Front wheel not centered in fork
 

While switching to a new set of wheels, I noticed my front wheel is a bit off center. The rim is about 2 mm closer to the left blade of the fork. Checked if it wasn't a wheel issue by flipping the wheel and also tested with another wheel. In every case, it sits closer to one side. Made sure the wheel is properly seated in the dropouts too.

So at this point my guess is that either my fork is asymmetric, or my dropouts aren't perfectly parallel in one way or another. Since it's an all carbon fork with carbon dropouts, I'm figuring there isn't much I can do myself.

So what can be done at that point? Ride it like it's no big deal or have the LBS work in some way on the dropouts?

Is this a new frame and/or fork or did you just notice it when you installed the new wheel on a bike you have been riding?

2 years old bike. Might have been this way the whole time, but I'm not ruling out uneven dropouts wear... One of them still has paint at the bottom while the other does not, but this also might always been like this

Could you adjust the cones to account for the misalignment? It will make it so your wheel can only go on one way but at least you can get it centered.

Rim brakes? If the fork has always been this way the caliper was likely installed a bit off center to compensate for the position of the wheel.

Moving the cones (and their associated locknuts) would only change the amount of axle protruding from the locknuts... to keep the bearings properly adjusted, the cone and locknut on the opposite side would have to be moved in the same direction.

If there were enough room between the fork blades, a spacer might be able to center the rim. Or the wheel could be "dished" slightly... and then it *would* only go in one way.
Steve

Not really. It's a Shimano wheel with their digital preload adjustment. So I don't have any control on the position of the locknuts, can only control the amount of preload.

File the dropout to center the wheel.
Or put some kind of shim on one side between axel and dropout

2mm may be just a measuring error..

i've run into two bikes that had improper fork dropout depth... symptoms were exactly what you've described... i rat-tail filed the dropout a bit on the "close side".... testing frequently to make sure i didn't go too far... done.

it won't take much filing, either, since the misalignment is only 2mm at the tire... about .010" to .020" should do it...

Before going ahead with filing, I decided to try something less permanent. So I made a small shim out of two layers of aluminum can and put it at the bottom of the right dropout. Slid the wheel back into place and now everything is perfectly aligned. Just need to decide if I'm going to epoxy that in place.

file the other dropout.

Was it carbon dropouts? I wouldn't mind filing aluminum but I'm afraid that filing carbon might break the fibers.

Not said is whether the wheel(s) are off center to the SAME side no mater which way they are flipped. Not a minor point as it's far more reversible to dish a wheel (or two( then to file of bulk up a drop out.

Next question is whether the fork blades are splayed off center or is one short. With a properly dished wheel, a length of small diameter tubing and some masking tape one can create a fork center sighting tool. See this old thread for details. https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...ard-right.html

Splayed carbon blades are not alignable to my knowledge. But if one blade is long then simple filing the long side will do the trick. Andy

Disc brake or rim brake? Disc brakes installed on bikes w/o through axles can wear dropouts quickly.

Carbon dropouts? No, absolutely do not file.

Carbon forks do not ordinarily ever move around. Alignment remains as it was when fork was created. Unless they start to delaminate. That is not at all common but can happen. If it happens inside you can't see it.

Aligned forks ride way the heck better than unaligned forks.

English language can be vague and misleading and this is especially true on the intertubes. Still not clear if the wheel being reversed is centered. With or without clarity or certainty sounds like you need a new fork. Home mods to a carbon fork are just not a good idea. Most of the ideas above that will put the wheel on center still leave you with a misaligned fork. If you do have a rim brake bike the front brake isn't working properly if the fork is 2mm off. Major safety issue.

One other thought. Yes, carbon forks generally will always have the same alignment they had when they were made. If this fork was 2mm off when built the shop it came from has major QC issues. I wouldn't trust that fork around the block. But then, this is the internet and I can't see your fork and can't quite get a fix on the description. Get this fork to a mechanic you trust.

63rickert has some of this correct. Carbon structures don't tend to change after initial forming. But the qualifier is what is initial forming. It's easy to assume that a fork mold will be perfect in it's alignment, we sure hope that a piece of tooling that cost many thousands of $ is pretty close to perfect. But real life alignment of carbon forks are often enough not perfect. Why? Production tolerances and care, differing lay ups from intended ones, material growth/shrinkage when under pressure and heat and likely other factors that Escape me.

I've handled many hundreds of carbon forks (likely well more then a thousand by now) during my LBS like and can attest to real life alignment isn't spot on often enough. We see wheels not sitting centered between the blades (and stays for that mater) frequently. Generally this offness is minor. Brake calipers can be adjusted to not rub easily enough. If the handling isn't disturbed and there's no other functioning issues going on then the fork is fine. There's a reason that many bike brands don't publish alignment standards.

I've been in the loop of a number of "warranty" claims due to misaligned carbon frames/forks and know that the standards are flexible and have more to do with consumer satisfaction then any liability. As my linked alignment thread talks about fork alignment isn't a single or binary condition. I will be interested in the outcome of the OP's situation if they proceed with increased efforts. I won't be holding my breath for a couple of MMs though.

Where I differ with 63rickert is the claim of a safety issue. That's a bold statement and has been made with no hands on examine as well as with incomplete info. Not the kind of reasoned talk that we hope others give us when we need help. Andy

Safety issues:

Braking. If rim brakes, and especially dual-pivot rim brakes, it just ain't working right off-center. Brakes are a primary safety system, brakes need to work.

