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Is my front wheel on backwards? [Solved]
#1
Hello,

I was doing some maintenance on my road bike and I took the front wheel off, removed the quick release axle from the wheel, set the wheel aside, and put a drop of tri flow on the axle to lubricate it.

When I returned to the wheel to reinstall the axle I knew the quick release goes on the left side of the bike's fork due to previous pictures I have taken of the bike. However, returning to the wheel I had set down, I cannot remember which side of the wheel was the "left side".

My main concern is that while I have the quick release in the correct position relative to the fork, did I accidently flip the orientation of the wheel? The bike has v-brakes so I cannot reference a disc to make sure I am returning the wheel to it's proper orientation, and it has slick tires that does not have a "rotation/directional" arrow.

The only comparison I can make is that when looking down from a top view of the bike towards the center (right in between the spokes) on the hub the word "prowheel" reads from left to right in the middle of the rear wheel. So I installed the front wheel also to match the word "prowheel" reading from left to right.

Essentially I want to ask if it makes sense the way I returned the front wheel to the bike? Can you even put a front wheel with a slick tire and no disc brake restriction on "backwards"? Does my logic make sense with returning the wheel to match the wording on the front and back inner hubs?

Thanks in advanced for your time, let me know if you need pictures to make what I am trying to describe more clear.

Joe
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#2
hello. photos would be nice just to see the tires (completely slick, right?) and wheels.
in your case you have rim brakes + slick tires, so no worries. what my personal experience tells, front wheels typically are symetric and there shouldn't really be difference, unlike with the rear wheel. you are right about the left side, QR levers preferably should be on the left side for both front and rear wheel.

classic article: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/slicks.html
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#3
Thank you! One slight edit to my post is that the hub says "Chosen" not "prowheel."

Yes, here are pictures.

Picture 1 is a picture of the wheel and slick tire.
   

Picture 2 is the orientation of the wheel in which I perceive to be correct,
I put the quick release skewer into the front wheel with the handle to the left with the hub writing saying "chosen" reading from left to right when looking down at it.
   

Picture 3 is the wheel flipped 180 Degrees and installed and what I perceive to be incorrect, the quick release handle is still to the left but with the hub writing of chosen is reading right to left/upside down which I think could be the wheel on backward / to be incorrect.
   

Picture 4 matches the orientation seen in picture 2 with the rear wheel. It was my way of comparing the front wheel'S orientation to the rear's and seeing that chosen is written the same way from left to right when the front wheel is in this orientation.
   

Hope the pictures help! Let me know if I have it correct in picture 2 or if it still doesn't matter either way! Thank you

(07-31-2019, 10:34 AM)Papa Dom Wrote:  hello. photos would be nice just to see the tires (completely slick, right?) and wheels.
in your case you have rim brakes + slick tires, so no worries. what my personal experience tells, front wheels typically are symetric and there shouldn't really be difference, unlike with the rear wheel. you are right about the left side, QR levers preferably should be on the left side for both front and rear wheel.

classic article: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/slicks.html

Thanks! I added pictures in reply to my original post. Hope they help make what I am trying to ask slightly more clear.

https://forums.bikeride.com/thread-6173-post-35818.html#pid35818
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#4
(07-31-2019, 04:19 PM)Buccafresh Wrote:  Thanks! I added pictures in reply to my original post. Hope they help make what I am trying to ask slightly more clear.

https://forums.bikeride.com/thread-6173-post-35818.html#pid35818

yeah, looks good. as I mentioned, your should take a closer look on wheel position/side in a case when you'd have disc brakes or special tyre profiles, but for slicks+rim brake it's all good. fun fact, my friend stopped by for a cup of coffee yesterday after a road training, and I noticed that his QR levers front front and rear wheels aren't on the same size - he hadn't even noticed it Smile
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