Rear wheel alignment

[reconstyle]

Putting a bike together with some enve 3.4's and the rear wheel seems a little off, when installed correctly the right side of the wheel is very close to the seat stay, when I flip the wheel around (cassette on the non-driveside) the wheel seems perfectly aligned. I've made sure that the wheel is all the way seated in the drop-outs and have played around with QR tension and it still seems to be off...

[Dead Man]

those pics are HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE...

[reconstyle]

those pics are HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE...

Sorry, I resized them for those of you who don't browse the internet on a 60" screen.

[false_Aest]

This:

http://www.parktool.com/product/wheel-alignment-gauge-wag-4 (http://www.parktool.com/product/wheel-alignment-gauge-wag-4)

Then this:

http://www.parktool.com/product/frame-alignment-gauge-fag-2 (http://www.parktool.com/product/frame-alignment-gauge-fag-2)

Then this:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/31Yze2DlGZL._SX300_.jpg

[AngryScientist]

can you try that wheel in another frame, and conversely, try a different wheel in this frame?

that would confirm if it's a wheel issue or a frame issue.

[Cicli]

Is the lockring or something hitting the derailuer hanger?

[reconstyle]

can you try that wheel in another frame, and conversely, try a different wheel in this frame?

that would confirm if it's a wheel issue or a frame issue.

Looks like it's a frame issue...the enve wheel sits fine in my Wilier frame and my campy wheel sits crooked in the Cervelo frame...

Is this fixable?

[Cicli]

Looks like it's a frame issue...the enve wheel sits fine in my Wilier frame and my campy wheel sits crooked in the Cervelo frame...

Is this fixable?

With carbon?
Maybe if its a dropout but an alignment issue? Nope. Carbon cant really be realigned.

[reconstyle]

With carbon?
Maybe if its a dropout but an alignment issue? Nope. Carbon cant really be realigned.

It seems that if I don't seat the left side (non-drive side) of the wheel all the way in the dropout, then the alignment is fine. Could I just center the wheel between the brake pads and tighten the QR's? Does the wheel have to be fully seated in the dropouts?

[Cicli]

It seems that if I don't seat the left side (non-drive side) of the wheel all the way in the dropout, then the alignment is fine. Could I just center the wheel between the brake pads and tighten the QR's? Does the wheel have to be fully seated in the dropouts?

Yeah, it will never hold if not seated in the dropout properly. Especially in a carbon frame. You may be able to remove material from the other dropout to bring it into alignment. Is there any schmuts in the dropout holding it up?

[jtakeda]

Does the wheel have to be fully seated in the dropouts?

Do you have a particularly attractive face or do you have to deal with clients in person on a regular basis for work?

[FlashUNC]

Wheel dished weird? Would seem to me if its fine one way and off another, that might be a culprit.

[zmudshark]

Wheel dished weird? Would seem to me if its fine one way and off another, that might be a culprit.

^^^ Looks like dish to me.

[ultraman6970]

Check out paint in the drop outs.

Well could be the RD hanger that is a littlle bit off, seen that before. Is not flush with the drop outs.

[R3awak3n]

if it was dish it would be wrong when he turned the wheel around

[David Tollefson]

It's both the wheel and the frame. The fact that the rim doesn't hit the same place when reversed tells me the dish is slightly off. The fact that the offset isn't symmetric around the frame centerline says there's an issue with the dropouts. Could be that they're not centered left-to-right, or that the dropouts aren't allowing the axle to seat parallel to the BB axis. The only way to check the first condition is to put it on an alignment table with a BB whipping post -- however, if it's not centered, there's nothing you can do about it. You could gently file on the right dropout until the wheel centers (make sure it's centering both at the brake bridge AND the chainstays).

[Hindmost]

(make sure it's centering both at the brake bridge AND the chainstays).

Good point. Is the same off-centeredness occurring at the chainstays?

[unterhausen]

It's both the wheel and the frame.
I agree, as reported in the OP, it's both. Fix the wheel and then see how far off the frame really is. Assuming it has a replaceable hangar, that might be a little off

[Mark McM]

Another possibility not yet mentioned is a bent axle. Even if the frame is perfectly aligned and the rim centered, if the axle is bent the wheel alignment in the frame can shift if the axle is rotated from one wheel installation to the next. Bent axles are not nearly as common with freehubs as they were with freewheel hubs, but it can still happen.

Here's how to check for a bent axle: Mount the wheel in the frame, making sure the axle is fully seated in the dropout before tightening the skewer. Take note of the alignment of the wheel in the frame. Open the skewer and rotate the axle in the dropouts a quarter turn, and tighten the skewer again. Take note of the alignment of the wheel again to see if it has changed with axle rotation.

Repeat again, rotating the axle a quarter turn each time, until the axle has been turned a complete 360 degree rotation. Note: Make sure the wheel is in the same rotational position each time you check the alignment - for example, turn the wheel so the valve stem is aligned with the seat stays each time. This will remove errors due to rim truing.

If the wheel alignment changes with the rotation of the axle, the axle is likely bent.