Is it normal to need to hammer in/out your axle bolt?

[navid]

I took out my front wheel for the first time today. I had to hammer the bolt all the way out. It was gentle taps, but at no point did it slide out. When I tried to slide it back to the wheel, it wouldn't go unless I hammer tapped it back. Is this amount of resistance normal for an axle bolt or is it likely warped? In a lot of videos, I see it just slide in/out.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[M. Hausknecht]

Axle could be bent, or one or both fork tubes. My bike had a bent axle from, I think, a fairly gentle low side. I'm assuming the forks are at the same height in the triples. If not, that could be the issue.  

[navid]

17 minutes ago, M. Hausknecht said:

Axle could be bent, or one or both fork tubes. My bike had a bent axle from, I think, a fairly gentle low side. I'm assuming the forks are at the same height in the triples. If not, that could be the issue.  

The forks were different height in the triple tree. That probably created a lot of stress. Possibly warped the bolt.

[klx678]

Always clean and lightly grease front and rear axles anytime you take them out and reinstall them.   Keeps them from seizing in the bearing races.  They will slide out with light tapping on the end to get it started out or in, then pulling it out or slide it back in.    The mechanics at the shop where I sold bikes and did setup, always cleaned and greased the axles before installing them.  

I remember a customer told us about the Dunlop rep, at one of the Wing Ding rider meets while changing their tires, commenting about the greased axles making it easy to remove axles.  The Dunlop rep said it was the way it should be done.  

Edited Sunday at 02:26 PM by klx678

[Lone Wolf]

19 hours ago, navid said:

The forks were different height in the triple tree. That probably created a lot of stress. Possibly warped the bolt.

I doubt that would warp an axle. The stresses of hitting bumps when leaned over won't damage an axle.

The different height may result in some BINDING observed during removal. That is a lot different than warping the axle.

Find some plate glass and roll the axle.

Any slight bend will become obvious, especially if you shine a light at the place where the axle rests on the flat surface and roll it.

Edited Sunday at 09:07 PM by Lone Wolf

[navid]

4 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

I doubt that would warp an axle. The stresses of hitting bumps when leaned over won't damage an axle.

The different height may result in some BINDING observed during removal. That is a lot different than warping the axle.

Find some plate glass and roll the axle.

Any slight bend will become obvious, especially if you shine a light at the place where the axle rests on the flat surface and roll it.

Yup, I agree with you. It may just be that the bolt is a very tight fitting on the wheel. My dad was able to hammer it into the wheel with light taps as I held the wheel up. I'm guessing this much resistance is acceptable.

[navid]

14 hours ago, klx678 said:

Always clean and lightly grease front and rear axles anytime you take them out and reinstall them.   Keeps them from seizing in the bearing races.  They will slide out with light tapping on the end to get it started out or in, then pulling it out or slide it back in.    The mechanics at the shop where I sold bikes and did setup, always cleaned and greased the axles before installing them.  

I remember a customer told us about the Dunlop rep, at one of the Wing Ding rider meets while changing their tires, commenting about the greased axles making it easy to remove axles.  The Dunlop rep said it was the way it should be done.  

Thanks, I got some lithium grease and used it before installing.

[klx678]

13 hours ago, Lone Wolf said:

I doubt that would warp an axle. The stresses of hitting bumps when leaned over won't damage an axle.

The different height may result in some BINDING observed during removal. That is a lot different than warping the axle.

Find some plate glass and roll the axle.

Any slight bend will become obvious, especially if you shine a light at the place where the axle rests on the flat surface and roll it.

In addition to Lone Wolf's comment, there are a fair number of bikes made with only one fork leg having a spring in it, like Honda's CRF300L dual sport.   So being off a bit of how far into the triple clamps that the stanchion tube is wouldn't really put that much stress on the axle.

[M. Hausknecht]

When I was racing my 07, as you'd imagine, I often removed the front axle to change wheels. At one point, I needed to tap the axle out, after previously being to remove it just by pulling with my hand. Yes, I always clean and grease the axle before reinstalling it. After removal, I rolled the axle on a flat steel plate I keep in my shop and, lo and behold, the axle was bent, roughly in the middle. I was very surprised because other than a fairly gently low side, with no contact between either fork or the axle with the ground. and yet. So, I first tried to straighten it, and I was amazed that with just a few whacks with a soft-face hammer, I got about half of the bend out of it. It seemed awfully soft. I worked at it a bit more but couldn't get it fully straight, so I bought a new one. When set up correctly, the axle should slide easily through the fork lowers, very easily when greased. Sometimes this means slightly moving one of the forks up or down in the triples clamps, because of minor length differences which could be internal to the forks. If you wonder about this, I learned it from Kent at GMD Atlanta, who knows a lot more than many about how to set a bike up.

[wollerms]

On 10/21/2024 at 8:50 AM, M. Hausknecht said:

Sometimes this means slightly moving one of the forks up or down in the triples clamps, because of minor length differences which could be internal to the forks. If you wonder about this, I learned it from Kent at GMD Atlanta, who knows a lot more than many about how to set a bike up.

I learned the same from Kent at GMD. I got many forks done there and he advised (if removing forks) to measure from the top of the bottom triple clamp to the axle before removing fork, record measurement. Then when installing, install first fork to that measurement, then align other fork so that axle easily slides through both.    

Edited 4 hours ago by wollerms
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