# Rear wheel removal/installation



## BillyK (Aug 5, 2010)

First of all, I apologize in advance for such a noobie question. 

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon trying to master removing/installing
my rear wheel. My bike is a 2011 Specialized Secteur with the APEX group set.
Lets just say it wasn't a good day. I got the wheel off without a problem, but getting the wheel back on was a problem. I managed to get it on a couple of times but I think I just got lucky, and my hands were covered with grease throughout the process. Most of the YouTube videos I watched made it appear so seamless. Most of them didn't even involve touching the derailleur. They just held up the frame with one hand, positioned the tire such that the chain was over the smallest cog, and popped it into place. Needless to say, this didn't work for me. Anyhow, I brought the bike over to my LBS as I needed a computer installed and while I was there, I figured I'd ask them to give me a quick lesson on installing the rear tire. I noticed that the mechanic actually pulled the derailleur back which provided a lot more room to position the chain over the cog. It took me a few tries but then I finally was able to do it myself. I guess my question is this: Do different derailleur systems require different methods for installing the tire? As far as I could tell, there was no way I could just seamlessly install the rear tire without grabbing the derailleur and pulling it back, yet I saw lots of videos where they didn't have to touch the derailleur at all. Maybe I'm missing something, but this didn't seem possible with my particular setup. For those of you that have an SRAM group set, do you need to pull the derailleur back in order to install the rear wheel? Earlier I tested out my wife's Rock Hopper MTB and it was a piece of cake to install her rear wheel. I didn't even have to touch the derailleur. I'm wondering if the SRAM/APEX setup is somehow different and requires that extra step. Sorry for rambling but I need to master this before I move on to replacing a tube.  Thanks in advance!

- Bill


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

I always grab the rear dérailleur. No need to get greasy hands doing so


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## mtrider05 (Aug 8, 2009)

Hm, must be a SRAM thing. I just fixed a rear flat and didn't touch anything but the skewer and brake quick release when I took the tire off and put it back on.


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## BillyK (Aug 5, 2010)

To further clarify, it didn't seem possible to get beyond the derailleur with the cogs without pulling the derailleur back. Otherwise the tire would hit the frame before clearing it. I guess I was just confused as I was seeing many others installing their rear wheels without having to do this. I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing something. Once I have my bike back tomorrow I'll do a little more practicing. Today wasn't pretty though. Grease everywhere, sore hands from grabbing the chain and everything else. Grease marks all over my frame. Ended up having to wash down my entire bike, use some SG to remove the grease stains, and then followed up with some bike lust. Thanks for chiming in.


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## LMWEL (Jan 5, 2010)

*Try this .*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA3DZ0v9Kw8


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## BillyK (Aug 5, 2010)

LMWEL said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA3DZ0v9Kw8


Yeah, I think that's the method we used today. I wonder if she's available for rent.


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## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

I always turn my bike upside down. I just lift the chain with one finger and drop the wheel in. The cassette usually hits the pulleys, but it just pushes it out of the way. Easy.


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## BillyK (Aug 5, 2010)

Notice how this guy "seeds the chain". This is the method that I was unable to do. I would need to pull the derailleur back. This is the method that I was trying to accomplish to no avail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhlUI9ry2JY&feature=player_embedded


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## Peanya (Jun 12, 2008)

Watched the video. By pushing the wheel inward, the derailleur will automatically be pushed back by the cassette cogs. Turn your bike upside down and try it so you can see better what's happening. Later on, you can do it with your bike upright.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Don't touch that chain!*



BillyK said:


> I spent a couple of hours this afternoon trying to master removing/installing
> my rear wheel. I got the wheel off without a problem, but getting the wheel back on was a problem. I managed to get it on a couple of times but I think I just got lucky, and my hands were covered with grease throughout the process.


Here's the process to simply change your rear wheel when you have a flat tire. You'll note in this that you NEVER needed to touch the chain. I just can't believe the number of people whose first instinct is to grab the chain, both when removing the wheel and reinstalling it.

