Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Short Dropout on one side - Should I file it deeper?

Hi,

I picked up this old raleigh the other day and upon stripping it i noticed the dropouts are not the same - and one side is rather shallow / short. but has a lot of Metal left in it.

There is not a lot of 'wiggle room' at the moment.

I will be setting it up as Fixed Gear
- 14, 15 or 16 x 42 - I was intending - its for riding around London which is pretty flat.

So if I can't get a good chainlength by Luck - what are my best options?

1. Try a Half-Link? - (do these only work with some chains? where do i get them?)
2. File the Dropout a bit deeper.
3. Eno Hub - Not worth the money for this frame.

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picture should be attached.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=59262&stc=1&d=1195724580

file it, i don't see why not

I'd recommend using a straight edge to extend the lines of shorty dropout, but it looks like it'd be no problem at all. GO SLOW!

Make sure filing doesn't result in your wheel being all slanted in the frame.

File it. Accurately.

That's a lot of filing to do by hand, even with a grinder. I'd make some precise lines in the paint, then cut it out with either a jigsaw, sawzall, or hacksaw. I've had good luck with that, but keep it well within the lines because once you start going in a direction, you'll stay in that direction due to the width of the blade.

You could try one of those dremmel machines. But yeah, I tried to open up the pegholes on a cello once (sorta like a bike?) and totally overdid it. It takes a lot less time than you would assume, so be careful.

i've passed on converting a few bikes that looked like that. i like the old road bikes that had a removable metal piece in there to temporarily shorten the ds drop.

I'd recommend using a straight edge to extend the lines of shorty dropout, but it looks like it'd be no problem at all. GO SLOW!

I don't see why you'd have to be sXe, just make sure you're mostly sober.

I did exactly that with two old Raleigh frames before, I scribed two lines in line with the drop out and measured out a centre line and marked where the end needed to be paralell with the other side, I then drilled a hole the same diameter as the dropout [started small and gradually went up in size] that gives you the curve at the end of the drop out, then file out the excess metal between hole and original dropout

hmm, yeah could be a bit difficult at the moment as i have no tools. Having just moved to london.


the drill then file method sounds the best but I'll have to get my hands on a drill first

I don't see why you'd have to be sXe, just make sure you're mostly sober.

fail.

fail.

Really? Damn.

I have filed several like that. Really not a problem, and while it does take a bit a elbow grease, it does not take too much time. I would guess that 15 minutes of filing will get it done.

The drill idea is a good one however.

jim

You could try one of those dremmel machines. But yeah, I tried to open up the pegholes on a cello once (sorta like a bike?) and totally overdid it. It takes a lot less time than you would assume, so be careful.

dang, next time sand the pegs... ask me about the time I impaled my 150 year old cello on the corner of a chest (i'm kidding, i don't want to talk about it...)

ask me about the time impaled my 150 year old cello on the corner of a chest

Sucks, my friend did that but with a $3000 custom guitar that was 2 days old.

well I just moved to London and didn't really bring any power tools. pnot that I own one of these 'dremel' things that peopel on here always seem to talk about.

they don't seem very common in Australia.

I got a half-link today - the chainlin eis almost perfect, it almost works but would be good to get a bit more wiggle room on the drop out.

so 15 minutes with a file you say? I coudl get a cheap file somewhere I guess.

The idea of the drill is a good one. You want the back (filed) part of the dropout to be rounded, not squared of. Square edges create stress risers, which is where cracks start. So a rounded edge will be less likely to fail. That being said, I did the same thing to make a fixed MTB and the dropout ends were square, and it never failed on me, though I beat the **** out of it.

So, buy a drill. Or buy a round file of roughly the same diameter as the slot in the dropout.

-Rob.