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Thread: Tire rub?

  1. #1
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    Tire rub?

    It's almost bike season here and I'll need to solve my problem before the trails dry. When I turn, usually left, my tire rubs the chainstay. Bike is an old Titus Switchblade and the wheels are WTB on shimano hubs, the wheels are true. I ordered new suspension bushings and bearings but I'm not sure where the play is.

    I'm pretty big but I don't think it's wheel flex.
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

  2. #2
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    might take your wheel off and see if your axle is ok. sometimes the qr will hold a broken one together. big guys like to break those qr axles. you probably tried that though. spoke tension?

  3. #3
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    If you only witness the tire rubbing chainstay during turning due to the force exerted on the bike, then you definitely have a rear hub issue.

    You might have missing ball bearings, a bent axle or simply loose nuts on the hub.

    Flip the bike upside and grip the wheel and try and force play on the hub...similar to checking wheel bearing play. It shouldn't move laterally. If it does, that's your problem. You don't say if the Shimano rear hub is a sealed bearing type or not. If not sealed hubs, they often get so loose that a quite a few ball bearings will fall out...causing your noted looseness. If the rub has a periodicity to it, it is more likely a slightly bent axle.

    Make it a habit to reach down and test the hub for tightness before every trail ride...you don't even need to flip the bike over. Pre-ride testing for hub looseness would have signaled the problem well before it got worse.

    --
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  4. #4
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    Check the rim dish. It might be off to the left side.

  5. #5
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    ^^^ that. Is your tire closer to one chainstay than the other?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by toast2266 View Post
    ^^^ that. Is your tire closer to one chainstay than the other?
    Nope, its centered. I'll check the hub again but I didn't think that was the problem last year. Maybe I'll put the wheel off my sx trail on and see if it still does it.
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

  7. #7
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    how much clearance do you have? If you're tight on clearance, tire rub can happen even if everything is in good shape.

  8. #8
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    How much clearance should I have?
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chugachjed View Post
    How much clearance should I have?
    Enough that your tire doesn't hit your stays or pack with mud (if you ride in the mud) when the rest of the system is functioning as it should.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chugachjed View Post
    How much clearance should I have?
    I'd say anything less than ~8mm at the closest point is getting tight. At around 5mm, I'd expect occasional rubbing on hard corners.

  11. #11
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    You're going to have to ride the Zoolander trails.

    the ones that only turn right

  12. #12
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    Guess I'll need narrower tires. Specialized purgatory grid 2.2 is too wide :nono:

    Sent from my GT-I9100 using TGR Forums
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

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