1. As you're coming to a stop, shift to the small chain ring and smallest cog.
2. If needed, open your brake quick release (you may not need it to remove the wheel, but you may need it if you pump your tire up before you put it back in the frame).
3. Typically, you can just smack the top of the wheel and it will drop right out of the frame. If not, grab the derailleur body and pivot it toward the back of the bike. NOTE: you are pivoting the derailleur body, so you don't have to get your hands near the chain. Tilting the frame a bit to the side helps prevent the cassette cogs from catching the chain as you move the wheel down and out of the frame.
4. Lay the bike gently on the non-drive side or have a riding buddy hold it, making sure that the chain doesn't come off the chain ring.
5. After replacing the tube, place the wheel in the frame while guiding the small cassette cog onto the upper run of the chain.
6. Center the wheel on the brakes, and again pivot the derailleur body back to allow the axle to catch the dropouts, centered on both sides.
7. Pull the wheel up into the dropouts. You may need to fiddle just a bit with the quick release skewer to get it centered and past the derailleur upper pivot.
8. Rest the bike wheels on the ground and tighten the wheel's quick release. This makes sure that the wheel is centered in the dropouts.
9. Close the brake quick release if you opened it.
10. Finish pumping the tire if needed.

If the chain has come off the small chainring, stand on the left side of the bike and tilt it away from you. Use the toe of your shoe to push the chain onto the teeth of the small chainring and backpedal the cranks to get the chain back on. Again, NEVER touching the chain.

If you drop your chain while riding, either due to a shifting problem or because you hit a rough spot and the chain gets bounced off the chainrings, the first thing to do is keep riding and try to shift the chain back onto the chainring. If you can't manage that, you can use this same "toe of the shoe" procedure to put it back on easily and keep you from getting your hands dirty.


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## Erion929 (Jun 10, 2010)

Damn, I've never gotten a flat (knock wood  ) .....only watched YouTube also. Maybe I better practice like BillyK :mad2: 

Thanks for the heads up...:thumbsup: 

**


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## mccurdy21 (Mar 31, 2009)

I practiced this on the front and rear, plus tube removal, the first day I had my bike... a couple times. Of course, I didn't get a flat until a year later so I still got to fumble around with it.


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## BillyK (Aug 5, 2010)

Ok, I got my bike back from my LBS today. I took some time this afternoon to practice once again removing/installing the wheel. I found it to be much easier turning the bike upside down. I think I have a system now that'll work consistently, so on to changing a flat. Following a YouTube video I went through the motions 3 times so I'm now fairly comfortable with changing a flat. However, I had purchased this Bontrager C02 kit for inflation. I must tell you, I'm not a big fan of the CO2. It's definitely not fool proof, at least for me. I also discovered that I'm not good at gauging how much pressure is in the tire. What felt decent to me turned out to be only 50-60psi so forget about that. Anyhow, my thinking now is that I carry the CO2 kit with a couple of cartridges as a BACKUP plan, and I purchase a frame pump that includes a gauge. My local LBS sells the following pump. Has anyone had any experience with this:

http://www.rei.com/product/648089

I think I'll feel a lot more secure knowing I have a manual pump on board versus being solely dependent on a CO2 system. All my rides are solo at this point. Thoughts?

- Bill


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

BillyK said:


> Thoughts?
> 
> - Bill


Most people carry a small pump as a back-up to their CO2, not the other way around. IMO, with that (very good) pump, you'll never need "back-up CO2".

As to your 50-60 psi: I think (and someone correct me if I'm wrong here), people just blow an entire cartridge into their tire after making sure the tube is seated correctly. Final pressure depends on the size of the cartridge and the size of the tire. One CO2 device seller says that an entire 12-gram cartridge will fill a 700x23 tire to 90-100 psi; an entire 16-gram cartridge will fill a 700x23 tire to 125-135 psi. But also keep in mind that you can easily ride home on 60 psi. Just don't hit any potholes.

I used CO2 for a while, but went back to a pump. CO2 is nice if you're in a big hurry.


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## BillyK (Aug 5, 2010)

wim said:


> Most people carry a small pump as a back-up to their CO2, not the other way around. IMO, with that (very good) pump, you'll never need "back-up CO2".
> 
> As to your 50-60 psi: I think (and someone correct me if I'm wrong here), people just blow an entire cartridge into their tire after making sure the tube is seated correctly. Final pressure depends on the size of the cartridge and the size of the tire. One CO2 device seller says that an entire 12-gram cartridge will fill a 700x23 tire to 90-100 psi; an entire 16-gram cartridge will fill a 700x23 tire to 125-135 psi. But also keep in mind that you can easily ride home on 60 psi. Just don't hit any potholes.
> 
> I used CO2 for a while, but went back to a pump. It's nice if you're in a big hurry.



