Frame is Surly Straggler. Nearly every time I remove and re-install my rear wheel, it ends up canted to one side as one end slips forward in the dropouts. I have to remount it until it stays put, and even then i’m not confident when hitting big bumps. I line it up as far back as it goes, as perfectly straight as possible, tighten it down about as much as I can while still being able to remove it and still it happens. Any suggestions?
by sandwichesandpasta
7 Comments
Do you have external cam QR skewers? If so, try internal cam skewers.
I never had wheels slip from bumps. Just a couple times from hard acceleration when the skewer was not tight enough.
Your locknut looks like it has good grip. Maybe the inside of the skewer nut has poor grip.
You’re missing the dropout screws.
Does the surly straggler has horizontal dropouts, Or semi-horizontal dropouts? On my cross-check, which has semi horizontal, I had a horrible rear wheel slippage problem which I eventually fixed by buying their “hurdy gurdy” chain tensioner, which basically locks the skewer in place and prevents the wheel from moving. I’ve loved my surly but I do not love their dropouts, and honestly pissed me off after buying a new bike and then having to buy another part from them to fix their semi horizontal dropout which they seem very proud of. Anyways look into a chain tensioner.
i believe there could be something going wrong here but my first hunch is user error. please don’t take offense, i just see QRs get misused so often. properly tightened, a QR is stronger than axle nuts at holding a wheel in place. can you say for certain you are using them properly? this doesn’t seem like a beginner bike so i want to give you the benefit of the doubt but we must eliminate simple possibilities first.
edit: the other thing i think of is that the paint on Surlys especially can be pretty thick around the drops. what could be happening is the wheel slips into a spot in the drops where it used to be mounted, and where the paint has worn away creating a divot. sanding the paint down so it’s a nice flat even surface throughout the length of the drops may help.
Straggler has notoriously bad dropouts.
At a minimum you need to reinstall the screws in the dropout. They face different directions (forward and backwards in relation to bike) and they are ment to hold the axle in place.
I’d recommend getting some monkey nuts (yes that’s really what they are called) there are two versions and I think you need V2. They make your dropout more conventional but you will still need those screws I mentioned before.
Has anybody pointed out that your axle might be too long? The axle needs to protrude less than the width of the dropouts or slippage happens just as you describe. In which the easy fix is to grind off a millimeter or 2 off your axle.
I’m assuming you’re using external cam quick release skewers. These are too weak to properly clamp wheels on horizontal dropouts. Use internal cam skewers (like the ones made by Shimano) instead.