Co1Ev

Having some difficulties removing the rear wheel on my track bike. The drive side nut rotates but doesn't unthread form the axle, leaving it spinning around helplessly. They're Mavic Ellipses if that's of any relevance, and the rear is in as new condition. What gives?

wschruba

Likely the axle threads are stripped locally... In order to remove it [easily], you'll need a nut splitter, which are available in many hardware stores. Once the nut is off, you can remove it and repair (if possible) or replace the axle.

FBinNY 

Two possibilities, one is good news, one not so good.

The key is to look at the axle s you try to loosen the right nut. If it turns with the nut, which is fairly common, it's just a slightly stuck thread, and fairly to solve. But if the axle is stationary, as the nut turns, the thread is stripped, possibly from over-tightening in the past. How bad it is depends on whether it's the nut or axle which is stripped. There are various ways of freeing a nut stripped this way, the easiest of which is to use a so-called nutcracker


Or you can cut it off with a Dremel cut off disc, or even a hacksaw by cutting one side on a diagonal, and spreading it open. Once the nut is off you'll know where you stand.

OTOH - back to the good news. If the axle turns with the nut, you can usually remove it by tightening the left side and holding it tight while you try to loosen the right. Or buy a 10mm axle nut, cut through one side with a hacksaw, then thread it on and grab it with a vise-grip, such that the clamping action squeezes the nut onto the axle, and holds it while you try to spin the right side nut off.

Good luck either way, and hoping it's anything but a stripped axle.

Co1Ev

Good news - Just reinspected the nut and it came off without issue. Threading is a-ok on both the axle and the nut, so I'm beat as to what could've been causing it before. Though I'll be keeping a close eye on it for sure, I was really hoping it wasn't a stripped axle! Thanks for your help guys.

CliffordK

I think it was probably as FBinNY suggested. The whole axle was turning.

Easiest to solve by tightening the nut on the opposite side, then removing the sticky nut, then hopefully get the opposite nut off too.

Andrew R Stewart 

Know that with some hubs an axle that spins within the drop outs can cause the bearings/cones to change their adjustment. I've seen wheels installed by novices where a well adjusted axle bearing (and with good cone/locknut counter tightening was done) ends up in the frame with a very over tightened axle bearing. To the point of nearly locking up the wheel's spin. Andy.

Co1Ev

Thanks for the heads up, I'll remove the wheel and give it a once over.