Short Dropout on one side - Should I file it deeper?
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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.
------
picture should be attached.
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.
------
picture should be attached.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
the drill then file method sounds the best but I'll have to get my hands on a drill first
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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
The drill idea is a good one however.
jim
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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...)
Last edited by testtube; 11-25-07 at 11:08 AM. Reason: typo...
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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.
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.
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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.
So, buy a drill. Or buy a round file of roughly the same diameter as the slot in the dropout.
-Rob.