Originally Posted by
relyt
The chainstays on a frame I have are dimpled, presumably for chain clearance. Both chainstays have identical dimples on the inside, and the drive-side chainstay has a dimple on the outside as well, which the other chainstay does not have.
Will this make it difficult to respace the frame to accept a larger hub? I am thinking of using the Sheldon Brown method of respacing with a 2x4. Will the dimples cause the chainstays to bend unevenly, or bend in the wrong place?
The great thing about Sheldon's method for coldsetting is that you bend one side at a time, so as long as you take your time, measure along the way, and follow the directions, you will bend each side the correct amount. I've cold set using the "all thread" method, where you pull both sides apart simultaneously and hope for the best, and I've used Sheldon's method. Realizing the difference now, I'll only use Sheldon's method in the future. You can actually end up with a better aligned frame than you started with.
Btw, the frame I ride the most these days was originally spaced at 126mm, and I cold set it to 135mm using Sheldon's method. With that much difference (126 to 135), it's worth it to re-align the dropouts in my opinion.