Actually I did try emptying an entire cartridge just for grins to see what it'd do. Of course this was after I used a small amount to shape the tube prior to replacement. Although I'm sure much of this is due to inexperience and inefficiencies, but when I checked the tire with a floor pump afterwards, it was only around 80lbs. I think personally I'd rather just use a decent mini pump with a gauge as my primary inflator, and have a couple of cartridges on board as backup. Once I'm confident that the pump is reliable, I may ditch the CO2 system all together. I wish I had just gone with a pump from the get-go but one of my LBS guys talked me into the CO2 kit. Oh well, live and learn.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

BillyK said:


> Although I'm sure much of this is due to inexperience and inefficiencies, but when I checked the tire with a floor pump afterwards, it was only around 80lbs.


Most likely, not due to inexperience. It's almost impossible not to lose 10-30 psi when attaching a floor pump chuck to a Presta valve. Many times, people complain about their tubes losing lots of air overnight when, in fact, attaching their floor pump chuck is what caused the big pressure drop.

I'd ditch the CO2 sooner than later. It's just needless weight when you have a good pump on board. However, do check the Topeak Road Morph every two years or so for proper function. Unless they changed their design, the piston seal is an O-ring which rolled off its seat on my Road Morph at a bad time. The lube (looked like Vaseline) dried out. You can re-lube the O-ring by unscrewing the slotted handle retainer ring and pulling the pump guts out. Smear some lube on the O-ring and re-insert the pump guts, then screw the retainer ring back down.


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## BillyK (Aug 5, 2010)

wim said:


> Most likely, not due to inexperience. It's almost impossible not to lose 10-30 psi when attaching a floor pump chuck to a Presta valve. Many times, people complain about their tubes losing lots of air overnight when, in fact, attaching their floor pump chuck is what caused the big pressure drop.
> 
> I'd ditch the CO2 sooner than later. It's just needless weight when you have a good pump on board. However, do check the Topeak Road Morph every two years or so for proper function. Unless they changed their design, the piston seal is an O-ring which rolled off its seat on my Road Morph at a bad time. The lube (looked like Vaseline) dried out. You can re-lube the O-ring by unscrewing the slotted handle retainer ring and pulling the pump guts out. Smear some lube on the O-ring and re-insert the pump guts, then screw the retainer ring back down.


Thanks for the advice. BTW, where did you install the Road Morph? My understanding is that it comes with some sort of installation bracket. I'm presently using a couple of bottle cages so I'm thinking that it'll need to be installed on the back of the seat tube.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

BillyK said:


> Thanks for the advice. BTW, where did you install the Road Morph? My understanding is that it comes with some sort of installation bracket. I'm presently using a couple of bottle cages so I'm thinking that it'll need to be installed on the back of the seat tube.


Mine came with a slide-in holding bracket which attaches to the frame tube of your choice (front of the seat tube on my bike, I don't drink much while I'm riding). But my pump is at least five years old, so who knows what they do now. My pump slides into that bracket, with a small retainer tab keeping it from sliding back out. Idiot that I am, I pushed that retainer tab hard the wrong way one day and broke it clean off. But I called Topeak and they sent me a new holding bracket free of charge. :thumbsup:


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Number 1 on Kerry's list is, IMO, the most important. Always shift to the smallest cog before removing or reinstalling the wheel. If you haven't been doing this you'll be surprised at how much easier it makes it.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Losses*



wim said:


> It's almost impossible not to lose 10-30 psi when attaching a floor pump chuck to a Presta valve.


That's funny, because when I put my Silca pump head on the vavle, I get no air loss at all. It just slides right on there and unless I get it crooked somehow, it doesn't activate the valve so I get no air loss. My Zefal frame pump is another story, and I can just about count on starting over from zero with that thing.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

Kerry Irons said:


> That's funny, because when I put my Silca pump head on the vavle, I get no air loss at all. It just slides right on there and unless I get it crooked somehow, it doesn't activate the valve so I get no air loss. My Zefal frame pump is another story, and I can just about count on starting over from zero with that thing.


Well, I figured there are no retro Silca pumps in the RBR Beginner's Corner. But being on my third or fourth Silca chuck gasket, I know what you're talking about and agree 100%. Now, how do you keep your Silca pump from falling over as soon as you so much as look at it? 

/w


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## SidNitzerglobin (Jun 22, 2010)

LMWEL said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA3DZ0v9Kw8


?!?! ZOMFG !!!

That's pretty awesome...


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## John Nelson (Mar 10, 2006)

Whether you lose air or not when you put the pump head on, you cannot accurately measure tire pressure with a pump. If you want to measure tire pressure, buy a guage.


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