Rear Wheel Not Centering In Frame

[DaveM]

One of a couple things probably happened:<br />
1. You moved some of the axle spacers from the left side to the right side. Can't see the axle great in the picture, but from what I can see it looks ok. If you only took apart one side of the axle, there's really no way for this to happen.
2. When the shop trued the wheel, they messed up the "dish" meaning that the rim is no longer centered over the axle. Possible if they really weren't careful.
3. The frame is a little tweaked and someone previously re-dished the wheel to adjust for the fact. I've done this on older beat up bikes. The frame is off so you adjust the wheel to correct for the frame. If you put that wheel into another straight frame, it will then be off center. When the shop trued your wheel, they "corrected" the dish so now the frame tweak is revealed.
Fixes:<br />
- If the shop is easy to get to, take the wheel back to the shop and ask them to check the dish. Preferably, take the frame with you so they can see what's happening.<br />
- If you have another bike you can fit this wheel into, see if it centers in that frame or if it is still off. If it centers, it's probably the frame that's tweaked.<br />
- Run a piece of string from one rear dropout on the frame, arond the head tube, to the other dropout. Then measure from the string to the seat tube. If it's different on either side, you know the frame's bent. It coudl still be bent if these measurements are even, but this will pick up most larger bends.<br />
- Look at the gap between the freewheel and the frame. If it's begger than 1/4-1/2 inch or looks bigger than you remember before, you may have messed up the axle spacers. (Also if you noticed that the derailleur adjustments were off suddenly)<br />
- Finally: learn how to true a wheel! It's really not hard and can be very satisfying. I recommend it
good luck