Repair guides › Wheels & Tires
Remove and refit a bolt-on wheel
A hub held in the frame by axle nuts instead of a quick release. Common on kids' bikes, cruisers and coaster-brake hubs. Cup-and-cone bearings like a QR hub, but the solid axle sticks out past the dropouts and 15 mm nuts clamp it. Serrated washers bite into the dropout. A coaster hub also has a brake arm strapped to the chainstay.
Open this job in RideLoadout▶ Watch it done
Tools
- 1/4" click torque wrench (about 2–17 Nm) + bits: Pro Bike Tool 1/4 inch drive click torque wrench set (2.2–16.9 Nm) ($$)
- Metric combination wrenches 8–17 mm: TEKTON 14-pc metric combination wrench set 6-19 mm ($$)
Compare Good, Better and Best for each tool
Steps
- Loosen both axle nuts with a 15 mm wrench (rear coaster hub: also undo the brake arm strap on the chainstay).
- Slide the wheel out. On refit, put the serrated washers against the outside of the dropouts and seat the axle fully.
- Rear: pull the wheel back so the chain has about 1/2" of up-down play, with the wheel centered between the stays.
- Tighten the nuts alternately to 30–40 Nm. Re-fit the coaster arm strap, then spin the wheel and test the brakes.
Torque
| Fastener | Torque |
|---|---|
| Axle nuts | 30–40 Nm |
| Coaster arm strap | 2–3 Nm |
Signs it needs doing
- Wheel pulls crooked when pedaling hard (nuts loose)
- Knock at the rim (loose cones)
- Coaster brake arm strap loose or missing