Quality control. If QC is so bad forks 2mm off get by there are lots of other QC issues with that fork and with that frame.

This bike is going to pull to the side and it's going to pull to side strongly under braking.

Aligned frames ride different and better than non-aligned frames. It's carbon, so we're supposed to just accept that everything is wonky?

[QUOTE=63rickert;20720392]Safety issues:

Braking. If rim brakes, and especially dual-pivot rim brakes, it just ain't working right off-center. Brakes are a primary safety system, brakes need to work.

Agreed that brakes are #1 . If you can't stop you better not start. But there have been millions of off center wheels on bikes that stopped well enough to never be a problem for riders. The usual situation of a dual pivot brake caliper acting on an off center wheel (and I might say it is the brake that is off center since it only needs to deal with the wheel) is that one pad will contact the rim first and tend to push the rim over to the second pad. this generally makes the "feel" a bit mushy but there's no change in the leverage or re tard ation force the brake has. In fact many disk brakes are designed this way. With only one pad moving. So I see this claim as a false concern.

Quality control. If QC is so bad forks 2mm off get by there are lots of other QC issues with that fork and with that frame.

Sure, But that's not the OP's question. Note in my earlier reply I did allude to this though. IME and given the number of slightly off forks/frames I see and the lack of other problems (like structural ones) I don't make the "If A then B" jump as my default. I don't think the OP's sky is falling.

This bike is going to pull to the side and it's going to pull to side strongly under braking.

Maybe. But that wasn't noticed enough by the OP to mention it. A significant number of bike's I ride (and this includes the after service test ride) have some degree of body lean tom no hands straight. When hands on this is not noticed except for the worst cases (and 2mm is not anywhere near worst case). As to the braking on a bike with a off center fork I can't say much because I don't think I have ever noticed this. Now on a multi track vehicle (like a trike) certainly so.

Aligned frames ride different and better than non-aligned frames. It's carbon, so we're supposed to just accept that everything is wonky?

I agree that balanced frames ride better just not in the ways that you seem to be concerned about. I also agree that a symmetrical rider rides better then one with a long leg, A shortened clavicle. A dominate side. I could suggest that the bike in question might be better aligned then the rider is:) "Wonky" is a relative term. Bikes are mass produced products, usually controlled by that bottom line Cost. Thus manufactures all have a tolerance of what's passing and what's not. As I mentioned before this tolerance isn't typically made known to the public. I have heard of consumers stating they have been told x number or y degrees but to find this in official docs will be quite a challenge. So what's the rider to do? First is to find out if that 2mm is a problem in function. If they can feel it, if it hinders their ability to steer the bike. If it causes then to loose balance then the OP should seek a solution. But if the bike rides and handles as it did before (like when it had the other set of wheels, remember those?) then the function isn't effected. Should we accept this? Well many of us do whether we know it or not. When you have the tooling to measure alignment to at the thousandths of an inch you learn a few things. First is that every frame/fork is off to some amount. Second is that when you remove and reinstall that frame/fork on your alignment table (or machinist flat surface in my case) the offness you measured before changes a little bit. Third is that some miss aligments are more important the others are. Lastly is that the bike is a system, other components are often enough not perfectly dished, symmetrical or square.

What the fork and wheel combo (again remember the wheel?) are, alignment wise, is one thing. Your claim of there being unsafe conditions is another. Can you give us some backround on your expertise to feel good about making this claim at such a long distance? Andy

In a previous post I did allude to the problem of diagnosing over the internet. Also do not much believe in giving unfounded reassurance that all is well over the internet. Did previously suggest that OP get his fork to a mechanic. Like a flesh and blood live and in person hands on mechanic.

I know perfectly well that most bike are comprehensively misaligned. Most bikes seldom roll and that is a big reason why. The majority of the $5 and $10 bikes I've picked up at yard sales have one big assembly error that made them unrideable, or at least unenjoyable to ride and often unsafe to ride. The owner who leaves his bike as a garage ornament often did the right thing. OP is apparently riding his bike and needs something better.

Yes, I know bikes aren't perfect. I know that carbon fab has endless possibility for error, and that most of those errors don't count. Still think any fabricator who lets a fork 2mm out of whack pass inspection has no business making carbon bikes.

Single pivot brakes will more or less 'find' the rim and then clamp. Dual pivot brake arms just move inexorably to center. Or in the absence of any discernible centerline they move to under the hole where the brake mounts. A system that works a whole lot better when everything is straight.

If you actually want to ride a bike where nothing is straight please try a steel bike. Perhaps with a coaster brake. Stick to the flats and go slow. And don't tell anyone they should ride a bike as messed up as yours.

If it’s the same result, same side regardless of wheel orientation, the fork is bent. If it’s a steel fork, search Dave Moulton’s blogs for how to straighten and true fork blades. Don’t bend it if it’s aluminum (magnet test if any doubt). If you’re mechanically inclined, it’s not hard to true a fork with a piece of bike chain, a bench vise & a 2x4. Do one blade at a time. Sometimes even new bikes have fork/frame alignment issues.

If the distance switches sides as you re-orient the wheel, it’s obviously the wheel. Adjust dish as necessary. Loosen spokes on one side & tighten the other. Try 3/4 turn at a time, 2mm isn't much.