joel52

I'm looking to attach the standard forged Burley trailer hitch to my 80s Miyata 210, and seems I need to either get an adapter or remove the dropout spacers (they prevent the hitch from sitting flush against the dropout). I'm trying the free option first.

I pulled the spacers out and everything seems okay. If I can make it work, I'd prefer to seat the wheel all the way back in the dropout so there is no guesswork or wiggle room. I'll have to adjust the fenders and brake pads a bit, but it seems like it will work. My questions are:

(1) Is there any reason I should not do this? That is, any compelling reason to try to keep the wheel seated where it was with the spacers in?

(2) Should I expect the drive train to need adjustments if I pull the wheel up as shown?

Any help would be appreciated.

Original:

Now:


Joel

FBinNY 

No reason not to push the wheel back, but you may not get the desired result. Bikes with horizontal dropouts were built with the understanding that the end of the slot wasn't critical, since the owner would not using it as a deadstop. So you have no assurance that the wheel will be square in the chainstays when pushed all the way back on both sides. Of course, if the wheel does line up well that way, more power to you.

Either content yourself with manual centering, or improvise flush deadstops, using carved wood or plastic and glue. They don't have to be fancy or strong, since they don't take any load.

Earl Grey

Your budget and your personal valuation of your own time are (of course) your business, but I'd be tempted to spend the ~$15 on the Burley adapter. May come in handy on other bikes too. As you probably know, some dropout styles won't accept the regular hitch no matter how they are adjusted.