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Swapping threaded axle for QR9 - How?

Old 04-10-22, 08:31 PM
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schwim
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Swapping threaded axle for QR10 - How?

Hello there, friends!

I've got a Schwinn Katana with a threaded axle on the rear with nuts to secure it. I'd like a QR9 axle for ease of getting in and out of the car. I thought I needed to swap out the entire hub but while searching hub options, I found a review on Amazon where the reviewer states he had the axle swapped at a bike shop for $30. If this is possible, what would I need to purchase to make it happen? I'd love to be able to keep the hub/freewheel assembly and just swap the axle itself if it's possible.

Thanks for your thoughts!


Last edited by schwim; 04-28-22 at 04:18 PM.
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Old 04-10-22, 08:38 PM
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It's 10mm. You just need the correct length axle...it'll be shorter than what you've got now. It's easy, just take the old axle out and replace w/ the new one. You should be tightening the drive side cone and locknut then put axle in and finish from the non drive side.
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Old 04-10-22, 09:05 PM
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Originally Posted by cxwrench
It's 10mm. You just need the correct length axle...it'll be shorter than what you've got now. It's easy, just take the old axle out and replace w/ the new one. You should be tightening the drive side cone and locknut then put axle in and finish from the non drive side.
Thanks for the help!
I know I need to measure the dropouts to figure my axle length and I've watched a couple videos on replacement so have an idea of the specs I need to look for but generally speaking, is there a better way to find the axles I need than to just search Amazon and eBay for "10mm axles"? I'm finding results like this which may very well work for me, depending on the length I need but the quality seems very suspect to me.
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Old 04-10-22, 09:57 PM
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Originally Posted by schwim
Thanks for the help!
I know I need to measure the dropouts to figure my axle length and I've watched a couple videos on replacement so have an idea of the specs I need to look for but generally speaking, is there a better way to find the axles I need than to just search Amazon and eBay for "10mm axles"? I'm finding results like this which may very well work for me, depending on the length I need but the quality seems very suspect to me.
The two big things to look out for are the current frame width and the diameter of the dust caps, you're link is the best way to go as long as the dust caps match. This is important as too small will let more dirt in and shorten the hub life considerably and too wide will bottom out on the hub before getting things adjusted. Finding just an axle can be difficult, from my experience the bolt on hubs often use a coarser thread than the QR and when I tried to buy just an axle it was either a long wait from China or a large amount of money on a single axle, the set like you showed was the easiest solution.
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Old 04-11-22, 05:28 AM
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QR rear axles are 10mm x 1, but your bolt on axle is probably 3/8 x 26, so you probably will need to replace cones and locknuts as well. The trick (as someone pointed out) is making sure dust caps are a good fit, and that the width of the new cones and locknuts is the same for proper spacing. Sometimes dust caps can be moved from one cone to another but not always.

A bike shop should have the parts on hand, or if there’s a co op in your area you can go there and disassemble your hub to look for proper parts. May take some digging around.
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Old 04-13-22, 03:35 AM
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Hey you must be Schwim Dandy from Gloucester. I may have an axle off an old wheel with the quick release. I’ll check this weekend.

I don’t do Facebook so did not respond to your posts. As for local events the ride in Mathews is. Ext month. Tour de Chesapeake.

https://tourdechesapeake.org/

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Old 04-13-22, 05:58 AM
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This might cover part or all of it:

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Old 04-13-22, 06:44 AM
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Originally Posted by biker128pedal
Hey you must be Schwim Dandy from Gloucester. I may have an axle off an old wheel with the quick release. I’ll check this weekend.

I don’t do Facebook so did not respond to your posts. As for local events the ride in Mathews is. Ext month. Tour de Chesapeake.

https://tourdechesapeake.org/
Holy cow, I am! Let me know what you find, I would be more than happy to buy the parts from you. I've found some axles online with all the spacer/nuts but without being able to measure all the important bits with a set of calipers, I worry that I'll just keep ordering axles that don't have the right spacer, dust cap, etc.

I met a gentleman on the Capital trail day before yesterday that mentioned the Tour de Chesapeake. I think I'm going to try to be a part of it if I can get some of my legs back

Thanks very much again for the help!
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Old 04-13-22, 06:46 AM
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Originally Posted by fishboat
This might cover part or all of it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsdxS046jpo&t=625s
I had found that one and this one. I figured between the two, I should be able to manage the swap. I don't have any thin wrenches, so I might have to pick up a tool or two but that's no problem. Most stuff from Amazon now gets to us in a one day turnaround so that's nice.

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Old 04-14-22, 07:15 AM
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I’ll see what I have this weekend. Do you have a tool for cassette removal and cone wrenches for the axle? Or a rough measurement of the width inside and outside the drop outs will get close to the axle length.
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Old 04-14-22, 07:43 AM
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Originally Posted by biker128pedal
I’ll see what I have this weekend. Do you have a tool for cassette removal and cone wrenches for the axle? Or a rough measurement of the width inside and outside the drop outs will get close to the axle length.
Hi there,

Thanks a bunch for the help! The inside-to-inside measurement of the dropouts with the wheel mounted is 137mm. As for tools, I can say I had them prior to the move a year ago. I'm going to dig through my boxes in the garage this afternoon to see if I can find them. My stuff tends to migrate from place to place over the span of years
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Old 04-16-22, 01:08 PM
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I have three axles. One 141mm. The other two are 146mm nominal. All measures 9.81mm major thread dia. I have an old LX rear wheel with a 146mm axle all the hardware. Also a couple of quick releases you can have if you want to see if the parts will fit.

