Originally Posted by
Miele Man
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
I've never had much of a problem using the next wider hub than what the frame might be designed for (126mm to 130mm or 130mm to 135mm). Yes, it's a bit more difficult and may require more force but I've never been unable to do it.
And no, you can't have an aluminum frame coldset. The metal won't tolerate it.