Originally Posted by
GoJacob
good news...
i got the axle on and the wheel on the bike.
the axle didn't want to fit into the fork dropouts.... I had to kind of pry them open to get the wheel onto the bike... is this ok? i had the same problem with the rear. as long as the wheel is locked into place and straight, will this become a problem (especially for the frame? i love it)
now i'm off to the LBS to get a chain and some grip tape!
Yes, that's okay to pry the dropouts open slightly. Not all bikes are made with exactly the right spacing, and it generally won't hurt anything to squeeze them a bit. I for one have been using a 130mm (9-speed) hub in 126mm (8-speed) dropouts on an ALUMINUM frame for a couple years, with no problems other than having to squeeze the dropouts a bit to get the rear wheel in. When I asked if this was safe on rec.bicycles.tech, I heard from many others doing the same thing for thousands of miles with no problems.