Originally Posted by
cdmurphy
On one or two bikes that I cared about, I've actually gone through the trouble of heating the dropout / seatstay junction on the higher side to reflow the brass, and then tweaked the dropout back to where it should be. I would only consider this on a frame destined for re-paint, and I wouldn't try it on a chromed dropout / seatstay.
I've done the same.
Originally Posted by
cdmurphy
One last point -- you might want to consider re-dishing your wheel back to where it was. All that the bike cares about for purposes of riding no-hands is that your center of gravity is right in line with the contact patch of the front and rear wheels. With your wheel slightly off in the frame, a perfectly dished wheel will in effect put the tire in the same spot as a frame with a crooked rear triangle. You might find it doesn't ride no-hands quite as well now that you've "fixed" the wheel. Really, the point of a perfectly dished wheel is so that you can interchange it with any other, on a perfectly aligned frame. If the frame is off in ways you can't fix, you have to choose between easily interchangeable wheels, or a functionally mis-aligned frame. (It might not be enough to matter, but keep in mind that the goal is getting your body right between the wheels, not necessarily in having every component perfectly centered and aligned.)
Sometimes I think we're twin brothers of different mothers. I've often thought that you could intentionally offset a frame's rear triangle and reduce dish for a stronger wheel. You'd have to accomodate chain line, and make sure the crank arm doesn't hit, but it would be an interesting design proposition.
__________________
If someone tells you that you have enough bicycles and you don't need any more, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.