ullearn

Is it possible to respace a 135mm Shimano XT hub to 130mm?

I have a titanium road touring bike, Litespeed Sportive, and looking for a wheelset for cross country loaded touring. The rear spacing of the Litespeed Sportive is 130mm and I picked up a set of Surly Long Haul Trucker wheels - Alex Adventurer with Shimano XT hubs (135mm rear).

Is it possible to re-space / re-dish the XT hub to 130mm without hack-sawing the axle?

The frame is made of titanium so I won't be spreading it to 135mm. My ideal wheel (short of Phil Wood hubs) would be a 105 or Ultegra hub mounted to the A719's, can't quite find this deal and custom rims are expensive.

I did find A319's to Tiagra's for $230 - https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2468

Any other recommended wheels if I can't re-space?

awesomejack

No, its impossible without cutting the axle.

And you could probably still use the wheel. You'll just have to pull the rear triangle apart to squeeze the wheel in. It won't cause any damage, each side only has to flex 2.5mm. Look at this video: https://www.testrider.com/fly.aspx?la...xid=81&cid=241 The chain stays are flexing quite alot.

But this could cause problems changing a flat on the road, you might need some assistance getting the wheel back in.

ullearn

My understanding is that it's ok to bend out a steel, but titanium is a no go as frame damage may occur?

Iowegian

I have a set of XT wheels that have been re-spaced to 130mm so yes, it is possible.

To find out if your current axle will fit just measure the distance between the outside surfaces of your dropouts and compare that to the axle length. If you have thick dropouts the current axle may fit as-is. If not, it's a simple job to replace the axle.

If you're new to wheel-building you may want to have the wheel re-tensioned after you re-dish it. Going to 130mm will increase the dish and slightly weaken the wheel which can lead to spoke failures if the tension isn't set well.

awesomejack

You're not permanately bending the titanium. You're just pulling the drop outs apart so the hub will fit in, then the chain and seat stays will be squeezing the hub when you let go. Titanium will flex, but you shouldn't force it into holding & keeping a new shape (ie, wider spaced dropouts). After you take the wheel off, the stays will spring back to 130mm.

ullearn

I measured the inside of the dropouts and they come to 131mm, then measured to the outside and 145. So I decided to just put the wheel in and see if it fits, it didn't go in perfectly smooth but with the most mininum of effort (1 hand and light pressure) it popped into the dropouts. I am thinking I should still try to resize the hub from 135mm to 132.5 just to make tire changes on the road easier.

My new issue actually has to do with the tires (38c), first they were rubbing in the fenders which are wide enough but with the rear brake mount don't extend far enough out. Second after removing the fender, I still noticed the slightest rubbing and it was now on the chain stay just behind the bottom bracket.

If I drop down to a 35c will this resolve my problem or do I need to go down to a 32c?

awesomejack

I would go with a 32c or even less. The 35c will probably fit, but if the wheel ever goes out of true, it will start rubbing again.

I have the same problem with my fenders. I have a Trek 7.3FX and just bought some SKS fenders last week. The fit is horrible, it rubs at the brake bridge, the bottom bracket screw doesn't fit, and the front fender is all out of wack, but it doesn't rub. I think I'll be modifying the fenders slightly, or going and trading them in for different ones

AndrewP

Titaniom flexes easier than steel - that is why Ti bikes are so comfortable. Try using a thinner locknut or leaving out a washer on the LH end of the axle.

Booger1

Universal cycles has hand built wheels,105 hubs,butted spokes,brass nips,A719 rims---- CHEAP!

Why does this site add words that I don't type? Stupid!

ullearn

I can't seem to find that? - https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...?category=3656

The hard choice now is switching since I already bought the LHT wheels.

ullearn

You were right on with the 32's I put them in tonight and clears both the chain stays and fenders.

ullearn

So bad news for trying to respace the XT hub, I took it to the bike shop today and apparently I have a newer XT hub on the LHT wheels that don't leave any room for respacing. So the only solution for respacing is cutting the axle and re-dish the wheel, which I think I would rather buy the right size of wheel then tear up this good set.

On the bright side once I told them it was for a titanium bike and that the wheel fits with minimal effort to spread the rear tirangle; they looked at me and laughed "then why are you looking to resize the hub?". In their opinion there will be no damage to the titanium rear triangle.

So it seems there is no titanium authority on this and not sure I should start a 2nd thread just for the question -

Will spreading a titanium rear triangle over thousands of miles (trans-america) going to cause permanent damage to the frame or even worse frame failure?

awesomejack

I guess you already know what my opinion is, I would use the wheel and not worry about it.

I have an aluminum rear rack that I have to spread about a full inch on each side, to fit over my drop outs, and I don't worry about it.

ullearn

I got some good surprising news from the manufacture today when I asked them the same question, their response -

"You will not have any issues with that set up on that frame. Ti is much more resilient than steel, so you should not have any problems.
Thanks for your email and for your interest in Litespeed."