jack pot 

i got gifted a new steamroller 53 frame so i took my 56 Steamroller apart and put the parts back together on the 53.... but but but the cog wheel from 56 is way too wide for the 53 ??? ...... whenever i tighten the axel the wheel seems to be binding because of how narrow the dropouts are spaced ............ Surly says it's my wheel but the wheel worked great on the 56 ..... i'm still contemplating but any observations or suggestions or CRITICISMS will be accepted

TejanoTrackie 

What is the OLD (over locknut distance) of the wheel ? The Surly Steamroller dropouts are normally spaced at 120mm, so maybe your 56cm dropouts were spread apart to accommodate a wider wheel ? Either that or the dropout spacing on the 53cm frame is off somehow.

jack pot 

the drop out spacing on the 53 seems to narrower... this was an unanticipated FU and when i called SURLY i got put on hold and forgotten ...if the spacing has changed shouldn't Surly publicize that fact ??? and if I want to ride the 53 i guess i need to build or buy a new narrower wheel

TejanoTrackie 

Measure the dropout spacing on the 53cm frame. It should be 120mm. If it is substantially less, say less than 119mm, then it is either a manufacturing defect or the frame somehow got damaged and the dropouts were pushed together. Since it is a steel frame, you can safely cold set it back the correct spacing by spreading the dropouts apart.

TugaDude

Too many nebulous details here to give a good answer. The OP needs to measure the spacing on the dropouts to verify spacing. TT is correct as usual, it is pretty simple to cold set the rear triangle. Care needs to be taken and if it is spread significantly it may require adjusting the fork ends to make them parallel. Not a big issue in most cases, but necessary in some. I feel that is best done by a knowledgeable bike tech or someone who is trustworthy and has done it before.

Edit: Here's info from Sheldon Brown's wonderful site. Note the issue of what he calls "parallelism" which is way down the page.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

jack pot 

Thx for input.................... i got a new wheel because the dropout spacing on the old 55 Roller is wider than on the 53

roadfix

Willing to bet the 56 frame was cold set to 126mm…

jack pot 

finally put the new wheel together ............ all in all i aint much better than i was before but the bike looks cooler