How To Replace A Bent Axle On A Bike Wheel
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2024
- I demonstrate how to change out a bent axle from the rear wheel of a mountain bike I was working on. The wheel seemed out of true, but after looking closer, I realized the axle was bent. The wheel had a weird wobble. I took apart the hub, cleaned all the parts, replaced the bent axle with a new one, lubed everything and put it all back together.
Common (not complete) axle diameters/threadings:
Front solid axle 5/16" x 24 TPI
Front QR axle 9mm x 1mm thread
Rear solid axle 3/8" x 24 or 26 TPI
Rear QR axle 10mm x 1mm thread
Some of the tools used:
Dualco Mini Grease Gun:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASI...
Park Tool Spoke, Bearing, and Cotter Gauge - SBC-1:
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASI...
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Hey RJ, my brother got a free Roadmaster in good shape but the back wheel is bent. Can I buy a wheel without the gear sprocket to save money? I have the tools since I had to replace the axle on my older bike over the summer. Do you know of a website that won’t cost me a lot?
What are the size of the axle nut?
A tip for the viewer. Leave a tiny bit of play because when the wheel is clamped in the frame that compresses the hub and takes out that residual play. The result is a wheel that spins very smoothly.
True! Specially with wheels held in place by nuts as opposed to quick release skewers. :)
Yes.... a little play is a must...
If you dont do it... it wears off faster.
Play=wear. Too tight cone= wear. It's a balance between both.
So hand tight the cone?
@@SouthwestSasquatch Hand tighting can also be too tight or loose. Depends on how smooth the threads are. It's best to check play by wiggling the axle. You will quickly get a feel for the right amount of play.
Thank You for the great videos. NO playing around just straight technical knowledge that you can use. Thanks also for the home made tool videos. I was going to buy the Park head tube bearing press but I made one myself and it works great. You saved me quite a bit of money. I just discovered your videos and look forward to watching them all.
Glad they have helped!
Super thankful for this video. I was trying to clean the freewheel on my daughter's bike and decided to remove the axle and clean in there, too. I didn't realize the bearings were not sealed and out they came. Had a heck of a time figuring out how to get it all back together. If not for this vid, I would have had a very disappointed little girl in the morning and probably a repair bill from a bike shop.
If only I'd watched this before I started trying to figure it out for myself. I got there in the end though and thanks again.
Hey RJ! I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge in your videos. It's invaluable!
One thing H.S. Army ROTC taught me that I really appreciate to this day is that when field stripping a rifle (or bike axle for that matter,) as the parts come off, put them down in front of you beginning at the left and part by part work your way to the right. To reassemble the assembly, reverse your steps beginning at the rightmost part and work your way to the left. You will never get the parts out of order.
I generally lay them out in an exploded view of the assembly. For me it's easier. If I laid them out as I took them off, there could be left and right side parts mixed together. For this hub, it's not too bad. For something like a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub, there are a lot more parts. ua-cam.com/video/vNxwMwzS3Jo/v-deo.html
For me it works.
Thank you a lot. It takes a while to have it tightened just right (not too loose not too tight)
It is a while since wanted to replace the rear solid axle by a quick release one, and all shops I went to ask they were saying 'not possible, you should change the wheel. It will be around 50 eur'. I was almost 100% sure it was possible, and here it is! .Done already!
This video really helped RJ! My bike dude said it was going to be a while.. I order the axle 2.5 weeks to get then I watched your video and 1.5 hours later it was back in my bike. Again thanks for your help!
Saved me from wasting the whole day trying to fix an axel. You also saved my marriage!
Thank you, this is still helping people 9 years later! I broke my rear axle after a few thousand miles, but I had a spare axle and bearings from my old rear wheel, which had a damaged rim that I kept for spares. (same model)
I was having difficulty figuring out how to swap the axles around, and didn't know I needed a special cone spanner - Fortunately my slim pedal spanner was the exact right size!
Reinserting the ball bearings using just gloved fingers (8 each side on my wheels, apparently) was a test of my dexterity and patience - But with a lot of extra replacement grease (applied with a lolly stick! No fancy tools here!), it now runs smoother than when I got it. Fine tuning the cone and nut so that the wheel turns smoothly without any play was a balancing act.
