geeyoff

Hi. I'm about to convert an old 10-speed to a fixie, but the dropouts have little screws in them that are frozen in place (are they called "axle adjustment bolts?"). Here's a blurry pic of the screw that I'm referring to.



A dude at a LBS told me to just cut them off, saying that it'll be easier to tension the wheel if I've got more real estate within the dropouts. Is that reasonable? I'm hoping to get a second opinion before I start cutting.

And if I *should* cut them off, any recommendations on what kind of tool to use? I'm thinking a jewelry saw blade, but maybe you know of something better...

Thanks.

crushkilldstroy

You sure they're stuck forever? Hit the *******s with PB Blaster and let them sit overnight.

edit! bas-tards is edited? annoying.

chase.

Get 'em out of there if at all possible. They work in the opposite fashion of chain tugs on a fixed-gear and just limit your adjustment range in the dropout.

thequickfix

It looks like those dropouts would be long enough that you don't really need to remove the screws, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

I had the same thing happen on an old miyata frame. I ended up cutting, bending and filing off the ends and leaving part of the screw in the hole and painting over it. I read somewhere (Sheldon?) that removing the screw entirely makes the dropout susceptible to cracking, so I would recommend leaving the seized part of the screw in there.

geeyoff

Wow, that worked well. I bought a can of PB Blaster at the corner hardware store, having never seen the stuff before. It worked where WD-40 failed. I bet you'd really not wanna get this stuff in your eyes, huh?

I guess I'll leave them in, but I'll unscrew them as far as they can go to give the greatest room in the dropouts.

Landgolier

They're pretty soft metal (brass maybe?) you can just bend them back and forth a few times and they will break, then you can file the end.

dmg

They're for keeping the wheel lined up with the back brake, assuming you're running a deraileur and the position isn't set. They really don't do anything on a fixed / ss, since the chain tension is going to be setting the position in the dropouts.