I was too cheap to pay the price for new sets of these adjusters as sold already assembled. I therefore got some bulk screws and acorn nuts and springs. This was all eBay I’m sure. The springs were the most expensive IIRC, and came in a pack of twenty vs the 100 pack of the others. The springs were also a bit confusing as one needed to kinda guess on the diameter and length. i doubt I had much more than $25 involved in it.

I did the same, but ordered them from McMaster Carr. The stainless steel screws came in a pack of 50 (35mm M3x0.5mm) for just $6.87, and a 10-pack of M3 acorn nuts for $4.68. The springs were a lot more, though, and I had to guess on the sizes like you said. I went with 15.5mm long, 4.6mm OD/3.4mm ID. That actually worked pretty well. Only problem was they were $4.60 per spring. The 35mm screw length turned out a bit too long, so I had to cut them with a Dremel, which thankfully didn't damage the threads at all. I think 30mm would be the perfect length.

I decided to buy the 'correct' springs and end caps and add some M3 hex bolts.

£3.85 in April 2023 30mm SS dropout adjuster: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231462746270
£5.99 10 x M3 x 30mm SS hex bolt: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07P1S4118?th=1

Currently £4.24 inc UK postage:

Just went over to the website of Portland local framebuildersupply.com. They have a pair of proper screws, springs and end caps for $6.35 a pair.

According to Chuck's timeline, the 3mm was introduced in 1952.

1951
A forged dropout with integral Gran Sport derailleur hanger is introduced that measures 6mm thick with 4mm adjusting screw and derailleur stop at 4 o'clock; easily identified by bulge formed around adjusting screw. Later the same year a new forged dropout is introduced that measures 7mm thick with 4mm adjusting screw and derailleur stop at 7 o'clock (no Sport derailleur spring hole).

1952
A new forged dropout is introduced that measures 7mm thick with 3mm adjusting screw, a derailleur stop at 7 o'clock and a spring hole for mounting the Sport derailleur.

never underestimate NorCal officials reviewing a SoCal racer’s bike.

I endured a different issue, won a NorCal race, awarded second place. At the next SoCal race a person approached me and handed me a photo of me winning the race by half a bike length.
”You Won”. Sarcastic thanks Bob Tetzlaff.

Haha I once won a race (an unimportant early-season training race) in a solo breakaway, held on to maybe a 100 yard lead at the end.
The one and only volunteer picking first place looked down at her clipboard as I went through and then looked up to start picking for first. All the guys in the bunch sprint pointed out her error and I was awarded first eventually, though it seemed to be begrudgingly. I hope the fact that this volunteer owned a bikeshop, and I worked for the competing bike shop and raced for a different team from hers, had nothing to do with it!

The only people I ever saw prevented from racing from a safety inspection were those who didn't glue their tires, and I was glad those morons were kicked. That's a very valid reason in my book.

People who believe vertical dropouts are perfect should think twice and maybe have some dropout adjusters just in case.

No thanks! Thanks for looking out for me, but "perfect enough" is perfect enough for me.

I'd rather drink muddy water and sleep in a hollow log than put adjusting screws in my vertical dropouts.

And wouldn’t that only give you a BB drop adjustment?

Brought home a Benotto today, and sine we're talking adjusters.
I've never seen lock rings on adjuster screws before.
If you need to adjust - a knurled ring on the outside should be useful to lock things up.
No slot on the outside thread end to make it worthwhile though.
Both sides the same, so is this a Benotto thing, or just a fluke?

Never even occurred to me to search. Thanks!!

I suspect it was a user modification. The spring is supposed to be what prevents the bolt moving unintentionally.

I’d rather have the opportunity to manually adjust where my wheel sits in the dropouts and the frame than rely on the frame builder.

What about these?

Has anyone yet pointed out the superiority of this style dropout stop?

See post number 18. But I actually like this style more. After all, chainring bolts are easy to find.

IMO, the problem with adjustment screws is that most (including most of mine) are left too long, which often ends up in tweaked & bent screws. I get wanting to have some versatility but most bikes don’t see frequent changes in dropout adjustment.

In an “ideal” scenario, the wheel is optimized for a given setup, accounting for tire clearances and pulley-to-cog gaps. From there, the adjustment screw is set. Next, the adjustment screw can be cut to length, a few cm outside of the dropout, so the cap can be tightened flush against the dropout. Of course, this means it’s no longer adjustable in the common understanding. However, you can adjust it to the correct (ideal, or optimized position), then trim the extra length, set it & forget it. I did this with my LOOK back in the 80s, almost 40 years ago, and have never needed to re-adjust the dropout screws more than about a turn of a screw.

Note, after cutting the extra length with the adjustment screw in place, you can add some lubricant and back out the screw into the dropout to chase the threads before re-attaching the cap nut.

It’s a nice clean finishing touch imho, not to have that extra dangling bit of adjuster screw off the back of the dropouts. Plus, then you can put the bike on the back of the dropouts without worry.

Never seen those before, but they make as much sense as rear adjusters for some frame geometry fine-tuning.

Don't like those, often the slot is short enough that the skewer nut overhangs the dropout faces:



But the screws do weaken the dropout.
Best is horizontal, no adjusters, eyeball it.

AH, yes the GT bike "can't remember the name"with the adjustable fork offset to change the trail.

I wonder why these never caught on?
Probably patented.

Rear-facing dropouts don't work well with mudguards.

Normally dropouts have the head and spring on the inside, and a nut on the outside. Some short dropouts in the 80s had a recess in the back to take the spring and were set up to be used with the screw head on the outside with no nut on the inside. This would be for a bike with shorter (say 40cm or less) chain stays, so you could get the wheel back farther. Here's my 1986 Masi 3V. You can see I have little room between the tire and the seat tube, but I could move it back if I wanted to. I seem to remember that my original Masi Prestige that I got from Alberto in 1982 had this too. It would have come set up that way by Alberto if so. The picture is not clear enough to say for sure. Perhaps it was just his choice, to give a bit more adjustment with the short chain stays.

I built my first mountain bike in 1981-82 with track dropouts with a derailleur hanger brazed on, and loooong chain stays. Seemed like it would just be stronger if for instance you got a stick stuck in there. The clearance to the home-made mudguards was not much of a problem. This is the redo from about 1989. Originally had Sugino ATT cranks and a Rally.