Man this is the BEST helping video on youtube in my opinion. Thanks this is exactly what i need!
Had a little trouble adjusting it at the end but I took the washers off the old axle and it spaced out. She rides again. Thank you for this video
2022!!!!! Your videos are still useful. Helps me a lot.
Simple step by step guide.Thank you.
you just saved me 70$ thank you soo much!
Great video! My axle broke and i couldnt find a new free wheel with disc brakes. Thanks to this video i ended up just replacing the axle :D
thanks pal.. ran back and forth to bike shops today fixing my issue. workhorse is back on its feet
thank you so much! literally the only video I could find about replacing a quick-release axle (one that has a hole going through it).
I've just stripped down my rear axle as it was very bent, probably due to me being 100kg lol. Your video is incredibly helpful as I wasn't paying attention too good, now I'll be back riding very soon 👍🏼
Just what I am looking.
I am encountering the challenge of balancing the tightness and stiffness as you mentioned at 10.05; damn is it tough.
I did that a couple times with the rear axle on the KIA BMX bike I had back when I was a kid in the 80s. The rear axle got stripped once from changing flats a lot. And the second time the axle got bent from too much ramp and bump jumping. It was fun being it was a coaster brake too. I also modified the coaster brake to be a free wheel and added a rear hand brake to the bike. It worked better with the hand brake. I forgot to add that I also snapped off the quill neck on it too doing a big hill jump on a homemade BMX track in the woods near where I lived back then. The quill neck got replaced with a four bolt double clamp type BMX neck and a new set of BMX handle bars to match the neck mounts.
Nice detailed video, awesome job.
The bearings look nice and cozy! 8:38
Thanks for sharing RJ. I really learn a lot from you channel. keep the video coming! subscribed.
RJ gives better details than Park Tool site..👍..
dude you are top notch, you corrected all the bullshit I was about to do right before I did it, thank you!
I found this really useful, liked and subbed
Really nice , hope to have a mechanic like you .😜
Thanks for making this video! It really helped me out
REally good vid. Thank you.
Thank for a nice how-to!
Very educational! Thank you.
Great videos by you . Love from India 🌼
Thx RJ! Always making it look so easy. I’m trying to see if I can change out or adjust a fixed wheel hub to fit properly on an older specialized Allez circa early 80’s. (Cable guides for derailleurs on top side of bb Also debating if I should grind them off once fully disassembled before a repaint). I’ve watched a bunch of your videos, always a pleasure, and figure it’s time to get hands on. Apparently the rear spacing on bike is 125mm and standard size fixed rear wheels is 120mm. I’ve seen you cold set steel frames to wider spacing but instead of cold ‘squeezing’ the bugger smaller I thought maybe to see about modifying the wheel if possible. An additional 5mm might just be accomplished by utilizing spacers I was thinking but need to leave enough threads to safely accept track nuts. I’m about to find out and learn a lil sumpn’. Anybody else wanna throw in a nickel (might need a smidge more than two cents) it’s welcome. Aloha from HI!
Actually, the spacing is probably 126mm which is the norm for 6/7 speed road wheels. Personally, I would leave the Allez geared. Those were nice bikes. Check the move American Flyers if you haven't seen it.
It’s red as well. Not exactly in top shape as it was neglected and has a bit of surface rust here and there. Maybe I’ll convert it and leave the wanky derailleur cable guides so it could potentially return to its original purpose. Blame it on Fixie Fever not the Corona. Be safe out there and a thousand thank you’s for all of your insightful, well narrated videos. Btw it’s currently set up six spd at the rear. Stickers indicate SE, special series racing, cr-mo double butted frame and fork. The crown at fork isn’t offset that would indicate, I believe, to be post 3rensho. Also the serial no which seems nearly useless for specialized starts with an M. Built by Miyata maybe?
Nice how to vid! 🤘
my axel didn't just bend, it snapped in half. I wasn't doing any wacky tricks or anything, it was just old.
I'm pretty sure you forgot to put the plastic dust shield on before you put the rear free wheel cassette on
Is doing wheelie cause it to bent@
BobTheBuilder294, the bend in the video is just where the drive side bearing is located (not half way through the axle).
Seems this is a known disease of back axles in freewheel bikes.
The drive side bearing is farther away from the drive side dropouts than in a freehub setting.
