Swapping spindles
 

Firstly im a student and therefore poor. I have a Specialized P2 (09 i think) and it has horizontal drop outs at the back and nuts n washers not quick release spindles. The wheels are the worst part of the model as I've been told many times and after serious abuse they have finally died. I was gifted a new set off of a friend and wish to swap them in.

however here is the issue. the rear gear mech sits on a chain tensioner that is only attatched to the rear spindle. there is also i tensioner on the other side. the new wheels have quick release leavers and are relatively short spindles. and so i wish to swap the old spindles that i know fit just fine with into the new wheels so that i can use the nice new rims on my bike.

Can this be done? if so how? and if not can u recommend any cheap wheel sets that will fit this set up and take the "all mountain" standard of abuse?

Thanks
M

You can swap the axles/spindles out, provided the old and new ones are the same diameter. The problem is, you'll likely need a cone spanner/cone wrench (not sure where you are, so I'll use both US and UK terms) to do that. The new wheels should fit your bike though, the spindles are shorter on quick-release wheels than on nutted ones. What do you mean by saying you have a tensioner on the other side?

well its a pretty strange set up the rear spindle is quite long and going from one side to the other sets up like this:

nut, washer, chain tensioner that is also the rear mech holder, frame, hub n disk, frame, tensioning device, washer, nut.

the whole axle is pushed backwards to keep the chain tight by use of a tensioner and a screw mounted in the frame on either side of the bike.

:) hope that makes sense. thank you for your advise i will look into getting a cone wrench.

OK, I understand what you mean. You don't need to use the chain tensioners if you're running a rear mech, because the cage and pulleys on the rear mech are sprung to keep the chain tight, even when the length of the chain changes as you shift gears. If you're still going to use the rear mech, you don't need the tensioners. The quick-release should be strong enough to hold the rear mech on, provided it's a good-quality one, I've seen a bike with a rear mech like that and quick-release wheels once before.

[Edit] If you're thinking about the cone wrench, you'll probably need two sizes, front and rear hubs use different sized bearing cones. Most likely sizes are 14mm for the front and 15mm for the rear (at least that's what my MTBs all seem to use) plus a wrench to loosen or tighten the locknuts. It's fairly simple to adjust the bearing cones, which you'll have to do if you swap spindles around, but it might take you some time the first time you try it.

Swapping spindles is a relatively straight forward task for someone who has been taking the wheel hubs apart every year to clean and grease them.

It could be a horror show for someone who has never had a hub apart. A handful of ball bearings will fall out of each hub and need to be put in again as you reassemble the hub. Not impossible, but a challenge the first time.

I recommend taking the bike and wheels to a bike shop to have the job done.

yeh this will be a first time taking hubs apart, thanks for the heads up. i will have a shot at it anyway and see how it goes. gotta learn sometime hey :)

first you will need to know what threading your old and new hubs have if you want to use the old nutted axle. most modern hubs will be 10x1. swapping to a nutted axle is the same as doing a hub overhaul. http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...and-adjustment

Wheel in horizontal dropouts need no tensioner, if you are running a single spreed,
just adjust the chain length, so it's snug when you pull the wheel back.

Nut fixed axles will be less likely to be taken while in the school bike rack,
but get a chain or cable thats long enough
to lock up both wheels, and secure bike to to the rack.

The bike has adjustable track style dropouts on the back. Slider on each side. The OP will want to keep those around despite the rear derailer.

If I'm understanding what you're saying- you have a bike with bolt-on wheels and you want to install quick-release wheels on it. You shouldn't have to change the axles at all- just install the new wheels and go.

If your rear derailleur is attached with an adaptor "claw": http://harriscyclery.net/merchant/37...daptorclaw.gif

then it should stay in place when you remove the rear wheel. If it doesn't, then there's a bolt missing.

According to specialized it's a hard tail MTB with Horiz dropouts and hardwaqre for single or multispeed included.

http://www.specialized.com/ca/en/bc/...3&menuItemId=0