Bicycle Mechanics - 126mm frame vs 130mm wheels

I've got a 126mm-spaced road frame and a set of road wheels spaced for 130. What's the best solution?

- have a shop "spread" the frame to 130
- remove a spacer and grind down the axle to fit
- jam the rear wheel in there anyway, who cares?

Assuming it's a steel frame, I'd recommend the DIY option for cold setting, use this article by Sheldon: http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

If not that, you should be able to flex the stays apart by hand each time you install the rear wheel-

agree with well biked. option 2 is not good because it results in a very highly dished wheel. 7-speed wheels could get away with 126mm spacing, but 8/9/10-speed wheels result in more dish.

Option three is the easiest with steel and old ti frames,
significantly harder with al frames and new ti frames.

the frame is indeed steel ('91 Miyata 914).

You can also get axle-locknuts that are slightly beveled to help spread out the dropouts when you pull the wheel through. The Dura-ace hubs first had these in the early '90s when they came out with 8-speed and most frames had 126mm spacing. Spreading the stays out 2mm per side isn't really that tough, even on super-stiff fat-tube Cannondale frames of that era.

Option three is the easiest with steel and old ti frames,
significantly harder with al frames and new ti frames.

I agree. It's not even that hard with an aluminum frame. Cannondale's touring frames are 132.5 so you can use either 130mm or 135mm hubs. Not really an issue spreading the stays for only 4 mm. Steel's even easier.

Assuming it's a steel frame, I'd recommend the DIY option for cold setting, use this article by Sheldon: http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

If not that, you should be able to flex the stays apart by hand each time you install the rear wheel-

Rather than levering the chain stays apart with a board as described in the DYI cold setting article, wouldn't it be easier and more controllable to spread them apart from the dropouts using some sort of turnbuckle? Or would this produce undesirable stresses or something?

Rather than levering the chain stays apart with a board as described in the DYI cold setting article, wouldn't it be easier and more controllable to spread them apart from the dropouts using some sort of turnbuckle? Or would this produce undesirable stresses or something?

The method Sheldon describes is the better method because you spread one side of the rear triangle at a time, so you can make sure you spread the two sides equally (assuming they were properly aligned in the first place). The other common method is to use a threaded rod, nuts, and washers to simply spread the dropouts apart until there's enough permanent bending to get the desired spread. The problem is that most frames have an extra dimple on the driveside chainstay, so the driveside bends easier (and first). I've now done it both ways, and I can say that Sheldon's method is the way to go. If you take your time and pay attention to the alignment with the string method described in Sheldon's article, you may end up with a frame that's more precisely aligned than it was originally-

The method Sheldon describes is the better method because you spread one side of the rear triangle at a time, so you can make sure you spread the two sides equally (assuming they were properly aligned in the first place). The other common method is to use a threaded rod, nuts, and washers to simply spread the dropouts apart until there's enough permanent bending to get the desired spread. The problem is that most frames have an extra dimple on the driveside chainstay, so the driveside bends easier (and first). I've now done it both ways, and I can say that Sheldon's method is the way to go. If you take your time and pay attention to the alignment with the string method described in Sheldon's article, you may end up with a frame that's more precisely aligned than it was originally-

That makes sense. Thanks for the sound advice. :D

Don't even worry about cold setting. Just pull the dropouts apart by hand, put the wheel in and you're done. 4mm is two mills per side. It will easily go in.

Don't even worry about cold setting. Just pull the dropouts apart by hand, put the wheel in and you're done. 4mm is two mills per side. It will easily go in.

There's another thread "vulpes" started regarding a seven speed mtb wheel going into an old road frame. It may be that "vulpes" has a 135mm hub for a 126mm frame. As for the pulling it apart by hand for 126 to 130, yeah, that's very do-able, and any alignment problems would be so small it wouldn't matter anyway-