I've heard that aluminum cannot be respaced because the metal is prone to failure when stressed. How bad is it? I've got a bunch of parts laying around and I feel like building a bike right now, but that would involve respacing an aluminum frame.



Also, I've slowly been sanding through the chipped paint on the drive side of the disc wheel, while I'm at it I figure it might be fun to strip the frame down to the aluminum. Obviously it's not going to rust, but if it will look even worse naked then I'll just leave it be.



Here's Raleigh's page for the original bike.

Looks like you're trying to stuff a 120mm hub into a 130mm frame.
Don't do it. You'll probably end up cracking the dropouts

Just respace the hub out to 130mm

+1. Spacers are cheap.

get a new frame. that thing is hideous.

Yeah I know isn't it beautiful? The rusty, unicrown, chromo fork is the shining gem.

If I sandblast it it might not look as awful.

At least it won't get stolen.

Agreed, respace the hub instead. As a benefit, you'll probably get a better chainline with those MTB cranks.

That rear disk is divine.

what?
you don't alter the chainline when you respace a hub
you respace symmetrically. Otherwise you have to redish the wheel.
you obviously can't redish a disk.

Sorry; should have clarified.
Relative to squishing in the thick dropouts and getting an uneven frame spacing. I used to get a lot of delivery bikes at my old shop in manhattan. Some of those guys stuffed any wheel/axle combo into whatever frame they happened to be riding at the time. When they squished in thier frames with thick *aluminum*(sigh) dropouts, the results were especially bad.
-Luke @ bmw.

You guys think I could just throw the spacers between the locknuts and dropouts? Or do I need to put them between the locknuts and cones? This wheel is really for my Panasonic, I just want to put this Raleigh together for ****s and giggles (and in case we have more friends than bikes), so I don't want to have to deal with messing with the locknuts every time I switch the wheel over.

Also, need some feedback about stripping the frame...

Spacers need to go between the locknuts and the cones

seems like a bad idea to me. get a 130mm rear wheel and run it freewheel with a tensioner?

btw i rode to work today on my girlfriend's C30 and that is a comfy freaking bike. looks the same as that but with omni front shocks and weinmann wheels. having a disk wheel on there is funny but i dunno if it's worth respacing the axle over.

I found the thing in the garbage, and if it had horizontal dropouts I'd probably be more excited over it. It's ugly but it's a good size and reasonably lightweight. I need to find a new seatpost but I'm hoping I can garbage pick one. I found a MTB in the garbage a while back before I knew anything about bicycle mechanics, and unfortunately I didn't do anything with it so I tossed it. I could use those wheels right now...

i will say those welds are massively ugly... but they work. i think it's a great frame. i'd pick it up in a second if i found it in the trash.

you can fit WIDE tires too. way wider than the puny wheels you have on it would allow.

I should mention something weird about these Raleighs: they have 1 1/8" threaded steertubes with quill stems. Wtf? I didn't even know they came in that size.

Lots of old MTB stuff and plenty of cheap current stuff uses 1 1/8 threaded, you can find parts for it pretty easily if you need them.

I'm getting a little more serious about this build...I really like how it's coming together. Yesterday I rode to the west side with my friend and picked up a seatpost, NOS grips (YETI's), axle spacers, and a cool puffy jacket that matches my black and neon Reeboks (accessories for this build). I found a working MTB lever in my parts bin, so I chopped the bars (only about 2 inches on each side) and installed the lever and grips. I'm also using my white NOS BMX saddle which looks awesome on the black seatpost.

List of things to do:

Strip paint off frame
Grind off braze-ons
Paint fork
Paint disc wheel white on the side I sanded (raw fiberglass isn't as cool as I thought)
Install tires on both wheels OR just jack my friend's hybrid wheelset (from an old Univega with nice knobbies he got for $15)

I might give this bike to a friend or just hang on to it and let people borrow it.

edit-I know you can't see the chainring much anyways, but is there anything I could/should do because it's rusty?

Surly will sell you hubs in 130mm and 135mm sizes so that'll cover you.

You can have the frame sandblasted but if you have time and not afraid of effort, you can sand the frame pretty easily then use some stripper to remove the last bits in the tight spaces. I use some stuff from Kleen-Strip that you pour into a sprayer as needed. It goes on thick like a gel. Leave it on for 15-30 minutes then scrape off. I use these small wire brushes that are the same size as a toothbrush and a bit larger. I then use some mineral spirits or kerosene to wipe the frame down to remove everything.

If you want the bare aluminum look, I'd take some #00 steel wool to the stripped frame and buff out the swirl marks. Then get some automotive clear coat spray and seal it.

Red Devil Lye mixed with water to a thick goop or a bit thinner will remove the rust. Be sure to rinse the heck out of it afterwards then spray a bit of GT-85 on it. Don't get the lye solution on you or your clothes.

don't grind the brazeons off. just ruins the frame.

and imo you have to use the disc wheel, that's the only thing that makes this build worthwhile.

it's like putting $3000 wheels on a geo metro.

to strip the paint... here is the best and easiest way instead of sand blasting:

go out and get paint stripper in a can. costs about 8-15$ at any hardware store.
follow the instructions very well...
let the stripper sit for about 15 minutes, then wipe off and rise the frame with cold water. towel dry. total time to strip a bike is about 15-30 minutes.

regardless, wear latex gloves underneath rubber gloves, don't touch your skin, keep a bucket of COLD water around and most importantly wear long sleeves, pants and protective eyewear.

Cause if any of the paint stripper gets on you, lemme tell you the chemical burn is not pleasant.

If you are gonna use rattle can paint to paint your bike, 1 can per coating... 2-3 should do the job and get a few cans of clear coat.... don't forget to wet sand between coats... Each coating should take a minimum 1-2 days to dry.

Have fun.

edit: took out all gender references just for cc700 BWAHAHAHA

i think she's a girl. not that that should matter... just... well 'bro' man' 'dude' 'son'

good advice though. use protective wear!

edit: sis, dudette, chicklette, chicita, broad, baby, sweet cakes, muffin

Better?

And yes protection isn't only for safe sex...

wtf

what's the bcd and crank arm length. I have a drive side sugino (old) with a 165mm length 110 bcd and a 40t and 50t alloy c-ring. The cool thing about the crank is it is meant for only a single ring. Only have the drive side. Don't want money for the crank but few bucks for the ring would be nice if you are interested.

Jeff