Bicycle Mechanics - Removing Rear wheel

HellO;

Does anyone have any hints on removing the rear wheel?

It appears that I have to remove the chain and let it hang.....and the rear derailleur hangs there as well....

Any tips?

Shift the chain onto the smallest cog.......makes wheel removal a bit easier. And yes, everything just 'hangs' there.... And when you say 'remove the chain', I hope you don't mean it literally...

Make sure you undo the brakes too if you have them.

Probably easier to turn the bike upside down so it balances like a tripod on the seat and handlebars (a cloth under the seat protects it, and watch out for any computers or other hardware on the handlebars).

Working on it upside down leaves both of your hands free to move the chain and derailleur and cogs into position. Also it helps if you need to shift to the smallest cog -- you just turn the cranks and make the shifts.

Upside down is really good for vertical dropouts, but also makes alignment of the rear wheel easier for horizontal dropouts. Plus, you don't have to worry about laying the bike on the ground while you work on the wheel. You can also check wheel wobble by sighting the rim against a brake block.

And don't forget to put your brakes back together again after you've finished.

Easy...

One more tip I got from the BF community- I had an aluminum bike, and once I was taking the rear wheel off, and I couldn't get the wheel back in- I tried for hours. As it turns out, Waldo and Mech (I believe) told me that with aluminum bikes, sometimes the chainstays move a little closer together when you take the wheel out, so you may have to use both hands to pull them apart as you drop the wheel back onto the bike. So if the wheel doesn't drop back in easily, that may be one solution for you to try.

Koffee

undo brakes
undo quick release
loosen by 5 or so turns
lift frame up slightly
the wheel should slip down out of the dropouts.
pull the derailuer back slightly
slide the chain off of the cassette.

Reverse to get it in.

No aluminum frame I have ever dealt with has sprung closer together without the wheel in the dropout. Maybe it was just yours?

Dunno.... Waldo worked for Specialized, and he said it sometimes happens with their bikes. It still sometimes happens, but at least now I know how to deal with the problem.

Hmm, what year was the bike?

I have an 02 Stumpjumper HT, and it's never done that to me. We deal Specialized and none have ever done it to me. I also have a 03 S-Works frame that fits a wheel fine, and an 03 Stumpy Pro frame that fits fine.

I wonder if it was an off-batch from the late 90's? I know the older Full Suspension's would slightly spring inwards (98-ish Rockhopper FSR's). But the new design eliminated the problem. Weird.

Weird indeed. It's a newer bike. I just bought it last year. It's the Specialized Sirrus A1 Sport.

The road bikes do have a slightly narrower rear triangle to aid stiffness. I thought you were talkin about a mountain bike, in which case, I haven't seen a mountain bike lately that has that problem.

I feel ya... no problems, dood.

Gotta get to bed- I'm beat!

Koff

Koffee, thanks for bringing up the subject of the rear triangle, that is interesting. The same is true of my alloy road bike. I had assumed it was just a manufacturing tolerance issue (it is a fairly low end bike), but from what you say, it is part of the design.

Cheers,

Ed

You shouldnt have to unscrew a quick-release skewer unless the dropouts are fitted with "lawer lips". These are more often found on the front, to prevent a loose wheel from falling out.
This may be an obvious one, but make sure you use the QR system properly. I see lots of people using them as screw-on bolts, rather than lever-operated cams.

Thanks guys...I'll give it a try!