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front wheel flex?

Old 05-16-03, 11:36 AM
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front wheel flex?

Hi there, whenever i make tight turns, i hear the distinct sound of one of the front brake pads rubbing the rim....

this doesnt happen if im just going straight...

i soon realized that my entire front wheel was flexing whenever my bike wasn't perpendicular to the ground...

what is this due to?

i noticed that i can even manually push the front wheel from side to side! i can do so with the rear wheel, but with much greater difficulty...

would tightening each front wheel spoke by 1 round help?

These are new sets of sun rhyno lites... i suspect there isnt enough tension in the front wheel spokes...

Someone advise please?

thanks!
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Old 05-16-03, 12:09 PM
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All wheels flex a bit. But if it flexes a bunch then the wheel is to loose. It really need to be put in a stand and tensioned up properly.
I have seen several mail order wheel sets come in with way low tension. From Dans, supergo, nashbar.
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Old 05-16-03, 01:48 PM
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Rev Chuck,

As I set the torque wrench for 1200 foot/pounds, I realized it was time for a career change.

been meanin to tell you thats a great tag line. as soon as a read it i laughed and new exactly where you were comin from
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Old 05-16-03, 02:11 PM
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Let me tell you about the time I got hung up in a dumptruck when I got pinned between the Detroit cylinder head(300+pounds) I had just removed and the front wheel. I had just got it loose when my foot slipped off the I-beam and I dropped it on my chest knocking me down between the wheel and engine. This happened in the parking lot of an abandoned grocery store, took me about twenty minutes to get out but at least I didn't have to cut my arm off.
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Old 05-16-03, 06:42 PM
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My first instinct would question the spoke tension. Leave this to a professional with a tensionometer (sp?).

Do Rhino Lites have sealed bearings?

Is your quick release loose?

Is your break caliper just set to too close a tolerance? Your pads don't need to be a mil off the rim.
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Old 05-16-03, 08:48 PM
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hi there.. the rhynolites have deore hubs..

so i suppsoe those are sealed bearings...


quick releases are tight.

i've tightened all the spokes one round, but it still seems to be flexing...

now im questioning the FORK rigidity..
its a very old marzocchi xc400, i'd say 7-9 years old?

could an old fork cause wheel flexing?

Thanks!!
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Old 05-16-03, 08:58 PM
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Deores have seals but are not "sealed bearings"
And, yes your fork is a very likely culprit for your problem. A brake bridge night help a bit, but I think it is time for the upgrade fairy. The only problem might be if your bike is that old and you have cantilever brakes. There will be no housing stop on a new fork. So you would also have to upgrade your brakes to linear pulls. You also will need to have a threadless stem and headset.
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