Old frame, new wheels
 

Hi!

Could you post your experiences with the old frames and new wheels.

Like any trouble fitting the wheels to narrower frame.

Problems?
How they were solved...

A little more information would be helpful. As a guess I think you may need to review this and if you have specific questions come back:Bicycle Frame/Hub Spacing

Sheldon Brown' site is a very good starting point for many questions

What is the bike you want new wheels for? It's easy finding wheels to fit a 126 mm rear for example. There are too many variables and so a pic of the bike plus some idea of what you want to do will allow people to give you some good advice.

I will second easyupbug's link to Sheldon Brown's bicycle frame/hub spacing article, and I will note that much depends on which frame and which wheels -

For my Gitane TdF, I was popping in modern fixed-gear hubs that were the same nominal 120 mm as the original Normandy 5-speed hubs.
For the Raleigh Gran Sport I once owned, I simply muscled a 126 mm 7-speed rear hub into the nominal 120 mm rear end, and it worked with no problems.

I have a riding buddy who just muscles a 130 mm 9-speed Shimano rear hub into the 126 mm rear ends on his early 80's Mercian, and there have been no ill effects so far.

I have several older frames that were 126mm rear spacing that i had spread by a pro mechanic to 130mm for modern wheels

--- my experience was that the rear wheel tends to be a little off-center if the dropouts are not set at the right spacing, even if the wheel fits without too much effort

As you can see, it is pretty easy with a steel frame. I currently have 123mm OLD (ultra-6 speed) in my 120mm UO-8 and 126mm OLD (standard 6-speed) in my 120mm Capo. Most steel frames can go the full 130mm, if need be, as long as, per DMC707's admonition, spreading is done carefully and symmetrically.

LeJeune Champion du Monde '69. It is going to a singlespeed use, so I want to fit at this point 2000 something Parallax hubs with X-Plorer rims to both ends. They are basic wheels, but going with them now just to get this frame on tyres again.

I hate the finnish Tunturi singlespeed, so want to swap it to something more cooler frame. This '79 Tunturi has so narrow front fork slot it didn't take newer axle. Had to put Simplex quick release axle to a new hub.

Yeah, I have to measure the gap in rear fork. Forgot that in a hurry.

Here ya go:
http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...i-s-ergos.html

This is easy if going single speed. If 120 in the rear, then you can find a very large number of wheels that will work. If 126, then you can still find wheels but your choices on new built up wheels will be fewer. New hubs may be a problem since they will be wider. That's a pretty nice frameset I'm reckoning and I wouldn't spread it. There's nothing wrong with spreading a steel frame but since you're going single speed I'd leave it alone.

Coming from the other direction, I just put a 120 OLD wheelset into a 126 spaced rear drop out and it worked like a charm. Center spacing is dead on.