Cycle wing support rubbing on tyre. Tips/tricks?

[rotorwings]

My front right tyre is rubbing on the rear cycle wing support during left cornering.

My cycle wings are carbon fibre and bonded to the cycle wing supports with some 'thick black sticky stuff' (factory build 'thick black sticky stuff', that is).

Is the only way to resolve this through bending the stay? can the mounting be changed/moved?

Any tips or tricks?

[DCL]

Best to try adjusting the mounts first. You can place washers under them, or elongate the holes, to get better clearance. But, if it is only during cornering, check the wheel bearing is adjusted correctly.

[rotorwings]

Thanks DCL.

It is only during cornering, but I think it is just the movement of the tyre as there is only 3mm or so clearance at rest. I think it is just the tyre wall movement.

Pardon my ignorance - how would I check the wheel bearing adjustment? Jack the corner up and test for side-play in the wheel?

[CharlesElliott]

Just bend the stay. It's a common problem.

[DCL]

rotorwings said:

Pardon my ignorance - how would I check the wheel bearing adjustment? Jack the corner up and test for side-play in the wheel?

Different people have different ideas - ranging from doing up the castellated nut finger tight, to a significant pre-load. Personally, I use the Caterham factory's figure of 8 NM for pre-load, and that ties in with the bearing manufactures advice too. But 8 NM torque is not a lot so, unless you've got a precision torque wrench for that range, a little less pre-load is safer than too much. The correct pre-load distributes the load evenly around the bearing and will maximise performance and bearing life.

Procedure is to tighten while rotating the wheel, then back off until you can fit a split-pin through. With pre-load there will be no play when testing by hand with the car jacked up.

[downsman]

DCL said:

Different people have different ideas - ranging from doing up the castellated nut finger tight, to a significant pre-load. Personally, I use the Caterham factory's figure of 8 NM for pre-load, and that ties in with the bearing manufactures advice too. But 8 NM torque is not a lot so, unless you've got a precision torque wrench for that range, a little less pre-load is safer than too much. The correct pre-load distributes the load evenly around the bearing and will maximise performance and bearing life.

Procedure is to tighten while rotating the wheel, then back off until you can fit a split-pin through. With pre-load there will be no play when testing by hand with the car jacked up.

I had to do the front bearings recently and you are right some preload is required. With the nut finger tight the inner races were rotating on the stub axle which is obviously not a good idea. The nut needs to be tightened so that the hub can be turned by hand reasonably easily but the inner races stay still when the wheel is turned.

[DCL]

The whole stability of the bearing benefits from pre-load, not only (as you say) the stub axle, but also the outer races. If the load is not evenly distributed, the outer race will flex and can eventually loosen in the hub.

[IBDAET]

This is a tyre wall flex issue.

Cut the wing off the stay by carfully slicing through the black gloop with a long starp blade (like the long blades from DIY knives). Then, with a bar (like a jack handle), you can bend the stay slightly.

I removed both front wings from my car last week using this method.