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Tech front wheel will not drop from fork

JackTheCommuter

Maximum Pace
Apr 3, 2012
402
100
I screwed up this evenning. I dropped the bicycle while it was in a rinko bag and the front fork landed hard on the pavement. Examining it showed no obvious damage and front wheel went on, with a bit of fuss. I should have stopped and aborted at this point, but did not!

On the way home, the front developed a slow leak and stopped to change it. But the front wheel would not drop out even with the skewer completely removed. One side the wheel is free of the fork but the other side is stuck.

I'm out of my mechanical league here. Anyone seen anything similar? Is it repairable?
 
Metal dropout?

If so, then obviously you have bent it.

Take photos of the dropouts, close up and clear, so we can have a look at it for you.
 
As TCC intuited above, you've bent the lip on the left side dropout. The gap is now smaller than the axle.

You can pull the fork blades apart to remove the wheel.

A few minutes with a file should open the gap enough for you to use it normally again. Examine carefully the bond between the aluminum dropout and the carbon fiber fork blade. If you detect any sign of wobbliness or separation, discontinue use and replace the fork. I think this unlikely, though. In my experience they are pretty tough.
 
You can pull the fork blades apart to remove the wheel.

I did pull the fork apart but the left axle bit stuck to the fork. The right axle is free and the fork easily bends away.

I'm hesitant to put too much force. I worry that the wheel hub would get damaged.

Anyways, I'll try gorilla'ing it over the weekend. Thanks for the advice.
 
You need to gently open up the dropout on the left side, so that the axle can drop out the bottom. A large flat blade screwdriver should be all you need to do this; you can lever the bent part of the dropout (the front of the slot) away from the rear part of the slot. But you must be careful, because aluminium will work harden and become brittle if it is bent too much. So do it a bit at a time and get it just wide enough for the axle to come free and no further.
 
^I would not start bending things open with tools, for the very reason you stated; this will accelerate work hardening / fatigue. @Half-Fast Mike has the better solution; pull the end of the hub axle out of the offending dropout coaxially, then file the slot big enough to accept the axle in the normal direction again. There is a load of material to play with in the dropouts, so you can remove a bit of it and not cause yourself any problems.
 
Hang on...

You dropped the bike onto the fork ends with the front wheel out of the forks. Then you managed to get the front wheel into the forks again for the ride home, and it is only now when you try to take the front wheel out, after having no problems getting in, post-droppage, that you are having issues.

When you put the front wheel into the fork dropouts after dropping the bike, did you notice any resistance / tightness?

If not, are you sure you are not just being a melt, and have the little spring thing on the skewer jammed in the dropout at a weird angle?
 
You dropped the bike onto the fork ends with the front wheel out of the forks. Then you managed to get the front wheel into the forks again for the ride home, and it is only now when you try to take the front wheel out, after having no problems getting in, post-droppage, that you are having issues.
Yes.

When you put the front wheel into the fork dropouts after dropping the bike, did you notice any resistance / tightness?
Yes. And I was an idiot to ride off on it.

Hurt me more? I am a sad salaryman.

The left fork and wheel, the one with skewer, is the one stuck to each other. The right fork and wheel are free off of each other. Even when the skewer is completely removed, the wheel remains.
 
Sounds like the fork legs are out of alignment. From the front push the left and pull the right (or vice versa) and the wheel should drop out.
 
Sounds like the fork legs are out of alignment. From the front push the left and pull the right (or vice versa) and the wheel should drop out.

It sounds nothing at all like that in any way whatsoever.

@JackTheCommuter just stop being weak, grab hold of the offending fork leg, and the rim and wiggle it out. You will not damage the axle beyond maybe scratching / scuffing the surface of it slightly. Once you have it out, then file the dropout back to shape.
In summary, stop being a fanny.
 
You will not damage the axle beyond maybe scratching / scuffing the surface of it slightly. Once you have it out, then file the dropout back to shape.

Indeed. Tightening the QR when you put the wheel back in probably wedged it in a bit tighter, that's all. Thump the wheel until it comes free.
 
stop being a fanny.

You don't need to 'schedule' anything. This is a 3 second job at most. Yank it out, file the dropout, job done.

You are making a mountain out of a molehill.
 
Yeah, take off yer socks, get your foot over the rim, toes between the spokes, then yank up. If you're worried about further damage, grab under the fork crown so you're not impacting anything when you yank. I can guarantee* that nothing horrible is going to happen. If your QR skewers are out of the way, you're not going to bend anything by pulling down and lifting up in a straight line.

*I can't guarantee, but come on, the bike won't explode. Exploding bikes are the sole preserve of my Chinese carbon jobber.
 
Do I need to make an extremely high resolution, graphics card scorching, ultra technical, hyper-polygon 3D render to show you what to do?
 
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