an actual gouge.

Anyway the bike shop called and said the bike is ready. I didn't get to talk to them today but will hopefully pick it up tomorrow and see what they say. I hope I can save a frame that has some history to it.
 
Ok well I picked it up the other day and they said everything looks straight. When I asked the guy, again, what he thinks could have caused this to happen. He told me it was most likely the rear quick release was loose and riding on that caused the damage.

I didn't really think about it at the time but they were the last ones to touch the quick release when they did the tuneup. Now I have a damaged dropout and material missing in a section of the chain stay ultimately weakening the frame in that area.

Of course I have no proof, just they tuned it up and within a month it's damaged from what their mechanic says was a loose quick release.

So now do you guys think it's on me for not double checking their work and making sure everything was tight or on the bike shop? And should I just ride it and hope for the best or seek retribution from the shop?
 
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