Hello,
I’m very new to bikes. I just bought a CREW BIKE CO CREWSER 29 BMX BIKE from city grounds
After I put it all together, the chain seems loose and the back brake wire is rubbing against the back tire.
But it seems if I adjust the back tire so it’s not sitting exactly flush in the dropout it fixes the issue.
I’m just hoping for any ideas before I return the bike.
by mkapache
8 Comments
More cable tension will probably sort it out. And your chain is probably too long. You shouldn’t be assembling a bike when you have zero mechanic knowledge, leave that to a pro.
I’m interested to know the dropout question. I always figured it’s optimal to have it all the way into the drop out but I have used less in for correction before and it’s held up pretty well without needing another adjustment.
For the chain show pics. Single speed?
The axle should be positioned to provide proper chain tension, never bottomed out in this type of dropout.
Pull the wheel back further in the drop outs. Center it while pulling then tighten it while you keep tension on it. It looks like you have the wheel pushed all the way forward.
With cheaper bikes, you only seat the axle in the dropout on the side of the bike that has the derailleur on it. Once you get that side seated and snug, then you position the other side of the axle to center the tire. Setting that aside, try loosening the brake pads and pull them away from the rim as much as possible. Then squeeze the lever to see if there is clearance when the pads get close to the rim. If so, that’s where you want the “resting place” for the brakes to be. So there’s clearance when the brakes are at rest, and the clearance increases as the brakes swing into engagement.
Flip the spacers on the brake pad… there’s normally a long one and a short one. Start with the short one on the inside and change to the longer one to the inside at the pad wears. Moving to the shorter spacers with allow the v-brake arm to move closer into the rim and the cable should lift enough distance away from the tire.
There are two types of dropouts horizontal ones and vertical ones. Vertical ones go with derailers and multi speed bicycles. Horizontal ones go with single speed bicycles. With vertical dropouts, yes, indeed you want the axle all the way into the dropout on both sides. With horizontal dropout, you adjust the chain tension by where the rear axle is in the dropout. Horizontal dropout have nuts on the axles vertical ones usually use quick releases on modern bicycles.
You put the chain on the bicycle by pushing the rear wheel all the way to the front of the dropout once you have the chain on then you pull the wheel back until the proper tension is on the chain and the wheel is centered in the frame. Single speed chains will have tight and loose parts of the pedal stroke so be careful that the tight parts are not too tight or the loose parts are not too loose then tighten the axle nuts. That should also fix your brake clearance problem.
You can either use a thinner tire, or find a v-brake with longer arms