scotch

Forgive my rambling story here, but I’m curious if this makes sense…and/or if it has happened to anyone else.

Today my chain became wedged between the inside of my largest rear cog and the spokes of my wheel (clearly my gears have got out of adjustment). But the way it jammed itself in there, I had to release the rear wheel to free the chain. I then put the chain back on the cassette and re-mounted the wheel...or so I thought. Through inattention and/or carelessness, I didn’t actually have the rear skewer seated properly in the dropouts; it was actually a little off center. So, the next time I began ascending a hill and put torque on the drive train, the wheel popped forward out of the dropouts and slammed against the chain stay, the whole rear drive train ceased up, and I went flying over the bars.

At least this is what I think caused it. When I looked at the chain afterward, it didn’t seem to be bent at all, nor did anything else back there. I then noticed that the limit screw in the right dropout was set much further back than the left, so when I pulled the wheel back into the dropouts, the wheel was off center to the right. So my guess is that the pull of the chain under greater tension made the improperly seated wheel pop out and jam up the whole shooting match.

Does this hypothesis make sense? Amazingly, the wheel stayed true and nothing broke, as far as I can tell. I appreciate any feedback.

Homebrew01

Sounds as though you just didn't tighten the quick release lever properly. That wouldn't normally damage the wheel, so it should still be true. Usually the only damage is paint getting scraped off the inside of the chainstay, but maybe you crashed because you were going slowly at the time, and got caught by surprise ??

Pasqually

yes, with all the chrome drop-outs and bikes without steel skewers, I have seen it happen a bit.

Push really heavy on the pedals and they slip, the rear wheel moves, jams against the chainstay and you go over the bars and break your collarbone.

So if you have polished chrome dropouts, get an old style steel skewer that bites into the drop-out. It wont slip if tight enough.

urodacus

perhaps one of the main reasons bike builders swapped from horizontal dropouts to vertical dropouts, and cetainly a bigger problem if you ride a single speed conversion.

I bet your skewer tension is too low. you should be left with an impression of the skewer end in your palm once you have closed it. it is also better to get skewers with serrated teeth that bite into the dropout, as mentioned above.

MrCjolsen

That actually happened to me. Cause was a cheap skewer on my horzontally dropped Surly Crosscheck. Happened taking off from a green light in traffic. Maintained control of the bike, but it bent the frame.

I learned about cold setting and the advantages of steel that day.

scotch

Definitely. I also noticed last night the spot on the chain stay where the wheel slammed into it. Gotta pick up some touch up paint and cover those spots since this is a steel frame.

Thanks for all the replies. If my frame had bent, I would've curled up into the fetal position and wept.

Racer Ex 

Had the same thing happen. Saved it but bent my wheel.