For detailed picture see:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Labeled_Bicycle_Hub_Comparison-en.svg
p.s.
I maintain 2 Trek FX 1 bicycles, both bought new on 2017, equipped with a 7-speed freewheel.
Both serve for basic commuting on bicycle paths and roads.
I already experienced 3 axles snapping (twice in one bike and the 3rd in the other), at the exact same location near the drive side bearing.
This has nothing to do with one's weight, based on 170lbs and 130lbs riders.
On the latest inspection, I replaced both Quick Release hollow axles with solid ones. I will probably inspect it once a year.
Rip axle
Excellent tutorial,thanks👍
most excellent advise sir thank you
Wheels Manufacturring make a 4130 steel (cro-moly) solid axle. Really strong. I put one in a teen's mountain bike after he broke the rear axle. No problems with the new axle... And the kid is really hard on bikes.
RJ..this video gave me what I needed, but you might consider (I searched but didn't find anything) a video showing how to replace a 130mm hub axle to run in 135mm rear dropouts. There is a very slim selection of decent 135mm rear-hub, rim brake, wheels (wheelsets) available. After considerable searching I picked up a 100mm front, 130mm rear wheelset and will need to swap out the Axle-03(141mm) with the longer Axel-04(146mm). Maybe a video covering various ways to adapt commonly available wheelsets with older, non-current-standard rear dropout widths?? Overall THANK YOU for your videos..excllent quality that have saved me a ton of time and money.
There are lots of 135mm wheels available. That is the norm for 8,9,10 speed rear mountain bike type hubs. 130mm is the norm for 8,9,10 speed road bike hubs, or 7 speed mountain bike hubs.
@@RJTheBikeGuy In my case, I'm putting better road bike wheels on an older hybrid('91 Trek 750) 'that's been converted to a drop-bar road-light gravel-touring bike for my girlfriend(120#)...per one of your videos. I found few to no
@@kevin_a4391 Then coldset the frame down to 130mm. Like this, but squeeze them in. ua-cam.com/video/YdibmxBuMy0/v-deo.html
i found mine had totally snapped in half while just removing my wheel to clean my bike. could have been snapped for a long time
thank you for the videos very helpful .
Man I am just loving your videos lately, I’ve been watching your back catalogue. It’s a shame you don’t make videos more frequently. What happened with those bikes you bought a while ago?
Still have them. I have lots of bikes.
Thanks for the help!
Thanks RJ. I have a Schwinn bike with a solid bolt axle and nowhere else could I find how to replace it since everything is quick release.
Thank you. Help me out replacing my axle
Hey RJ, thanks for the advice but I was wondering what exactly causes the axle to be bent or broken. I've had two axles break on me in the middle of my rides. Is it because of riding too hard and on bad roads / surfaces or because freewheels on older bikes without a freehub allow for more tourque on an axle overtime.
Hubs with freewheels have bearing further in, allowing more leverage to bend the axle. Cheap axles are more likely to bend. Quick release axles bend easier than solid axles. Misaligned dropouts can also add pressure to bend the axle.
Haven't properly had a look on this problem but have you ever had something like knacking noise coming from the rear around the freewheel and axle? It's weird problem and only happens from third gear upwards (5 speed fw) and only when pedaling.
Hey RJ, excellent video! Im looking to install pegs on my trekking bicycle. I need to replace my 10mm rear axle with a longer one, is that possible ? You should do a video on pegs ! maybe it is of interest to a lot of people, for me certainly !
I got an older 2005 Giant Boulder Se 21" frame. Got a new rear axle from my local bike shop for $4. My axle has these super tiny bearings and the bigger ones.
Hey RJ. I didn't see you do it here but when adjusting a q/r hub don't you usually compensate for axle compression by giving the bearings a small degree of clearance?
Ur my hero!
very good video
Thank you so much!
Interesting fact, this was the very first video where Rob said "Hey Viewers" hahah
Great video. I already knew how to do it, but I was really interested on the bent axle. Do you know how the axle was bent? Really curious.. I have never had a bent axle.
hum, 10$? I can get a chromoly one for 7$, from the uk, ith cones, and a non name like that for 3.50$ (from china).
I went once to a local store for a couple of cones, and yes, they charged me a lot also, more than the full kit online.
