Originally Posted by
cyccommute
I don't agree. Carbon fiber and aluminum can be flexed without problems if you need to use a slightly wider hub. My Cannondale touring series bikes have 132.5mm OLD so that 130mm or 135mm hubs can be used. If you were going from a 126mm to a 135mm, the frame can't flex that much but neither can a steel frame. You'd need to cold set a steel frame for that much of a difference which I'll agree isn't an option for a carbon or aluminum frame. But if the difference is only 5mm, that's not going to cause many problems.
Some steel frames are very hard to spread with just your bare hands. I have a MIELE UNO of about 1987 vintage that has a steel Tange 5 frameset. I put a 9-speed wheel on it and went for a longish ride. I flatted, removed the wheel, checked the tire for debris and inserted a new tube. Boy did I have a fight trying to get that wheel back on! I had to turn the bike upside down place the wheel in position, grab the seatstay/chainstay junctions in each hand and pull on them whilst pushing down on the wheel with my chest to get it into the dropout slots. It took a few minutes to do that and get everything lined up so that the wheel finally went into those dropuots. Needless to say I had that frame coldset from 126mm to 130mm before taking it out for another ride.
I don't think my old very stiff Cannondale frame could have even been coldset 4mm.
Cheers