bikemig 

I have an older mtb (a 1988 specialized stumpjumper comp) that is set at 130. I am in the process of converting it to drops and I plan on using a 135 mm rear wheel. I had planned on spreading the rear drop outs to 135 but the wheel goes in fairly readily if I push apart the drop outs. I'm thinking of just calling it a day and not cold setting the rear triangle.

My question is am I missing something here? Is there a reason to do it other than facilitating wheel changes which is not a big deal for this bike.

Thanks in advance for the responses!

cycle_maven

Spread it, then align the dropouts. If you're only going to use 135 OLD wheels, then it puts less stress on the axle to have parallel dropouts at the OLD of the wheel.

But 5 mm isn't that much, so I don't think you're going to die in a fiery crash due to axle breakage.

bikemig 

Whew, good to know,

Bill Kapaun

I've spaced my 86 Rockhopper rear wheel at 132-133.
I can stuff it in without undue effort.
Since I built the wheel myself, I spaced the hub first and then dished to suit.

HillRider

You won't hurt the frame with the force fit and the angular error of the dropouts is very small. The only downside is a slightly tight fit when you have a road-side flat to fix.

Alternatively, since it's already 130 mm and you are converting it to a "road bike", you could reduce the hub spacing to 130 mm, shorten the axle by 5 mm and redish the rim. More work for sure but it leaves the frame untouched.

bikemig 

That's pretty much what I was thinking. The stress on the axle is pretty small. I like the idea of a 130 rear but I figure the wheel is stronger at 135 so I'll leave it untouched.