Forum

[vince]

Hi, Your original thread stated "I was reading an earlier thread and saw the issue of alignment and the snail cams not necessarily being equally set. I went straight out to see " up until that point was there a problem? The important thing is wheel alignment not if the cams are equal. If you can get the wheels to align job done.

[ric]

Good news is that the source of the problem appears to have been identified, the rear wheel is not where it ought to be.
This was my issue as well, solved by the addition of material on the left and removal of it from the right. The exact same problem a friend identified on his early EFI model where the left edges of both front and rear tyres were in a straight line - an MOT failure straight off the production line - convenient - not!
Very difficult to detect using the string method or one straight edge, but not so with two straight edges fixed either side of the rear wheel.
Welcome to the world of longer rear tyre life!

[jefrs]

Ric, that is interesting but could you please explain a bit more about removing materiel from the right and putting it on the left?

[jefrs]

Vince, that was what I was getting at in the first place, some seem to assume putting the cams on the same notches is job done. Not.

[jefrs]

zonggong, we seem to find the EFI will cruise at 65mph (mine has a little more grunt and will cruise at 70mph) 60mph is 100kph, 70mph is 110kph. If your bike handles well or well enough your alignment is probably ok. But you may have vibration problems, which may be curable, but another thread (common problem). Btw the single spacer washer is about 5mm thick.

[jefrs]

Getting back to alignment. As mentioned earlier I recently re-fettled the brake and re-fitted the wheel so yesterday I double checked the alignment. I had previously have centre punched the cams at the 12th notch counting from the point and it would appear that as I tightened the spindle last time the LHS cam slipped back to the 12th notch. This time I took the panniers off so I could see better. I got the big spirit level out and found a length of angle-iron originally off an old bedstead. I found I could get the bike on a pair of axle stands on their lowest setting with the wheels on the ground. The front wheel was off set to the left, nearly touching but the right was a good inch off. Moving the left side of the rear spindle back one notch put the front wheel back to centre between the rails. Moving two notches moved the front offset well over to the other side. So I set it correct again. This is the second time I've managed to slip the cam when tightening the spindle, I presume the force applied by the big spanner is sufficient to force the cam around. This time I double checked the cam and put the auto-punch on the correct mark (which is where I had it before pulling the brake apart). I now have double dots at 12th and a single dot at 11th on the left (counting from the point). Marking the cam permanently makes it easier to count notches.



Moving the cam /one/ notch makes a significant alteration to the alignment. Given that one notch threw it that far I suggest that if you have a big difference between left and right, you may have something else wrong with the frame alignment.

[zonggong]

Thanks Jefrs ... I'm taking the bike back to the dealer on Wednesday so will see what they say. I don't have a lot of confidence that they will a) understand the problem or b) be able to do anything about it. I suspect the offset problem may be to do with the alignment of the rim on the hub but can't be sure as I haven't taken off the wheel to enable some measurements. If the offset problem could be fixed I think that alignment would be a lot easier. My bike began its life with both cams on notch 12.

[Les]

When you tighten the spindle one side pulls against the cam the other pulls away, put a ratchet strap on the side that pulls away ratchet it up tight to the frame, tightening the spindle becomes a much easier job

[jefrs]

Les, not sure what a "ratchet strap" is? Sounds like a chain wrench, not sure how that would work?



The C5 has a hole in the spindle for a tommy-bar, which is far from ideal. Once the self-lock nut is finger tight it is really a case of keep an eye on it whilst torquing it up. I am really not bendable so I find this crouching down behind the wheel with a hand both sides quite painful, and explains how I botched it last time. Sorted nicely.



I re-did the alignment yesterday whilst we were enjoying some gloriously heavy showers of rain. So I went out to splatter some bugs in the sun today and the bike handles practically perfect now.

[jefrs]

zonggong - I don't know why you have two washers but they seem to be half the normal thickn0ess. The rear wheel should align with the frame down tubes, I see no real reason why it should have to be equidistant between the swinging arms - this bike evolved from one with the drive on the other side and the swinging arms do not have to be symmetrical, just put the wheel in the middle of the bike. Some push bikes have deliberately offset arms to accommodate the extra space for the dérailleur block; I have no reason to think RE re-invented their old swinging arm all that much. Unless you've dropped the bike, I can't think of a reason why the frame geometry might have changed.