Drop Out Replacement?
 

So say I found a beautiful old Cinelli Road frame from the 60's at a bike shop by my hometown. But let's say that one of the horizontal dropouts is pinched shut. As such the owner is willing to part with it for a very small sum of money. Would it be worth it to try to bed it back? Chance of catastrophic failure? What about the idea of replacing the dropouts (with track ends, of course)? Anybody know how much this would cost? Any places in Philly that could do this?

I'd wager http://www.bilenky.com would.

No, no, no, no, no and NO.

go buy a track frame and leave the antiques alone.

Why not just replace it with campy dropouts. You can still ride it fixed if you want. But then you or somebody else can return it to its former geared glory in the future. It doesn't have track geometry. Its never going to be a track bike. Dropouts or not.

What he said. Track ends just add a little extra work and grime when changing a tube on the road.

Go with what sivat said. Horizontal Dropouts are actually easier to deal with than track ends for cleaning, changing tires/tubes.

chaz at the bicycle stable in philly (just north of girard on frankford) will do it for aroubnd $50. he's a good dude. and i liked working there a lot.

just talk to Bob the frame builder...he works for Bilenky and will have the best answer...right there for you on tuesdays/thursdays and sundays, homie.

**** it, put on some track dropouts, smash off all the guides with a hammer, awl and sandpaper! sweet track bike! oh wait, no track geometry. use the frame bender at bike church and see what you can do, it's only a 60's Cinelli road frame.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Cinelli-...QQcmdZViewItem

one and the same?

I have found that acid heads are a good replacement for drop outs.

Frequently interchangeable.