Hi there,

I bought a pair of 700C rims for an old 10 speed frame yesterday. Unfortunately the front dropouts are slightly too narrow to fit onto the hub axle. I've looked at the previous posts about this problem, and it looks like a way around this is filing the axle or the dropouts. Filing the axle appears to win out over filing the dropouts because the fork might not be balanced if you shave off more on one side. But wouldn't that be the exact same concern if the axle is shaved?

Instead of shaving down any parts, I'm wondering if it's possible to replace the axle and locknuts with narrower ones.

So, you got a bike at X mart bike with 3/8 solid axle spec,
and now want to fit a 9mm QR axle in it?

I've seen axles that were made with flat spots.
Maybe ask your LBS?

IF you file them yourself, you're probably going to have issues "buggering" the lock nut & cone threads every time you take one off to service the bearings.
I much prefer them to turn SMOOTH when tweaking that last little adjustment.

Don't file the axle. The last thing you want is to weaken it. I'd file the dropouts working on the same face (front OR rear) on both sides of the fork and stop as soon as the axle fits. Also, dont file the top of the dropout as you don't want the wheel "cocked" vertically either.

I just realized this is a double post and FBinNY gave the same advice I did on the other thread.