So how straight are steel track frames supposed to be?
 

Just got one, but I notice the rear isn't exactly straight.

If I put the rear wheel on and push it all the way into the dropout, it doesn't sit perfectly straight and tilts to the side. The tire rubs on the chainstay a little near the bottom bracket.

Of course, I can make the wheel straight by adjusting it in the dropout, but shouldn't the wheel sit straight while just resting farthest inside the dropouts regardless?

I'm a stickler for good craftsmanship, but am I being OCD here?


Thanks

Uh, ideally the axle will sit right in the middle of the track-ends (not dropouts). It shouldn't be pushed all the way in, you pull it back to achieve the right chain tension and only push the wheel all the way forward if you're trying to get the chain off to remove the wheel. And frame rub is pretty much never acceptable and means something must be wrong.

The wheel is crooked when the nuts are not tightened and it's resting all the way in the track ends (bike is hanging vertically, front-down in a stand).

You are being picky about a detail the builder may have barely given a second thought to. That the track ends (track bikes have track ends, not dropouts which open to the front or down) are exactly parallel and line up so an axle through them is square with the frame and not trying to bend when the nuts are tight is important. That the ends of the slots line up? That only matters when the wheel is pushed all the way forward, a position never used on the track (except to slacken the chain so you can drop it off the cog and pull out the wheel). The bike is never ridden that way. (You would have to use a chain tool to remove the wheel.)

On a vertical dropout road bike, that detail is crucial but not here. If it really bugs you, I suppose you could put a wheel in. push it all the way forward, snug up just the nut on the side that hits first, pull off the other nut, center the tire and measure the gap forward of the axle, then file down the other dropout that amount. I wouldn't but most track bikes have plenty of material there.

Ben

As long as the wheel sits straight in the frame when chain tension is adjusted, nothing else matters.

You did check the wheel's dish w/ a dishing tool to make sure that it will center?

79 & TT are both correct, what you are testing is irrelevant to track bike use.

-Bandera

This +1

Better yet, an easy test to tell if it's the frame or wheel is to flip the wheel and put it back. See whether the opposite chainstay is being rubbed on after flipping the wheel. If it is, it's the wheel.

Wheels are rarely so badly uncentered as to contact a chainstay. Frame misalignment is almost always the cause of such problems.

How come nobody has asked what frame we're talking about here?

How come nobody has asked what Color of frame we're talking about here?

-Bandera

Yes, I flipped the wheel and it was pretty much the same crooked-ness. It's an All City Big Block. Have some pics:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=503838http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=503839

One shows the skewed wheel, the other shows how it's resting (nuts undone; tension screws fully backed off; gravity holding axle against track ends).

Turning the tension screw a little on one side straightens the wheel. I know this has no bearing on performance once set up, but I was just wondering if this kind of workmanship (or lack thereof) is common/acceptable.

Might be an interesting question for the frame builders forum: Framebuilders

I wondered that as well when I discovered my Dolan had the same issue.

Some people told me to do a string test where string is wrapped around bike, track ends to head tube, and alignment checked at seat tube. It's off by like 5 mm. Starting to get bummed...

or use the park *** tool.
edit: lol i KNEW that would be censored!!

it's the park eff-eh-gee tool.

I have never owned a modern track bike, but every road bike with horizontal dropouts that I have owned has had the same "issue". Most production frames will have some alignment tolerance. It's nothing, set it and forget it.

It's a totally unimportant irrelevant noncritical issue. I can't believe anyone is giving this one microsecond's worth of serious thought.

Seriously. Especially when much more critical issues like toe overlap couple potentially be on the table!

Yeah, I ran into that when trying to describe using a bast-ard file to clean up a seat tube of burrs. haha


If you're really concerned, you can take your frame to a bike building frame shop and they can check/tweak it a bit. It's usually cheap/easy as long as they're working with a steel frame.

I wonder how many fatalities are caused each year due to excessive toe overlap.

It sounds like an alignment issue with the frame. 5mm isn't that much, and you could probably repair it yourself, or at a frame shop.

But, your frame may also be perfectly rideable as-is.

When you install the chain and wheel, assuming not using a chain tensioner, you'll have to align the wheel every time anyway.

Alright guys, toe overlap comments aside, I know I'm OCD LOL Just wanted to double check before I throw all the parts on.

My toes do not overlap at all, maybe that is why I am still alive at my tender age...

But, to answer your question, it is 12. I thought everyone knew that!

Keep in mind that the "string test" doubles the magnitude of the apparent misalignment, so your frame is only 2.5mm out of alignment. That's within the tolerance of a mass-produced frame.

The mech at the bike shop said something similar. "Most of them are like that. Doesn't affect anything." Apparently, for the anal retentive, it's an easy fix with a Park alignment tool. Sounds like a fun future project...