Hopeless newbies shame
 

Got the family (inc 2 children 5 & 8) out for our first proper ride. Oh joy, to an evangelical later life cycling convert. But... 8 year old ended up with a flat - fortunately just as we got back to the car.

No problem son, says SuperDad. Actually, my knowlege of this sort of stuff is kind of sketchy. I once fixed a puncture when I was a kid - I think. Armadillo kevlar has worked 100% for me since I became two wheeled recently.

I can't get his *!@$ing front wheel off!!!

No quick release skewers like my road bike. Its some sort of BMX thing which someone gave him - I've barely looked at it until today. Basically, only one side of the front fork has a conventional dropout (does the front have 'droputs'?) -see my crude PhotoShopping. The other side of the fork is, well.... a HOLE. - Taking off the outer nuts gets you nowhere, obviously only one side lifts out - but not enough to pull the wheel off. The innermost assemblies have spanner/wrench flats which I guess relate to the inner workings of the hub; fiddling has been unprofitable.

It's 8pm on a Holiday Monday. I cannot find any of my bike maintainance books. A small boy is looking reproachfully at me. I guess the LBS 'tomorrow' will NOT do.

My paternal credibility is at stake here guys.........

Hmmmm..don't know about the drops...can't see clearly. Sometimes you can repair a flat without removing the wheel. You can pry off one side of the tire and pull the tube out to patch it. Release the brakes if you can.

By the way, you mentioned fiddling with the stuff inside the fork. The axle has a cone shaped nut on each side that points in towards the hub and interacts with the bearing balls, plus a locknut outside each one that helps lock it in place. That's probably what you were fiddling with, and you may need to make sure the wheel still spins freely and without wobbling if you were turning those.


Are you sure that large black ring on the drop (middle picture) isn't a removeable washer?

Yup.. the wheel no longer turns freely.

Sorry the pictures aren't clear. The far (right hand in pic) drop is the conventional one. The left fork terminates with a closed circular aperture - a ring if you like.

Oh..and is BMX an international term? These are urban concrete stunt bikes; depleted uranium frame, one gear, zero saddle....or brakes (well, many of them). Not exactly a 50+ machine.

How very odd. Sorry 'bout the fix you're in vis-a-vis your son. . .it happens and it's one of life's little-known stings. Dads are suppposed to be heroes, at least for as long as possible. Here's one old coyote daddy pullin' fer' ya'

Have you considered re-posting this in the BMX sub-forum?

Please let us know what's going on here; it might be useful to know on the trail one day when Helen Mirren has a breakdown on her BMX. . .sigh.

Don't know if this will help, but many, many moons ago my son inherited a BMX-stlye bike with a big "ring" on each side of the axles. A little gentle prying, and the rings came out -- each had a tab which hooked into the framing above the dropouts. Was told they had something to do with making sure the wheels did not drop off while doing tricks.

I really want to post a follow up to this, with picture, but that helpful 'manage attachments' button has disappeared off the quick reply section. I've logged on with another PC and still can't see it.

I am logged on as correct username and 'you may post attachments'' is showing in the posting rules. I don't want to post without attaching the image - which is currently on a memory stick.

Oh God...hopeless newbies computer shame as well....

Click on "Go Advanced" at the bottom of the quick reply screen.

follow up
 

'Through our errors shall we grow.....

Coloradopenguin, you are a Prince among men - that washer came off with a hammer and cold chisel; just stuck fast. Thanks to all the rest of you for your encouragement.

Now...I have of course created another problem- with the hub bearings. I've never taken a hub apart, but I think that it will contain ball bearing races held in with the conical nuts mentioned above. I have loosened those inner axle widget things (with the wrench/spanner flats), see picture, in the course of trying to remove the wheel. The two widgets obviously tighten up in opposite directions, as you look straight on to wheel as shown. If I rotate them both fully tight, the wheel doesn't spin freely and the hub makes a rubbing sound. If I slacken them off, the noise and friction vanish but the widgets are well..loose.

How do I get back to the default pre-fiddling stage?

Al

PS Is there anything better than that squitty puncture repair kit chalk stick for marking the damage once found? I was thinking of one of those 'Chinagraph' wax pencil things that you used be able to get in office supply stores.

The inner axle widget thingy is actually two nuts. If you look closely on the inner part, there will be two flattened spots. The outer nut is actually a locknut. It takes a thin wrench/spanner to hold the inner nut while loosening the outer lock nut. I'm learning this as well . . . so I'm not really an expert . . . but the LBS sells "cone" wrenches which are designed to fit in these narrow spaces and make the job much easier.

I just greased a set of wheels with regular wrenches -- I simply counter-rotated the two "axle widget thingy" until one side came off the axle and pulled the shaft. Be careful to catch all the bearings, and make sure you put the same number back in (voice of experience -- I had to do this twice after finding one bearing sitting in the corner of my wash pan.

If you are careful, you could probably grab the inner nut with a pair of pliers and get the lock nut off with a wrench. A pair of needle-nose pliers allowed me to adjust the inner nut and tighten the lock nut . . . not pretty but should get you back to the pre-fiddling stage.

I've put the cone wrench set on the top of my wish list ;-)

Might be quicker and easier to buy him a new bike! :D

But first he has to shop around and ask the 50+ Forum for advice...

If you are going to the LBS to buy a new bike, you might take the wheel with you...... :D

Are we helpin'? :D

Hmmmph. :( :(