Note: big stores are also cheap, but I don't consider them local.
Brilliant! Thank you.👍
Thanks mr.
Hi RJ,
First of all, thanks for the great videos. I like your channel, I always go back to your videos before servicing any part in my bike.
That bieng said, I have a question somehow related to this video. I have bolt on wheels on my GMC Denali bike and I want to change it to quick release. What axle length should I look for? and My current cups are slightly smaller in diameter than the wheel hub opening.
BTW, the bike has a freewheel.
u are really amazing thank you so much
Hi thanks!! very useful, but, my axle has a chronic problem, I don't have idea why I change it and in a month or two again... the axle is curve... do you have any idea why it happens? (sorry about my English)
Wheels with freewheels are more likely to get bent axles. Get a wheel with a cassette/freehub.
Hey what's up dude alwaya doing a good job fixing bike's
great video, but i figured out how to very crudely straighted the axle out and saved some money :)
when you break that nut loose, at 2 minutes, put the moving (top) wrench just opposite where you had it, then grasp both wrenches with one hand and squeeze the nut loose....no more broken knuckles, you are welcome, and thanks for the straight forward video
hello RJ, my axle is fine but skewer is slightly bent about 5 to 10 degrees at the threaded side. do I have to change it or use it without worrying? does it damage the axle in the long run?
+imhs81 It's it's just the skewer that's bent, I would just try to straighten it out without bunging up the threads.
Perfect thank you
If the axle had a hex hole at the end you could put an allen key in it so when you tried to tighten the lock nut it'd give you more control over which nut you were tightening down.
The axle doesn't have a hex hole. It don't think I have ever seen that. It would be easier if I have three or four hands.
shyflirt1 Bench vise on the bottom locknut works wonders for adjusting hubs
A vice to clamp and hold the other end while you tighten would be handy
I just hammered it straight!
And it will likely bend again. Or break.
@@RJTheBikeGuy yeah it bent again so I tempered it after I hammer it straight again so it won’t bend again
I dought thats old! Good job! Lmao! This did somthing! Again, grateful, very! Anyway I still need the parts
Hey RJ, How do you adjust the axle if you dont know how many threads are exposed on each side? I have this problem. When I put the wheel on the bike its not in the right spot so the one of the v-brake arms is to far out so the brake pad wont reach the wheel, and the other one presses on the wheel all the time. I tried to fix it by adjusting cones and locknuts many times but I failed. Its a rear wheel with freewheel mounted to the frame with two nuts.
ua-cam.com/video/0MHBHFu4CrA/v-deo.html
Hi RJ, I have a question. I got BMX frame with 14mm droput and my wheelset is using 10mm axle. Is it possible to put my 10mm axle to 14mm dropout? Thx.
Very helpful
Makes sense, thank you
That thin 15mm bearing race/cone tool you have is very important and one that will last and not twist and bend is hard to find. I try not to use adjustables anywhere as they tend to chew on nuts under heavy stress.
If one can't find the right axle in a reasonable time, how safe is it to unbend the one you have, harden it again on fire and water bucket, and reusing it till a replacement appears? I've done it, found the replacement, but waited for it to bend again. Finally I replaced the whole wheel (conversion) and the axle was still straight.
Just happened to me as well for not wanting to spend a few on the cone wrench
I can't find it at all for my fat bike.
And I want to do the same thing but I don't have a strong fire flame to do it.
Thank you Bro🥰🥰🥰
Can you replace a 3/8” threaded axle with a M9 threaded axle going through the same hub?
The problem i have is i bought these new wheels but the axle doesnt fit in fork dropouts. They’re like a mm too thick.
Its a carbon fork so bending it probably isnt a good idea. I thought of taking a Dremel to the metal part of the dropouts but id rather not. Any advice?
ua-cam.com/video/gsdxS046jpo/v-deo.html
Much appreciated
If you don’t have the old axle to measure the distances how do you determine the correct width of the spacers needed for a proper fit?
Trial and error.
What is most common nuts for bicycle wheels? I wanted to purchase just 1 cone wrench , would it be 14 mm?
