Hello,

I'm relatively new to fixing bikes and I'm trying to bring back a neglected, 20 yo, 12-speed road bike to a decent state of efficiency.

The thing has horizontal drop outs and when pushing the wheel all the way back, the part of the rim which is close to the seat tube, ends up to the left of the tube itself. To get it parallel to the top tube, I must push the left end of the QR forward a bit, before closing the skewer.

The rear triangles appeared to be slightly bent to the left, so using a string & ruler I straightened them out the best I could, but the problem still stands.

I am thinking about replacing the rear wheel altogether, although I wonder whether that's going to change anything?

Should I just learn to live with it?

you may also consider the need of the dropouts to be parallel
to the center line of the frame .... at a right angle to the axle ..
and parallel to each other ..

With horizontal dropouts, you must position the wheel so that it is centered in the frame. If the wheel spins true you don't need a new one.

If you think the frame is tweaked you can measure it with a simple string test (that I'm not familiar with.)

Some dropouts also contained a semi-circular bolt holding the rear derailleur. If this is the case then there is no problem.

As long as the wheel runs straight and the drop outs are centered then you have nothing to worry about. To check if the drop outs are centered on the frame - fit the wheel so that it is straight in relation to the seat tube, take the bike out for a ride, ride for a few seconds with no hands. If the bike doesn't drift off to the side then it is centered.

First, are you certain that your wheel is properly dished? If it is, then the chainstays are slightly different lengths. With horizontal dropouts, this is *NOT* a functional concern or problem, merely cosmetic. Position the axle in the dropout so it is properly centered and lock down the quick release. Ride on!

First things first, thanks for all the replies, I really appreciated them all.

I had already checked the dropouts alignment but I'm acquiring the stuff needed to improvise a DIY tool somewhat similar to that Park Tool makes (albeit a lot more ghetto!)

As for the wheel, it's out of true, and it does wobble left and right of its own axis but not the tube's. I've tried to adjust the spokes (many were loose) but that I'm totally new at this and had little or no success. I'm planning to keep the old rim to practice on it some more.

Also, before wasting more money on this bike, I wanted to know if the frame was totally out of whack or this was something more or less acceptable. Now I know the latter is my case

Alms:

I've worked on high end Italian bikes that had all the nice, thick branded dropouts with chain adjuster screws, and to align the rear axle and center the wheel, I had to have the screws adjusted more than 1mm different in depth. It didn't give me a real high confidence in those frames. And at our shop, we would whip out the alignment tools and clamp them onto the dropouts, and pulling back all the way to the ends didn't quite line up, but pushing the clamping point forward gave much better wheel alignment, and effectively shortened the chainstay too. So it is quite acceptable and the bike rode fine.

Thank gyozadude for your reply, too. The frame is certainly not high end, but I got a new wheel and this one fits perfectly straight to the eye. I suppose the axle on the old one must have been bent. Before I hit the road I plan to do a final round of drop out and rear triangles alignment check.

I've repaired mildly bent axles before. Usually, the bend is on the freewheel side of the hub. I remove, clamp in a vise with blocks of wood to protect the threads on the axle, and then screw nuts onto the end of the axle that I'll tap with a hammer. Some hitting can straighten them out, or get mostly straight. I then flip it around so the bent side is re-installed as the non-freewheel side. And yes, I've cracked axles during rides before after bending them back too much. If they're too bent, you should replace.