The_Mickstar

I picked up a 1973 (or '74) Raleigh Professional that I am converting into a single-speed for easier maintenance. The only real snag I've run into is that the chainline is off ~1cm (freewheel ~1cm too far inboard), such that I will need to respace the rear axle and redish the wheel to correct it.

The respacing doesn't seem to be too much of a problem. But, the redishing worries me.

How risky (spoke breakage, etc) is this on a 35yo wheel?

There is very minor surface rust on a few of the spokes, but the rim and the wheel in general looks to be in very good condition - considering it's age. It's a 27x1.25" Weinmann rim on Campagnolo Record (Nuovo?) high-flange hub, which I have to assume is the stock setup. The hub is in excellent condition.

Is it even going to be possible to redish to make up 1cm, or will spoke length become a factor?

What should I expect to pay a LBS for such a job?

Thanks.

Steve

arborohs

use a spacer for 1 cm

planyourfate

I've read, and I'm not sure this is good information because I haven't tried it myself, but you can add some washers to your crank spider to make up some of the difference.

But yeah you should be able to redish that wheel without too much of a problem. I've redished my 1973 Schwinn before. Just to be on the safe side you might want to see if you can find some extra spokes in the length you need.

jgedwa

I have come to expect that when you redish old wheels you are likely to have some breakage and some rounding of nipples. With luck you will break none, or maybe a couple. So have a couple extra spokes sitting there ready to be used.

-try to get some oil into the spoke/nipple threads. And under the nipple head on the inside of the rim. And then let the rim sit for a few days to hopefully work its way in there. I have even doused suspicious looking ones with penetrating oil.

-use a four-sided nipple wrench to minimize chances of stripping them

-loosen the off-side as much as is reasonably possible before tightening the other side. Even the ones you will eventually tighten should be turned the other way for a partial turn to help free them up. The less stress you are fighting here the better.

1 cm is a fair bit to redish. You are asking a lot of each spoke/nipple. Be patient. Work slowly. And be prepared to break a couple. Its not that hard though.

Moving the rim over 1cm might give you some trouble with spoke length. But likely not. You could find that you bottom out the spoke threads on the ones you are tightening further. Really no good way to know until you try. What is more likely is that those spokes will protrude too far on the inside of the rim and will eventually poke through the rim tape into the tube. Boom. So, you file or dremel them down. I find this to be tedious but not hard. If you try to get away with not shortening protruding ones, you will regret it on the walk home.

Can you move the chainring instead? Switch from one side of the spider to the other? Add a spacer in there? If the BB spindle left to right is an symmetrical one, flip it around?

You do not have to get the chainline difference down to 0. If you can get it down to maybe half what you have now, I might call that good enough.

Lastly, if those spokes/nipples are frozen enough to prevent redishing, you are eventually going to have to face the music anyway when you ocassionally have to true it. So, you might just as well break a couple of spokes now if you want to use that wheel for any significant use. And once you break the first one, it sort of gets satisfying to break those babies loose.

jim

planyourfate

Yeah that's what I've heard on the block. I would assume this would be a way easier way of straightening the line than respacing and redishing?

jgedwa

Yes, it is much easier. I guess as long as the rings are bolted on and not riveted on.

My only reservation is that it seems to be worth having as rigid a crank/ring interface as possible, and those spacers (even if perfectly tight) do give more horizontal room for flexing. This must only be an academic difference however. I have done it when it was advantageous, but I consider it to be a couple moves down the flow chart because of the increased flex. And when I have done it, I have never noticed any difference whatsoever.

jim

planyourfate

Excellent information to know.