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Old 04-16-22, 03:17 PM
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Originally Posted by biker128pedal
I have three axles. One 141mm. The other two are 146mm nominal. All measures 9.81mm major thread dia. I have an old LX rear wheel with a 146mm axle all the hardware. Also a couple of quick releases you can have if you want to see if the parts will fit.
I'd love to try to put together something that works with the parts, I would be happy to buy them off of you and if you'd like, I'll also clean up and return anything I don't use if you'd like the unused parts back for your spares. Just let me know, thanks so much!
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Old 04-28-22, 02:04 PM
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Hey there, folks

I'm at a sticking point. I've removed the axle but when it comes time to remove the freewheel, it. does. not. want. to. budge. The socket seats great but using a 1/2 breaker bar on it, it feels like I'm about to twist the hub out of the spokes.

Any steps or tricks I'm missing? Do I just stick the socket into the vice and spin the wheel until something breaks loose and if it's not what was intended, just start fixing things?

Thanks for your time!



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Old 04-28-22, 02:24 PM
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Originally Posted by schwim
I'm at a sticking point. I've removed the axle but when it comes time to remove the freewheel, it. does. not. want. to. budge. The socket seats great but using a 1/2 breaker bar on it, it feels like I'm about to twist the hub out of the spokes.
Any steps or tricks I'm missing? Do I just stick the socket into the vice and spin the wheel until something breaks loose and if it's not what was intended, just start fixing things?
Are you turning the FW the correct direction (counter clockwise) to loosen? You'll need a chain whip to grab onto the cog teeth to keep the FW from spinning to do this.
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Old 04-28-22, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Crankycrank
Are you turning the FW the correct direction (counter clockwise) to loosen? You'll need a chain whip to grab onto the cog teeth to keep the FW from spinning to do this.
I tried both directions but was applying the most effort in the standard thread direction; CCW.

I have a chain whip but don't seem to need it with the freewheel. Unlike a cassette, this can be torqued in either direction without having to capture the teeth.
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Old 04-28-22, 04:04 PM
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Originally Posted by schwim
I tried both directions but was applying the most effort in the standard thread direction; CCW.

I have a chain whip but don't seem to need it with the freewheel. Unlike a cassette, this can be torqued in either direction without having to capture the teeth.
Oh duh, me having another brain fart. Sorry about that.
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Old 04-29-22, 06:48 AM
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I was thinking about it last night, I wonder if I can just ensure the bearings are in place and thread the new axle through without removing the freewheel. I'm going to give that a try this morning.
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Old 04-29-22, 01:18 PM
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Originally Posted by schwim
I was thinking about it last night, I wonder if I can just ensure the bearings are in place and thread the new axle through without removing the freewheel. I'm going to give that a try this morning.
Sure, that would work.
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Old 04-29-22, 02:31 PM
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Thanks to biker128pedal , this is wrapped up. I couldn't have done it without his generous donation of parts.

It worked but wasn't easy. The freewheel made it hard to play with the spacing. It's together and it's spinning fine but I'm expecting it to need to come apart for some changing within a ride or two. It's a bit hard to explain but even when locking the two jam nuts on the freewheel side, the threaded cup that sits against the bearings seems to want to continue threading with the rotation of the wheel until it's tightened the lateral play to a point that I think is too much.

Here's where I've ended up. I installed some sharkstooth front rings and an Acera RD. I've still got some work to do on it but it's able to be ridden for the moment:



And for a visual of the trauma I inflicted on myself and the machine:




Thank you all very much for all the help. I really appreciate it!
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Old 04-29-22, 07:06 PM
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Alright, I got to think about it a bit more and I think I know what I need to do. I think now that I have the spacing of everything right, I need to remove the axle again but this time by removing the non-drive side nuts and pulling the axle through the drive side and tightening the threaded cup against the spacer/jamnut assembly. I think that will give me a drive side bearing nut that doesn't try to tighten on me. My issues are occurring because I'm trying to finish assembly on the freewheel side, where I have no access to the nut/spacer pack on that side.

I'll give it a shot tomorrow and see where it gets me.
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Old 04-29-22, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by schwim
I think now that I have the spacing of everything right, I need to remove the axle again but this time by removing the non-drive side nuts and pulling the axle through the drive side and tightening the threaded cup against the spacer/jamnut assembly. I think that will give me a drive side bearing nut that doesn't try to tighten on me. My issues are occurring because I'm trying to finish assembly on the freewheel side, where I have no access to the nut/spacer pack on that side.
Exactly what cxwrench suggested above...
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Old 04-29-22, 08:17 PM
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Originally Posted by smd4
Exactly what cxwrench suggested above...
My retention skills leave something to be desired.
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