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
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!!!