Originally Posted by
easyupbug
Correct, not disclosed in sale, dropouts were not square. String within 1/2 mm although I have little faith or understanding of it as Andy Gilmour in Tucson straightened a tweeked Reynolds 753 (Reynolds engineers said can not be cold set) frame and fork that is a beautiful ride with string way off. Used my nicest wheels, 1/2mm lateral and almost twice that radial. I would love to borrow a Park dropout alignment tool to see if the bolts I use work as well as I think they do. Thanks for the good point after an unknown crash or storage mishap not just focus on the obvious issue, I sould have everything checked. Andy has a Marchetti so he can check the frame alignment for us.
Yes, knowing what one is really measuring/gaging is an important aspect of understanding the whole picture. The string test assumes that one's rear wheel is also dished on center between the axle ends. And it's the rim that one is really wanting to be centered and straight WRT the frame. There are some bikes that have purposely off center drop outs and also off centered dish.
But your story of the 753 frame just shows that a straight riding bike is not a result of only one alignment aspect. As well as that many riders don't even notice some "offness" in their bike's tracking. I would love to get Andy's take on that 753 job to better understand what went on and what resulted.
As to cold setting 753 and Ti. it's not that it can't be done, or is never done, but the efforts are very high and the risk of something going wrong way expensive. It's far less risky and more cost effective to make the frame straight than bend it so. Andy