Getting the wheels back on

[Karl V]

I'm being a Muppet and must be doing something wrong...

I find it a struggle to get the wheels back on. I'm running 15" wheels which leaves little room to fit the wheel around all the suspension / brake parts.

The mud guards at the back have those metal support braces under them, (which I've added to the fronts on mine too) which doesn't give any movement in the mud guards.

The side of the mud guard is a good inch below the the tyre tread and the gap between inner wheel and the bolts on the control arm are about 5mm top and bottom.

I've tried bottom in first but can't slide the top under the mud guard. I've tried top in first but just can't seem to find the angle between hitting the metal mud guard brace and clearing the control arm bolts.

Is there a trick to this?

One obvious answer is to scrub 7mm of excess tread off the tyres, but there must be easier (less fun) way.

Or is just me...

[John Scherrer]

Any better with no air in them whilst fitting ?

[Trigger]

I find its just a knack of getting it under the Mudguard top first and then balancing on one hand while manoevering with the other hand.......not always that easy though !!

[Karl V]

[mention]John Scherrer[/mention] - I hadn't considered that. That could be useful, thanks.

[mention]Trigger[/mention] - I think I've figured out why I'm having problems... The clearance at the front is a lot less than at the rear. The rears have the mud guard braces on but the fronts don't, which means you can bend the front mud guards quite a bit to get the wheel on.

Because of the weight of the mud flaps that I've put on, I've added the mud guard braces to the front of mine too, which means I don't get the same wiggle room up front.

At least I can now see why I was struggling - a self inflicted challenge it seems...

I'm still a Muppet though.