Originally Posted by robo
but does 5mm really make such a big difference? I would have thought they were just two standards that evolved independently and now they're entrenched.
Rivendell makes a bike with 132.5mm spacing so you can use either, which i thought was cute.
Yes, 5 mm is a significant difference. You can draw out a diagram of the rear wheel and work out the difference in tension between the right and left side spokes, taking into account the dish and the width of the cogs. There's a thread about it on rec.bicycles.tech somewhere...
A lot of touring frames are made with 132.5mm spacing, for versatility. Nashbar even sells some touring WHEELS with the hub locknuts spaced to 132.5mm, so you can use them in either type of frame
