132.5 rear axle
 

Is fitting a 132.5 mm rear axle into 135mm spaced rear dropouts a reasonalbe fit without readjusting the frame? What is the maximum difference between axle and dropouts that's tolerable with a cro-moly frame? Thanks.

Yes.

You'll be fine doing that. But it's usually the other way around, some touring bike frames are spaced at 132.5mm for the purpose of using either 130mm axle spacing or 135mm axle spacing, allowing you to squeeze the dropouts in or out a little as needed. 130mm is the current, standard rear axle spacing on road bikes, 135mm is the current standard for mountain bikes.

edit: just curious, but are the wheels the Velocity Gliders sold by Nashbar? I remember seeing them in their catalog, with 132.5mm axle spacing, with the idea being that they could easily be used with 130mm or 135mm dropout spacing-

You could also put a 2 mm spacer on the non drive end of the axle, and reduce the dishing on the spokes.

That's totally overkill :)

Jim in KC, 132.5 mm hubs are DESIGNED to be used in either 130 or 135 mm dropouts. With an aluminum frame, I've had no problem putting 130 mm hub in 126 mm dropouts (I asked about this on rec.bicycles.tech, and there are dozens of other folks doing it).

With steel, you could probably exceed 5 mm with no problem. Steel frames can in fact be safely spread (permanently bent) to fit different size hubs. So don't worry about the 2.5 mm difference at all.

Thanks, everyone. And, yes, Well-biked, those Velocity wheels are the ones I'm looking at. They're the closest I've found to built-up wheels that will fit my Trek 520 which uses MTB components for the back end of it's drivetrain. So, when I find a wheel with the 135 mm spacing, it's also a 26" rim.

Jim, please post on how you like the wheels when you get them. I've been needing some reliable wheels for my tourer/commuter, and have been curious about those. Hope they work for ya!