Originally Posted by
petejefferies
Thanks for the reply mate, you reckon i can get away with 135mm? i guess i'll be stretching the frame a bit won't i?
You can probably flex the stays apart by hand and get the wheel in, but if any part of your frame's rear triangle is carbon fiber, I wouldn't do it. Regardless, it will more than likely be inconvenient at best, a royal PITA at worst. With as many 130mm hubs as there are out there, on a modern road bike I'd stick to 130mm. Another option would be to monkey around with the spacers on the XT hub and reduce the spacing. You might need to redish the wheel if you do that, depending on exactly what you do. FWIW, Velocity sells a pre-built touring wheelset, available with a 130mm rear hub. The rims are Dyads, which are highly regarded among bike tourists, and the hubs have cartridge bearings. They're available in different spoke counts, depending on your preference. They're more expensive than the XT/A719 combo, though.