porkyvonporkprk

I have one of those Mercier "track bikes." After a year of happy riding I went to upgrade the wheels and found the rear spacing to be about 130+. I want the availability of 120 spacing. The seller recommends I cold set the rear stays (I know this means BEND.) Any advice? And if bending is no big deal, then why do manufacturers such as leVel have 120s, 126s, 130s etc. Just for alumminum frames? Doubtful. Thanks for any help.

dolface

here you go https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

porkyvonporkprk

Thank you very much Big Help!!

dolface

it's kind of axiomatic around here that sheldon is the first place to go with questions about bike stuff, he's usually a little more reliable (and WAY less argumentative) than we are

tlupfer

you're sure it's over 130? my buddy has one and it's 120

porkyvonporkprk

I'm certain. I have an old Suntour Superb pro rear hub that was floating in there. So I measured it with calipers. Furthermore, I think your friend either bent his, thinks his is 120, or maybe the new one's are 120. The reason being that I emailed the seller to ask if the bike would accept 120s and she didn't say "yes," she said, "the frame is made of cromoly steel and can be cold set." That's all she said. I'm sure this wasn't the first time she's been asked this question.

sr20det

well, one thing you should know in the world of biking is that there are TONS of different standards. Even the same bike company producing the same part may change to different sizings and standards for different years.

Not all bikes have 120mm spacing. they vary from 110-135 usually....
thats why hub companies have to gear towards all these diff. rear spacings.

and I agree with tlupfer
I say use a caliper and re-check your rear spacing dude.
I'm pretty sure its a 120mm.
thankfully the front is usually 100mm yay.

porkyvonporkprk

Yeah. The front is definately 100, I switched that wheel already. You may be on to something about the standards within one make of frame, becuse I've tried to follow all the treads of the KHS fLITE 100? and the Mercier and nobody else has seemed to have this problem.

KrazieF00

I ride a KHS flite 100, same exact frame 120 back, cheers.

huhenio

I am thinking about one of those "Mercier" for myself ... is it true that they are a decent buy for the money?

tlupfer

he replaced the wheelset so it's definitely 120, and since his mechanical ineptitude extends to the point of requiring me to replace his bar tape i'm fairly certain that he didn't respace the frame. his is about 1 year old.

queerpunk

search, and you'll get a lot of info. they're low-end with components that you may want to upgrade as you go along. the harder you ride it the more you'll realize that it won't suffice to the rigors of tougher riding. might want new wheels, cranks, bb... but hey, if you're looking to get into the riding, on the cheap, it's a good place to start. but the parts won't last you forever.

Aeroplane

Just to clarify, these different hub spacings don't just happen randomly for no reason. They tend to occur not because of different brands or customs (like BB threading, etc) but because of different uses. The link sheldon explains this.