I have been working on my son's old Lannutti MTB. When going to refit the rear wheel, I noticed that it sits very far forward in the dropouts on the left side. This is because the derailleur on the drive side has a bracket which fots over the dropout reducing the size on that side.

Is this set up ok? To me it looks a bit insecure on the left side and may shift if the wheel hits a bump?

Derailleur bracket over dropout


Position in left side dropout

The axle nuts are fully engaged in the dropout- it is fine.

It's fine that way. As long as the wheel is square in the frame and the nut is completely inside the left dropout you are good. Keep the nut tight and be sure the serrations on it's inside face are good and sharp.

The right side of the axle is also pretty far forward, but it doesn't look like it because of the 'claw' type derailleur mount. This is common on bikes with horizontal dropouts and claw derailleur mounts - the right side of the axle should be pulled all the way back against the claw, and the left should be positioned to put the wheel straight in the frame.

The claw is held in position by the Phillips screw and a half-moon nut holding against the back of the dropout, so the axle will always be placed forward in the dropout.

As for the axle slipping, it does happen occasionally, but almost always on the right side as a result of the chain pulling the wheel forward. As long as the nuts are good and tight, the wheel will not move, especially on the left side.

Many thanks, guys. This puts my mind at ease. He has ridden this bike for around 15 years and as far as I know, it has not shifted. But I was pretty surprised to find such a gap between the axle and dropout end.