Wheels Seized to Hubs

[armyspydervet]

Has anyone had their wheels seize to their hubs? I recently had my wheels powdercoated. When i got them back, I put them back on and thought nothing of it. Today, I went to install Lamont's center caps, they were locked on there. I tried everything to get them off. Eventually, they came off by me literally getting on the ground while my wife held the handlebars and kicking the "crap" out of the tire with my heal. Now I'm worried I off-set my alignment. Has this happened to anyone else? Do you think it would have knocked the alignment out of whack?

[Av8er]

Chances are you have powder coat inside where your lug studs go. That will make them hard to get off.

[armyspydervet]

Chances are you have powder coat inside where your lug studs go. That will make them hard to get off.

No, they put power coat on the back where the wheel touches the hub. I googled it and it's a chemical reaction with whatever is in the powder coat and steel. I got them off and put some anti-seize on the back, but getting them off required some brute force with the bottom of my boot. I'm just worried I knocked it so hard it threw off my alignment. I'll probably get another one just in case.

[Roadster Renovations]

Most alignment guys don't charge if the alignment is correct. Cost nothing to check if it is right.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Was the backside of the wheels powder coated where they contact the hub, or powder coated inside the lug holes? If so, maybe the hub got hot enough during braking to soften the powder coat and thus caused the wheels to 'glue' themselves to the hub.

[cptjam]

Had one like that yesterday! Ann removed the lugs and could not get the wheel off! I have a massive slide hammer, and got it off, then used a scotch bright pad to clean it all up. This was an alignment recheck, and the bike was fine. I doubt you could have kicked hard enough to spoil the alignment. Remove both front wheels, clean everything, put back on. If it acts squirrelly, I'll check it for you! The factory coating seems flaky and peels off. Those flakes make it hard to remove the wheel. Poor Powdercoat quality!

[Peter Aawen]

..... I'm just worried I knocked it so hard it threw off my alignment.....

That's pretty unlikely, unless maybe you are prone to turning green when you get angry & then your muscles expand so much that they rip thru the seams of all your clothes!! (except your shorts of course - wouldn't want to scare the kiddies!!)

Like others have said tho ^^ it's really unlikely that you've kicked it anywhere hard enough to do that - besides, the reason a hard knock on the kerb or hitting a pot-hole can sometimes knock your wheel alignment out is because the other wheel is involved & your Spyder is generally moving at more than a walking pace when that has any effect too!! Apart from the significantly lesser force you can create over that which the momentum of your Spyder moving at any speed imposes; you kicking on just one side at a time is more likely to move the other side wheel in sympathy than it is to bend or over-stress anything in between or involved in the w/a, so there's really no need to worry!

And besides, with that kind offer from CptJam, what've you got to lose?!?

[finless]

Had one like that yesterday! Ann removed the lugs and could not get the wheel off! I have a massive slide hammer, and got it off, then used a scotch bright pad to clean it all up. This was an alignment recheck, and the bike was fine. I doubt you could have kicked hard enough to spoil the alignment. Remove both front wheels, clean everything, put back on. If it acts squirrelly, I'll check it for you! The factory coating seems flaky and peels off. Those flakes make it hard to remove the wheel. Poor Powdercoat quality!

Was that Steve's?

Bob

[Grandpot]

I've had this happen with aluminum wheels on cars also. It's not just the powder coating causing it; it's electrolysis. The contacting of two dissimilar metals causes corrosion and tends to bond the materials together. If you put a little anti-seize on the mating surfaces it will eliminate the problem.

[SpyderAnn01]

Was that Steve's?

Bob

Yes it was

[armyspydervet]

That's pretty unlikely, unless maybe you are prone to turning green when you get angry & then your muscles expand so much that they rip thru the seams of all your clothes!! (except your shorts of course - wouldn't want to scare the kiddies!!)

Like others have said tho ^^ it's really unlikely that you've kicked it anywhere hard enough to do that - besides, the reason a hard knock on the kerb or hitting a pot-hole can sometimes knock your wheel alignment out is because the other wheel is involved & your Spyder is generally moving at more than a walking pace when that has any effect too!! Apart from the significantly lesser force you can create over that which the momentum of your Spyder moving at any speed imposes; you kicking on just one side at a time is more likely to move the other side wheel in sympathy than it is to bend or over-stress anything in between or involved in the w/a, so there's really no need to worry!

And besides, with that kind offer from CptJam, what've you got to lose?!?

Funny thing is, once I got them off the first time, I put the center caps on and remounted the wheels. Went inside and did some internet research and decided to go to the store and buy some anti-seize. When I got back to remove the wheels, they were stuck again! I didn't even take the Spyder out of the garage. They seized just from the pressure of tightening the lug nuts. After a few more kicks, I un-seized them again and put the anti-seize on.

[gkamer]

I doubt you could have generated enough force with just your leg to have knocked the tires out of wack. I suspect it would have taken way more force than that.

[SpyderAnn01]

Funny thing is, once I got them off the first time, I put the center caps on and remounted the wheels. Went inside and did some internet research and decided to go to the store and buy some anti-seize. When I got back to remove the wheels, they were stuck again! I didn't even take the Spyder out of the garage. They seized just from the pressure of tightening the lug nuts. After a few more kicks, I un-seized them again and put the anti-seize on.

Wow!

[ppawheels]

If there was any powder coat on the inside of the wheel center bore, that could have been the cause of your issue. The clearance between the wheel center bore and the hub is very small and the addition of any thickness in that area would make it a friction fit.

[armyspydervet]

If there was any powder coat on the inside of the wheel center bore, that could have been the cause of your issue. The clearance between the wheel center bore and the hub is very small and the addition of any thickness in that area would make it a friction fit.

Yes, unfortunately, they powder coated everything. They did a pretty good job, but they should have left the part that touches the hub bare. Doing my internet research, it seems its pretty common if a powder coat company doesn't know your not supposed to cover the area touching the hub. I'm no scientist, but something about the reaction between the powder used and the steel hub.

Lesson learned. Thanks for everyone's input