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-   -   Spindle doesn't fit in forks (https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/582906-spindle-doesnt-fit-forks.html)

stinkwheel 09-08-09 06:05 PM

Spindle doesn't fit in forks
 
My new wheel spindle doesn't fit into the recess in the forks by a tiny margin (it would probably go with a light tap with a mallet but this would damage the threads). The threads on the spindle are 0.5mm (0.02") wider than the recess.

I see three possible solutions (short of a new spindle):
1) Burr out the recess in the forks slightly.

2) Machine a slight flat on the spindle then run a die along it to clean up the threads.

3) Get my mate to turn the top 0.25mm off the threads on his lathe.

I'm inclined to burr out the forks but am open to oppinions.

JanMM 09-08-09 06:36 PM

Is this wheel or hub different in a major way from the original?

solid axle or quick release?

Aaron Burr?

sunburst 09-08-09 06:49 PM

I have this situation with an inexpensive fixie wheelset, Alex rims, no-name hubs. I took a file to the inside of the fork ends.

Grand Bois 09-08-09 07:29 PM

Why do so many people say forks when talking about one fork? Do they think that each leg is a fork?

DieselDan 09-08-09 07:37 PM


Originally Posted by Dirtdrop (Post 9638504)
Why do so many people say forks when talking about one fork? Do they think that each leg is a fork?

I don't get it either.

AEO 09-08-09 08:00 PM

measure the fork, measure the hub, both should be 100mm wide.
one of them is not up to spec, fix the one that is not.

or you're trying to put a regular hub into a raleigh fork.

I doubt you're sticking in a 110mm thru axle into a regular fork.

DiabloScott 09-08-09 08:46 PM


Originally Posted by Dirtdrop (Post 9638504)
Why do so many people say forks when talking about one fork? Do they think that each leg is a fork?

Even more odd is "front fork". Worse yet is "rear cogs". And don't ever put a SPINDLE in a place where an AXLE should go (just having some fun OP).

norwood 09-08-09 11:50 PM


Originally Posted by AEO (Post 9638711)
measure the fork, measure the hub, both should be 100mm wide.
one of them is not up to spec, fix the one that is not.

or you're trying to put a regular hub into a raleigh fork.

I doubt you're sticking in a 110mm thru axle into a regular fork.

I think the OP means the diameter of said spindle (axle) is slightly larger than what the fork (forks ? spoons?) can accept. I could be wrong though.

Personally I would go with a slight flat on the axle, both sides, keep them parallel.

Panthers007 09-09-09 05:15 AM

We just had the same problem up here. It was an original Motobecane Mirage. The dropouts in the forks wouldn't fit my German Cyclus Park Tool equivalent FFG-2. The owner of this freebie-bike someone gave him told me he researched this phenomena, and the French did use a thinner dropout on their forks. Maybe proprietary? Who knows. The fork was bent to pretzel-land. My opinion was it had been t-bone and run over by a truck. So we aborted the project.

griftereck 09-09-09 07:14 AM

theres a few different diameter wheel spindles.

5/16" 3/8" 9mm 9.5mm and 10mm. Then theres the even thicker through axle wheels, but those will no way go into the more regular fork ends
some bikes have a thinner diameter axle on the front wheel

Cant understand that. Ok there might be a gram or 2 weight loss. But the factory has to get different size axles, cones and nuts. Would be cheaper if they stuck to one size through out. Also easier for the assemblers. Would need less tools.

Ive filed fork ends on old Raleighs. They use the thinnest axles. With a key hole shaped hole in the end of the fork. I wouldnt recomend filing the axle. Apart from loosing strength. It would mean that if you needed to change the wheel, you would have to file that too.

stinkwheel 09-09-09 08:21 AM

Cheers for that. Yes, the diameter of the spindle is wider than the fork end it is supposed to fit in.

I'll take the ends of the forks out a bit with my burring tool. They are vintage forks so there is a fair chance any wheel I get these days will be wrong too.

It's a late 60's Coventry Eagle frame and a generic hub.

To join in with the pedantry:
Spindle: • noun a rod or pin serving as an axis that revolves or on which something revolves.

Axle: noun a rod or spindle passing through the centre of a wheel or group of wheels.

So every axle is a spindle but every spindle is not necessarily an axle.


Fork: noun • each of a pair of supports in which a bicycle or motorcycle wheel revolves.

So the correct term for the whole part is the pleural "forks". The singular "fork" would only referr to one side.

Source: Compact Oxford English Dictionary. http://www.askoxford.com

EDIT: Conclusion: Everyone is correct. Hurrah!

jtarver 09-09-09 08:27 AM

Adj.1.pleural - of or relating to the pleura or the walls of the thorax; "pleural muscles"

griftereck 09-09-09 12:59 PM

Oh...I'll have to go down to the garage now.

Im cooking some food and need a fork to pick it up. Think a set of suspension fork will do. :D

SJX426 09-09-09 01:07 PM

This thread is a spindel about which we are rotating. The bearings are loose enough to keep rotating for too long!

FBinNY 09-09-09 02:19 PM

It's possible that the fork's (posessive, not plural) dropouts were designed for a solid axle front wheel.

There's a slight difference in axle diameters between some common solid axles, and the standard axle made for QR. Simply file the slot wider, either the front face or rear, but the same on both sides, and try not to change the top of the slot, otherwise the wheel could go out of plumb. (you might actually want to modify that if the wheel doesn't now sit centered in the top of the fork)

BTW- the wheel should center in the fork, not necessarily the brakes, which should then be re-centered accordingly.

JanMM 09-09-09 04:10 PM

So, is it Aaron Burr or Aaron De-Burr?:lol:

stinkwheel 09-09-09 05:45 PM

It's done and sitting in nicely. The work of five minutes with a hand file.

I suppose they might be called forks because the bit on the end that the spindle sits in is fork shaped, and there are two of them?

Now I just need to replace these cheap-arse one piece wheel nuts that try to pull the wheel out of place as you tighten them while chewing up the end of the fork(s).


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