Bicycle Mechanics - Got hit today; slightly wider wheel okay for Al frame?

This morning on the way to class, another biker decides it would be a good idea to turn left into me while I'm going 25mph. When I saw him start to turn, I swerved to miss him, but he kept going right into me and hit my rear wheel. Anyway, I'm fine, but my rear wheel is toast. I took it to the LBS and they had a new wheel for my late 80s Cannondale. The old wheelset is Saturne C20s with Shimano 600 hubs; the new wheel only set me back $30 and seems to have a no-name hub. It's heavier and seems like a lower-quality wheel, but it works okay.

The main problem, though, is that the wheel seems to be a little wide for my rear dropouts. They're both 6spd wheels, and aren't radically different, but it requires some spreading of the chainstays to fit the wheel in the dropouts. I wouldn't be concerned in the least with a steel frame, but my old Cannondale is an aluminum frame. Should I be concerned that this will weaken the frame, or damage the hub?

Thanks!

It won't damage the hub. The slight extra pressure of squeezing into the stays is nothing compared to the pressure your quick releases put on the rear axle during normal operation. You are probably going from 126mm to 130mm (just 2mm per side), which is not a problem IMO. If the new wheel was 135mm then I might wonder. People warn against trying to cold set (permanently bending/spreading) aluminium rear stays, but if all you need to do is pull the stays apart a bit to mount the wheel I can't imagine it leading to serious problems. I have done it on an old Trek without the world ending.

This exact same conundrum was the topic of part of another thread that I started. Yes, you have cause for concern, no, a bike shop should NOT try to spread the drops of an 80's Cannondale in order to get a wider set-up installed. You're practically begging for a cracked frame.

Dave

It's not technically a wider setup. It's still 6spd and it doesn't seem to be a big jump at all - I think it's just the spacers. I'd assume it's set up for 130mm, as Indolent58 said. I took it to the bike shop today and they said it probably wasn't a big problem if I could get it in there without having to spread the dropouts much, but they could work on the spacers for me if I wanted. I guess I should have them do it, but they said it might take awhile.

Oh well, I guess I'll manage...I've become quite attached to the frame and don't want to see it cracked :)

Thanks for the help!