Bicycle Mechanics - A Basketball????

So i was dropping off a six of Pilsner Urkwel to the wrenches at my LBS. They had a mostly deflated basketball stuffed in the rear triangle of and old raleigh. This will spread it out for my new internal hub! I left before they got the pump. I guess they didn't need any more beer.

I want to say this is clever but another part of me begs to differ.... Hmmmm. Lets see what others say. :)

******** waste of time. Either cold set it or don't.

Maybe the basketball was in lieu of a lever to do the cold setting. Hard to know when to stop, tho.

Best not to feed these chimps any more alcohol.

Yeah when do they stop? but what happens if one stay spreads and the other doesn't?

Maybe the basketball was in lieu of a lever to do the cold setting. Hard to know when to stop, tho.

Best not to feed these chimps any more alcohol.

You can still measure the distance between the dropouts as you pump, no? I imagine you stop when it's enough.

Seems to me like a creative way to apply even force to both dropouts. Don't know how much pressure it would take over the surface area of a basketball to generate enough force to spread the frame, though, and whether a basketball can take it.

But I imagine they've done this before if they're doing to a customer's bike. I like the spirit.

I see a couple of problems in all seriousness. First, as Froze mentioned, one side will be slightly easier to bend/spring than the other, which will put all the bend in that side. So the LBS simians could measure as they go, and do a little adjustment by levering on the short side.

But then there's the problem of where the yield point is for the stay, which means the basketball needs to be pumped up, then deflated, measurements taken, repeat many times. I suppose it could work, but the 2x4 method is faster and you can *feel* the yield point, working one side at a time. I've cold-set a few frames now, and it's remarkably easy to get it right with a long lever and an easy touch.

A truly bad idea. There's no way to actually determine if it's bending equally or all to one side or the other. The far better and much more correct way is the one described on Sheldon's website where you lever one side at a time. You lever the first side over and measure the amount of movement looking for 1/2 the total required. Then you lever the other side looking to see the other half of he amount required and stop when it's opened up to the final correct amount. Or if you're obsessive you go over by a small bit and tweak the dropouts back to parallel. Either way doing it one side at a time like that allows for carefully adjusting it in a symetrical manner.

Tell the guys to keep the basketball for some 3on3 at the local court but not use it on any more frames.....

Clever, but as mentioned above a 2x4 would be better. The Sheldon page has a good how to.

Those guys are pro wrenches??? I'll bet the only other tools in the shop are a crescent wrench and a ball-peen hammer. I'm sure they can fix anything with those...

Seriously - If I'd have seen that, my frame would have been out of there PRONTO!

I should add that I may be biased as I have never lived more than a couple weeks in a place that didn't have a spare chunk of 2x4 around (and that includes college and my current apartment). Well, that and 2x4s are cheaper than basket balls.

+1 to Sheldon's method, or since this was in a bike shop......there are actually tools that are designed to cold set and align frames. Not terribly expensive, made by Park-

+1 to Sheldon's method, or since this was in a bike shop......there are actually tools that are designed to cold set and align frames. Not terribly expensive, made by Park-
Or Hozan. When I spread dropouts, I use a combination of a Hozan frame spreader, a Park frame alignment guage, frame and fork bending tool and Stein dropout alignment tools.
I see no reason why the frame spreader tool could not be replaced by a basketball as long as all the other parameters are monitored during the process.

Or Hozan. When I spread dropouts, I use a combination of a Hozan frame spreader, a Park frame alignment guage, frame and fork bending tool and Stein dropout alignment tools.
I see no reason why the frame spreader tool could not be replaced by a basketball as long as all the other parameters are monitored during the process.

Let's assume all you were using was a basketball (can't believe I just typed that) and an alignment gauge. How are you going to make alignment adjustments using a basketball? You're not. In fact, if you're using a basketball, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're probably not using an alignmment gauge of any kind. Just speculating, of course.

I realize with the list of tools you mentioned, you've got all bases covered. But with a basketball, you can't bend one side at a time in a controlled manner.

Let's assume all you were using was a basketball (can't believe I just typed that) and an alignment gauge. How are you going to make alignment adjustments using a basketball? You're not. In fact, if you're using a basketball, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you're probably not using an alignmment gauge of any kind. Just speculating, of course.

I realize with the list of tools you mentioned, you've got all bases covered. But with a basketball, you can't bend one side at a time in a controlled manner.
Yeah. Well in thinking this through a little further, I have to concede that the basketball isn't such a hot idea as it would be difficult to impossible to work incrementally. With a screw type spreader like the Hozan, the force stops when you quit twisting. Not so with the basketball.
The frame spreader doesn't neccessarily push the stays out equally either. That's why I employ all the previously mentioned tools.