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Old 02-10-20, 04:12 PM
  #728  
zjrog
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Join Date: Jul 2009
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Bikes: 1986 KHS Fiero, 1989 Trek 950, 1990 Trek 7000, 1991 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo, 1992 Trek 1400, 1997 Cannondale CAD2 R300, 1998 Cannondale CAD2 R200, 2002 Marin San Rafael, 2006 Cannondale CAAD8 R1000, 2010 Performance Access XCL9R

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Originally Posted by ThermionicScott
132mm, wow. And I haven't taken any of my frames past 126mm yet.

There are a lot of elegant and inelegant methods out there for dimpling the stays, mine is somewhere in the middle. I took a spare pair of vise-grips and ground out one jaw to be smooth and more or less the radius of the outside of a chainstay, then padded it with a few layers of duct tape. I also ground one side of an 11/16" wrench to be rounded and smooth, and so my process is to place the rounded side of the wrench where I want to make the dimple, open up the vise-grips a bunch to fit around the chainstay and inner face of the wrench, and then gently squeeze. I try to only do a little at a time, and you don't have to make a deep impression on the inside of the chainstay to open up a decent amount of tire clearance. Afterward, it's a good idea to double-check your dropout alignment.
Originally Posted by ThermionicScott
Sure, they're more like 8-9 inches. I don't know much about vice grip sizing, I just grabbed a redundant pair and took them to the bench grinder until one of the jaw faces was pretty smooth and roughly the radius of a chainstay.


As I recently picked up a 2002 Marin hybrid, surprised at the relatively narrow chain stays. I had hoped to fit a 700x45, but a 700x40 is all I can fit. I am giving a serious consideration to a 650b conversion, and seeing your modified vise grips might get me the additional room I need. I have a friend bringing me a 27.5 rear wheel to see if I have reach with my current V brakes or not.

Very cool use of a versatile tool!!!
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