# Front wheel not centered in fork



## stburr91 (Apr 12, 2011)

I'm assembling my Motobecane 600HT, and I put the front wheel on and it isn't centered inside the fork, is this normal? It has Dart 2 forks.

ETA: I took the tire off, and measured as best I could, and the rim seems to be constantly off center by 2mm. Is that enough to worry about?

With the tire on, it looked a lot more than 2mm off center.

ETA: I flipped the wheel around, and it was still off center to the same side, so I guess it's the forks. Should I be concerned about the forks being off?


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## XCSKIBUM (Mar 15, 2010)

stburr91 said:


> I'm assembling my Motobecane 600HT, and I put the front wheel on and it isn't centered inside the fork, is this normal? It has Dart 2 forks.


If the disc lines up W/the caliper, I would say that the wheel need trued for the correct offset.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

It's not normal.

Take the tire off and make sure the wheel's actually off. Sometimes it's just the tire.

If the wheel itself is off, either the wheel is built a little wrong or the fork casting is a little wrong. Probably the wheel - I haven't heard about problems with the casting for the Dart 2.

You need your LBS to re-dish it. Get BD to pay for it, or exchange the wheel. Or you can pay for it yourself, but it may be a somewhat pricey repair. It's not that complicated, but it's time-consuming. If you're doing that anyway, have them look at the rear wheel too, and go over the assembly of the bike in general.

parktool.com has great instructions for tuning and repair of almost anything on a bike. However, wheel dishing is incredibly difficult without a dish stick, and a truing stand is a very useful thing to have for that job too.


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## Markapuu (Feb 24, 2011)

Take it off and try it again. I took my bike out of the car last week and put the front wheel back on when I put it in the garage. The disc was in the caliper, but the wheel was noticeably off-center even though it spun freely (somewhat...). I took it off and, made sure everything was lined up, and it was centered this time. I don't know what exactly was off, but I fixed it putting it back on the second time.


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## stburr91 (Apr 12, 2011)

I took the tire off, and measured as best I could, and the rim seems to be constantly off center by 2mm. Is that enough to worry about?

I haven't even put the rotor or caliper on yet, so I don't know if that is lining up correctly.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

I'd want to fix it. 2mm is not that much, but these things tend to get worse, and can point to poor wheel construction.

First, make sure you have it seated right. (It really is possible to do it wrong. I never have, of course.  )

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/wheel-removal-and-installation


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## jpeters (Nov 19, 2010)

my wheel is a little off and never had a problem


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

I know some other Rock Shox forks have had issues with the lowers not being 'straight' with the effect being that the wheel sits off center in the dropouts. I have seen it first hand in a brand new 2011 REBA a friend had.

If you mount the wheel backwards and it is still off the same amount to the same side, it's the fork. If is off to the other side, it's the wheel.

You might have to take off the rotor to mount the wheel backwards, but it's an easy way to check.


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## stburr91 (Apr 12, 2011)

jeffj said:


> I know some other Rock Shox forks have had issues with the lowers not being 'straight' with the effect being that the wheel sits off center in the dropouts. I have seen it first hand in a brand new 2011 REBA a friend had.
> 
> If you mount the wheel backwards and it is still off the same amount to the same side, it's the fork. If is off to the other side, it's the wheel.
> 
> You might have to take off the rotor to mount the wheel backwards, but it's an easy way to check.


That's so obvious I should have thought to check it.

I flipped the wheel around, and it was still off center to the same side, so I guess it's the forks. Should I be concerned about the forks being off?


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