Bicycle Mechanics - Why won't my wheels spin fast?

Hello, I am a new member to BikeForums and a "newbie" to biking. I have recently taken up riding again after years of forgeting how fun it is. I recently rebuilt my MTB which is only a couple of years old and both wheels are quick release. When i spin them by hand they only give me 1-2 rotations. Did i overtighten the quick release or do they need lots of lubrication? Thanks for your help, this website looks great i'm glad to be a member.

Chad

The pressure of the QR should not effect the spin.
Did you re-pack the hubs and over-tighten the races?

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=105

The pressure of the QR should not effect the spin.
Did you re-pack the hubs and over-tighten the races?

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=105

Did you actually read the article? Look:

Hub Adjustment
Quick release hubs have hollow axles that flex slightly when the quick release is closed. Hub bearing adjustments must account for this extra pressure. When a quick release hub is not clamped tight in the frame, there should be a slight amount of play in the axle. This play disappears when the hub and wheel are clamped in the frame.

Who adjusts your hubs..?

The tiny effect from the QR isn't going to do that much. His cones are too tight, QR or not.

Stating the obvious here, but are your brakes rubbing? Especially if they are disc brakes.

I only took both wheels off the bike and removed the tire and tube from the rim and installed them back onto the bike. I didn't touch the hub or tighten anything.

[QUOTE=rmfnla]Did you actually read the article? [QUOTE]

Nope, I've never had a problem packing or adjusting the races.
I don't use QR -I use hex out axles and they are tightened to stupid PPSI tight (offroad rigid bike).
Doesn't affect the wheel spin one bit.

I know when you tighten the last nut on a race\bearing system it pushes the race in a little.
But the last nut tightened should stop any movement inward along the axle thread?

I dunno -maybe I have superwheels.
I learned about backing off the race a quarter turn...?? 27 years ago when I had to put new balls in my pedals.

Compared to Parktool, i'm a tool -so much for that. Listen to them.

I have no idea what that means



[QUOTE=rmfnla]Did you actually read the article? [QUOTE]

Nope, I've never had a problem packing or adjusting the races.
I don't use QR -I use hex out axles and they are tightened to stupid PPSI tight (offroad rigid bike).
Doesn't affect the wheel spin one bit.

I know when you tighten the last nut on a race\bearing system it pushes the race in a little.
But the last nut tightened should stop any movement inward along the axle thread?

I dunno -maybe I have superwheels.
I learned about backing off the race a quarter turn...?? 27 years ago when I had to put new balls in my pedals.

Compared to Parktool, i'm a tool -so much for that. Listen to them.

Stating the obvious here, but are your brakes rubbing? Especially if they are disc brakes.

The brakes rub just a touch, not enough to slow the wheel down. And no they are not disc brakes they are pad brakes. :cry:

The brakes rub just a touch, not enough to slow the wheel down. And no they are not disc brakes they are pad brakes. :cry:

Umm .....try adjusting the barrel on the levers until the pads don't touch and spin again.
The pads should NOT be rubbing the rim unless the lever is pulled.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=21

Umm .....try adjusting the barrel on the levers until the pads don't touch and spin again.
The pads should NOT be rubbing the rim unless the lever is pulled.

The dial looking thing by my brake lever on my handlebars? :D

I put a link in my previous post. The barrel -as it spins out -makes the calipers move closer to the wheel. Turning it toward the lever will relax the cable.

I have no idea what that means

Cones\races are what the ball bearings run in. If not cartridge bearing systems, they are maintained by replacement of ball bearings and fresh grease.
The 'trick' is that when you re-assemble the races\then nuts -the nuts compress the race a little.
So what feels good -smooth when only the race is threaded -ends up being rough after the nut is threaded on.
So you learn to back the race off slightly on the axle thread.

This is probably a bad explanation -Thank god for Parktool help!

I put a link in my previous post. The barrel -as it spins out -makes the calipers move closer to the wheel. Turning it toward the lever will relax the cable.

Awesome, Thanks Jeff. I missed the link in your previous post. I'll start with adjusting the brakes on both the front and the rear and i'll see if that will solve me dilemma!

Repeat your test with the QR barely tight enough to hold the wheel in place and you'll probably find it spins more easily. Check out Sheldon Brown's article on Cone Adjustments (http://sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html), specifically the QR-hub adjustment. I've found that typically you have to unscrew the cone about 1/16th of a turn from the no-play adjustment to account for the axle-compression from the QR.

I don't use QR -I use hex out axles and they are tightened to stupid PPSI tight (offroad rigid bike). Doesn't affect the wheel spin one bit.

Of course it doesn't, nuts only put pressure on the dropouts, whereas QR levers compress the entire hub.

Repeat your test with the QR barely tight enough to hold the wheel in place and you'll probably find it spins more easily. Check out Sheldon Brown's article on Cone Adjustments (http://sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html), specifically the QR-hub adjustment. I've found that typically you have to unscrew the cone about 1/16th of a turn from the no-play adjustment to account for the axle-compression from the QR.

If the pads rubbing is not the issue.

1/16? we have a mechanic in tha house!
-thinking how the races compress -when the first nut is stopped, it continues when more pressure is applied?
It locks, is it a deform of the steel or the threads moving back?

Think I'm going back 1/16 rear tomorrow? ;) Try it anyway, Thinking how the 2'd affects the 1'st, I guess it might still move foreward. :mad:

Of course it doesn't, nuts only put pressure on the dropouts, whereas QR levers compress the entire hub.

Can you explain more throughly?

Spun my front wheel on 10:36.

Less than 2 min.
Rear 1, I'll try backing the race tomorrow.

Can you explain more throughly?

Well, when you tighten the nuts, the axle is under tension only between the nut and the counternut or the cone, that is, in the dropouts. The hub, between the two cones, isn't affected. So whatever cone adjustment you did won't be affected whatsoever. On the other hand, a QR lever squeezes the dropouts together, pushing on the cones, compressing the entire hub, changing the cone adjustment a bit. The QR lever increases pressure on the outside of the cones, and with the metal elasticity of the axle/threads, the pressure on the balls increases slightly. What's why you need to leave some play when you adjust the bearings (like backing off 1/8th of a turn) with QR levers.

I only took both wheels off the bike and removed the tire and tube from the rim and installed them back onto the bike. I didn't touch the hub or tighten anything.

Do you know if they spun freely before you took them off the bike? Depending how the bike was put away and if the wheels had a good quality grease in the hubs, you may just have some grease that has hardened up a bit. If you spray some WD40 at the bearings and this seems to help the wheels spin, you should probably repack the hubs. (WD40 is not a great lubricant, if at all. It will help to breakdown the existing grease so it isn't like clay. Using to much can wash out the existing lube which whill require you to repack.)