Did I mess up??
 

A couple months ago I posted a thread asking about the Nashbar flip flop rear hub, seemed like a decent buy, so I bought it. Fast forward to today, I was taking my bike apart to get it all cleaned up and ready for the conversion and I pulled out that hub, turns out it doesn't fit.

It's a little to wide. Is there anything I can really do or am I screwed? The bike is an old Nishiki Century if that matters. thanks guys.

i thought those were spaced to 120? i don't know how 120mm could be too wide for any bike.

what is the spacing on the hub? the nishiki is most likely 126mm, sounds like you have that and a 130 hub.

how much is a little...? you can def spread your dropouts every time you insert your wheel if that works, either that, or cold set them further apart (ie..spread them a lot until they bounce back to where you want them)...or you can have a reputable mechanic spread them for you

From the Nashbar site :

"This hub will work on bikes with 120mm OR 130mm rear dropout spacing.This hub has 130mm over lockut dimension out of the box, when the pair of optional axle spacers are installed. This hub has 120mm over locknut dimension when the pair of axle spacers are removed. ."

So take off the spacers, or spread the triangles.

-Rob.

haha, right on thanks. i didnt even read that before.

I just went and pulled off the spacers, maybe I do need to force it in there a little bit.

Without the spacers its to loose, looks like I could run one spacer, but that doesn't make much sense.

Do you have an old steel frame? Is your spacing a 126mm? Because if it is you can run both spacer on there and just spread your frame slightly, it won't effect the stays.

That would probably mess up your chainline, unless you were to buy two spacers that were half the width.

-Rob.

no no. take out the two spacers that make it 130 mm and get two that are slightly smaller so that the spacing is right on 126mm.

if you cant find new spacers, stick with the 130, as stretching (cold setting is not even necessary) a 126mm steel frame over a 130 hub wont do any damage, but cranking it down over a 120 hub could really mess it up. ie bend the drop outs at a weird angle.

120mm - track
126mm - old road
130mm - road

Most conversions I would think start with a 126mm set frame, and people just crank the bolts down on their 120mm hubs. Nothing really wrong with it, it's a very minute difference. I wouldn't even worry about cold setting the frame.

Yeah it's 126mm. Ill go to the LBS and see if they have any spacers, if not would washers work?

spacers are washers

spaceships are watching

+1

Washers would work, but frankly, I would just torque it down. 3mm per side of flex is not going to do anyone or anything any harm.

i've seen drop outs get bent this way. im not trying to be dramatic, its just better to get the spacing right. its not like its tough...

It's better and safer to cold set or spread the frame out than it is to crank the drop outs in towards the hub.

Explain? I run 120 hubs on a 126-wide old road frame and it's perfectly fine.

There is alot of ignorant opinions on this thread from people who have no idea what they are talking about.

admittedly, i saw it on a lower-end frame with stamped drops, so its not guaranteed to happen on every frame. But still, why take the chance? you guys act like its twisting your arm to get 2 3mm washers.

Steel has memory meaning if you crank your axle nuts down squeezing the drop outs toward the hub, the drop out will want to return to their original position, causing an immense amount of stress and tension on the rear triangle. This along with bumps from the streets and the torque from pedaling can eventually crack your frame. Spreading the frame out will put tension on the lock nuts of the hub, eliminating any possibility of cracking the frame. (speaking from experience)

Im not going to be rude, but this isn't how metals work.

both widening and narrowing the rear opening will simultaneously stretch and compress different parts of the frame. so damage can be done in either case.

The real concern here is exceeding the metal's elastic limit, at which point it becomes permanently distorted (bent) and wont return to its original shape.

You also have to take into account the material your working with. With high tensile steel you can bend it and it's elasticity will prevent it from bending or cracking under high load. We also have to remember that with many bikes the steel you see marked on the seat tube (or anywhere) is usually the three mani tubes and the rear being of a lower quality steel meaning that the elasticity and point of bending or craking is much less. 3mm might not sound like much but in frame building its the difference between having a good frame or a heap of scrap metal.

Try breaking the rear triangle by pulling it apart. Try with all your might. I dare you.

You are wrong my friend, any steel frame will accept a 10mm alteration. If it doesn't, which it always will, then it is unfit to be ridden in the first place.