Probably the best..👍
Why is my bicycle's rear axle always breaking. Its a new bicycle i bought and its the 3rd time I've swapped the bent rear axle. How can i fix it to never break again
does it have to be a blue grease? sorry for the dumb question.. or does any kind of grease will do for the ball bearings?
thank you man
super work man i wish you lived near me ! thanks
Could you put a longer axle onto a hub as long as you use the nuts and washers already on the hub
What causes this? On my Haro I definitely beat it up but this new hybrid commuter city bike I've only had 2 months and I just ride it to work and back, already seeing slight wobbling on what I thought was the sprocket but I know it's the axle.
Often cheap parts. Bikes with freewheels have the axles extended out farther from the bearings will be more likely to bend.
Could I do that but install a longer axel so that my wheel will fit a different frame??
my axle is 145mm and I ordered a 143mm axle.. do you think there's that much difference?
how can I prevent this from happening. I just got my rear wheel replaced by aocal bike shop. took my bike for a ride and bent the axle. not sure if it will be covered under warranty. I didn't even take it off any sick jumps!
+MCRideout Could be many things. Maybe your drop outs are not aligned, or maybe you have cheap axles...
+RJ The Bike Guy I'm thinking it was a cheap axle. I'll be taking it back to the shop to see what they can do. Thanks for the reply. I'd like to convert to a freehub as those are stronger.
I have a 2018 so cal flyer and I like to try to wheelie it or I pedal fast and I hear a loud noise and than my chain goes loose or sometimes my tire starts hitting the frame and I checked my rim the other day and my axel was really loose and it would wobble when I spin the tire what should I do ??
i have been there as a kid,it was hell,honestly buy another bike rim for 10-15-20 euros or in other words 18 dollars (used ones),and mount everything you had back on it,or use the one you have spare,or buy whole new bike tire,I know it's a lot of work,but more you do things like this you get faster at repairing and understanding things in many other fields not just this,it is rewarding.
Got a bent axel here too, how does that happen anyway? Might have to get one of those free wheel tools but you don't need it just to get the axel out.
Not uncommon with freewheels.
hello rj my axle is broken but i can find i knew one because my frame is 135 * 9 mm , not 135 *10 mm , when it is said (bike shop )that the axle of the rear wheel is 135*10 mm the diametre of the axle is really 10 mm or 9mm? can you help me to know
thank you
+HABIP ERDOGAN Match the axle that was in the wheel. If the wheel fit before, it should still fit.
This seems to be frequent problem with freewheel hubs due to the axle sticking further out on the drive side. I have one bike with a freewheel and a 10mm nut axle which is bent. I'm planning to restore the bike and to go with a freehub to avoid dealing with bent axles.
I wouldn't say "frequent", but happens more with freewheels as you say. I have never had an axle on one of my bikes bend. I have only every had to replace one or two on bikes I have worked on.
Yes I agree. Having ridden my bike across all of Spain with no difficulty I am having to replace a bent axle now which was only replaced last year for one that snapped. As others have agreed this design leaves a big stretch of axle unsupported. I am also wondering if the wheel has now become damaged accelerating the wear? I was pleased to see the wheel in the video being reused as is.
My son has an old Fuji and the chain rubs the dork disc when on the large gear... would that be a bent axle?
I doubt it. Not sure what the issue is off hand. Would have to work on it. Could be the dork disc is broken, not installed correctly.
My axle is broke into pieces what is may the cause pls give me advice
thank you
Hello RJ, what are the reasons that a bike axle keeps on bending? I am restoring my cousins bike and everytime I test drive the bicycle the axle gets bent? I have replaced the axle twice already. I hope you can reply. Thank you.
Cheap axles. Riding the bike beyond what it was intended for. Freewheel type wheel more prone to bending.
Hey, thanks for the great video! I have the same problem in my rear axle, but i can`t find a repllacement axle.
can you help me with a link?
TKS
+shay ben david www.ebay.com
+RJ The Bike Guy Can you help me with English Description ?
"rear axle"
On my mtb my shop was having a hard time truing and dishing the wheel, found out the axle was snapped inside.
That would do it! I am surprised they didn't realize that to begin with.
Wow! I guess it can't have been completely broken in half, or else the axle would fall apart?
same thing happened to me
Hi, What's the best way try to make the axle straight again instead of replacing it? Thanks.
Replacing it. Bending it, and rebending it, it will be weaker and more prone to bending.