Bike not going straight, how to fix it?
- Thread starter El C
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I would first check that the wheels are centered. Front wheel centered in the forks and rear wheel centered in the stays. I guess the neck might not be straight, so check if the neck and bar's are straight with the front wheel.
If all those things are good then maybe the forks are too tight or something is bent.
That's all I can think of at the moment...
If all those things are good then maybe the forks are too tight or something is bent.
That's all I can think of at the moment...
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I have had forks that were so slightly bent that I could not tell when I placed them on a melamine board and tried measuring every way I could think of. I replaced them and everything ran straight. The bike pulled before I replaced the forks. Now when my new bikes pull, the first ting i do is replace the forks. A good bike shop might have a fork tool that will indicate if it is bent and then the tool can be used to straighten it. If I can't match the fork paint I use black and paint darts or stripes that are close to one of the original colors. This looks better than a not prefect color match.
Before ya do anything, I suggest finding what is causing your pull. As mentioned, a wheel not bolted in straight, misaligned neck, bent fork/frame can all cause a pull. Take a good look at how the wheels are clamped down and the fork...you will probably find your answer.
Yep. You have to get the wheels, rider's weight, and steering head all in the same plane. With inexpensive mass produced bikes, the wheels may not be centered in the stays, the front wheel and fork may both be off center to the same degree and only aligned with the wheel one way, and not if flipped. Often the wheels can be "budged" into alignment when installing them, but some bikes will require re-dishing of wheels, filing/grinding of the dropouts, or frame/fork bending, or some combination thereof. First step try to get the wheels into alignment and parallel with each other without worrying about how "centered" they appear. It may or may not be all you need to do, if not it should make what the problem is apparent.
