I have a carbon transition bike, and when i look at from below (when the bike it sat upside down) It really seems like the rear tire isnt sitting straight. I cant tell if this is just my eyes playing tricks on me or not so i want to do some measurements. I have heard that transition has had some issues w/ stuff like this in the past w/ their carbon frames.
Just wondering what I should measure and how i should measure it. Also, what amount of misalignment is considered "acceptable" in the bike industry? Never had to do something like this before so im a bit out of my element.
Any chance your wheel is out of dish?
If you have access to a laser level/line/plane generator that would probably be the easiest way. Project the line through the center of the head tube and the center of the seat tube and bb and across the wheel. Keep in mind some BB shells are offset, so just measure the compensate for this and put a mark for your laser line. Difficult setup tbh. Take the wheel out when setting up the laser. You want the laser to go through 3 points, so put it behind and above the bike to hit them. Probably also best to take the tire off and just see where the line is on the rim bed.
These things: https://www.boschtools.com/us/en/line-lasers-41057-ocs-c/
Nah i just got a new wheel, both the old one and this new one look the same in the frame.
thanks i might have to pick one up and give it a shot! appreciate the help!
If you find you need to look at it with multiple laser setups (like you need to move the laser device around to see different angles) you can also put tape out on the walls and mark where the laser goes through them once you get it all setup. Having the 3 points far away like on the walls makes it quite easy to get the plane back in the same place, despite moving the plane generator.
Just because it's new doesn't mean it's properly dished.
Easiest way is with a string. Clamp the front brake so the front wheel won’t rotate. Take a string long enough and pull it from the forward most part of the front tire to the rearward most portion of the rear tire. With the front tire parallel with the frame you can see if the rear wheel is displaced laterally or if it not parallel with the frame/front wheel.
https://youtu.be/1FEPmJx90GQ?is=Q2bnKtz1f2a-gkwZ
ah perfect thanks!
Hmm true, I guess it cant hurt to double check the dishing anyways, just to be absolutely sure.
Yes, but he said in a earlier post the wheel position in the frame was the same on the new wheel and the old wheel. I'd rule out dish as the problem, even without checking dish on the wheels, simply because he eyeballed it with two different wheels. It seems very unlikely that a new wheel and old wheel would both be out of dish and by almost exactly the same amount.
I clicked this thread thinking: "This is going to be about a Transition".
Transition has had issues with frame alignment for years. I had one so bad the hole for the main pivot was 2-3 inches away from where it should have been and had to be twisted to get into place. I don't think I've ever seen a single carbon Transition frame that was properly aligned, it's not a huge sample set, but 4-5 and all were out of alignment.
What I would suggest doing is disassembling the rear link. If the swingarm is out of alignment, it'll be obvious because nothing will connect where it should. You will probably also find seized bearings and damaged pivot axles if the bike has been ridden. All of the pivot axles and bolt locations should line up correctly, but you probably will find that they won't. You can also look at the front triangle from the rear and see if there is deflection, but every instance of alignment I had issues with was due to the rear triangle.
Post a reply to: Misaligned Frame