Hey BF,
I have a frame with 135mm spacing in the rear, and I wanted to use my existing wheel, which has a 130mm-wide hub. I'm trying to avoid cold-setting/respacing if possible.
One option is to just clamp down the dropouts to the 130mm spacing using the axle locknuts on the outside of the dropouts. I wanted to avoid this because it seemed like it would mean the dropouts were no longer parallel.
My current solution is adding a 2.5mm spacer washer to both sides of the hub:
http://i.imgur.com/Ibl6c.jpg
...making to overall hub "width" 135mm. This solves the issue of having to bend the dropouts, but now there is only a very slight amount of the axle remaining to actually
sit in the dropouts:
http://i.imgur.com/S76V6.jpg
(The quick-release axle running through the hub axle is long enough to span the entire length, of course)
Is this a recipe for disaster? Will this put undue stress on my hub, or cause the wheel to pop out, or something similar? Is this silly, and I should just bend the dropouts inwards using the outer locknuts?
On a related note, The Great Sheldon (pbuh) says:
if you're installing a derailer-type wheel in a wider frame than it was meant for, you should add the spacers to the left side. This will allow you to increase the strength of the wheel by moving the rim to the left.
But wouldn't this move the wheel off center, and require re-dishing? Isn't it easier just to add even space on both sides?