Space Between Front Axle Collars and Fork Tubes?
 

After I put the new tire on the the front of the bike I noticed the brake was dragging so bad I could barely push the bike. Before taking the wheel off there was ZERO drag, which in itself is pretty remarkable, because most of the bikes I have owned/ridden had a bit of front drag. Anyway, I had tried everything and I could not make it stop! I even thought maybe it just needed to be ridden for a while, but I have taken a few long rides and that has done nothing.

So... I decided to just take it all apart and start from scratch, this time I left about 1/4" of space between the collar and fork tube on each side. There is still a bit of drag but nowhere near as much.

Does anyone know what I am doing wrong here? Could someone take a look at their bike or tell me if there is meant to be a certain amount of space?

Could it be your brake that's dragging? Maybe a stuck piston or something? 1/4" is about what I have on mine, and it seems to spin OK (though I haven't taken it out yet.) Here's a few pics, though it'd hard to gauge distance:

Yeah, the pads are dragging, but I think that is because the wheel/axle is not installed properly. It seems to me that if there is space between the collars and the fork tubes the wheel will drift back and forth creating more wear on all the components. It will also cause more wear on the pads and rotors? Common sense says it should be done up tight, but for some reason the tighter I make it, the more the brakes drag! Usually I can work things out, but this makes no sense to me at all!

Well, like you say it could only be a couple of things. The axle only goes in so far, and the collars are the only thing that gives the wheel space.

Could the wheel be in backwards? Are the rotors still true? Did the brake bolts come out for any reason?

I ordered a full set of pads, front and rear. I am gonna blow the pistons out and check the seals and everything. Clean it all up and make sure it all works properly, hopefully I'll find something when I do that!

Here are pictures of the places where I have space. I guess it is more like 1/8 inch per side. But should there be any space here at all?



http://i52.tinypic.com/bhwup3.jpg



http://i55.tinypic.com/2yn5edg.jpg

Are you missing a spacer on the right side, F3? Or have it switched around? I seem to have a little more space than that.

(Right side facing, I should clarify. Left side from the rear.)

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-x...0/IMAG0002.jpg

That looks the same to me Vegas, but with no space between the axle and collar. This is how I think it should be, so hopefully when I break down the brakes and clean them up it will solve my problem!

Thanks for the pic!

maybe?
YouTube - ‪Performance Upgrades- Proper Front Wheel Installation‬‏

Yeah, I did the front end bouncy trick.

I figured out what the problem was, one of the pistons on the shifter side was locked up. I cleaned and lubed them all and it is totally fine now.