1954 NH front wheel (1/2 width hub)

[edbroadbridge]

Does any one know whether the front wheel has an offset, when it is built?
I surmise that it does owing to the fact that it touches the inner fork on the brake side but that there is a gap(10 mm ?) on the near side. My rebuild is getting to the stage where I need this information. Any knowledgeble gurus out there?

[pete.collings]

My understanding is that any front wheel should run in the centre of the forks (teleforks), checking the gap between the wheel rim and forks is the same on either side.

I have done this on previous Ariel swinging frame arm builds, when the basic frame and forks are assembled, turning the whole lot upside down and fitting the wheels less tyres. I have adjusted any front wheel spacers to centralise the rim, and then adjusted the back wheel to line up with the front, using a long straightedge to check. In general, front wheel rims should be aligned to be central to the hub itself, and misalignment of the rear wheel can be made by spacers, although consideration of the rear chain alignment is also needed (if you can fit the gearbox, adjusting the sprocket spacer might allow chain alignment). Rear wheel rims are usually offset a little from the hub centre to allow for the chain alignment, one also needs to be aware of allowing adequate clearance for tyres and chains from the cycle parts and chaincases.

Of course, if it is already mostly assembled and tyres are on the rims, it is harder to check/adjust, but still try for centralised front wheel and rear wheel aligned to front.

Whether there is a difference for the plunger/rigid frames I don't know, perhaps someone else could comment on this?

[edbroadbridge]

Thanks for your reply Pete. I have now found a sectional drawing of the front wheel from a 1952 handbook. This seems to confirm that there is no offset on the wheel and that the rim is centralised on the hub. Cheers! Ed

[john.nash]

I am sure there is an offset; I'll measure my rigid and plunger tomorrow...

[edbroadbridge]

John, I look forward to seeing your analysis. Ed

[john.whiting]

Ten mil isnt much,possibly one or both of your fork legs are slightly bent at the crown.Old forks are seldom dead straight.Regards John.

[john.nash]

Ok I have a 51 plunger, a 47 rigid and a 54 swingarm.
The front brake drum on the 47 is different from the 51 and 54.
The rims are running roughly central inbetween the mudguard stays.

If you place a straight edge across the rim and then measure the distance from that to the edge of the brake drum, then they are all about an inch and 1/16 (could be another 1/16" either way - likely to be larger though, so maybe 1 1/8"). That means the edge of the brake drum is further over (towards the forks) than the rim.

I would say that all wheels have tyres on and are in the bike, which makes it difficult to precise as getting a straight edge across the rim is hard 'cos of tyres and spokes.The brake plate is also obscuring the edge of the drum a bit

If you performed a search on this forum, then you would have found this:

http://forum.arielownersmcc.com/viewt ... fset#p7426

Where my mate Brenton finds the front to be about 28mm ... (28mm is around 1 1/8")

Do we need a picture .. its dark in the garage though and my camera phone doesn't have a flash

[edbroadbridge]

John, Thanks for your work on this. the bike didn't have a wheel when I bought it, so I was not able to photograph, take measurements and notes of the front wheel. I am going to wait a while. Perhaps there will be an NH at the AGM that i can scrutinise? There's no rush, as this project is no where near being finished - it's taken 16 months so far - and I have plenty of other work to do on the project (just lapped in the valves)

[john.nash]

I'll wheel something out and take some pictures for you.
This questions comes up often so I;ll work with Brenton to get it into the knowledgebase