swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Can I use the wheels off my old racer on my new hybrid? One basic problem: the old spread was 136mm, the new bike has a 140mm spread. Is there any way to work round this?
136mm axle wheels, 140mm dropouts. Um...
- Thread starter swee'pea99
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Steel or other?
Like mickle is alluding, if it's steel you'd probably be okay. Alu or carbon I'm sure a couple of 2mm axle spacers or decent quality steel washers (one either side) would do the job assuming the axle is long enough to get the nuts on after. Couple of quid at the most.
OP
OP
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Steel. So if I understand you right, I just have to screw the nuts tight and the dopouts bend in a little and all's hunky dory? Is there any danger of them not bending in equally? Might I be better off using spacers anyway?
NickM
Veteran
- Location
- Darwin's birthplace
140mm? That's a peculiar over-locknut dimension. Most road bikes are 130mm, while mountain bikes (and hybrids) are generally 135mm. Only tandems normally have 140mm hub and dropout spacing, so without wishing to cause undue alarm, I wonder if it might be worth
a) measuring again, and if it's still 140mm...
getting the shop you bought it at to check your new frame's rear end for straightness?
a) measuring again, and if it's still 140mm...
getting the shop you bought it at to check your new frame's rear end for straightness?
andrew_s
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucester
As nickM said, the dimensions look a little odd.
A racing bike would normally be 130mm, and only tandems are normally 140mm.
Are you measuring across the outside of the dropouts?
You should measure inside to inside, so you don't include the thickness of the dropout itself in what's getting measured.
It would be normal to just accept a small difference in dropout width on a steel frame. Some are made in in-between sizes to allow fitting either 130 or 135mm hubs. If having to keep playing with the QR adjustment gets too annoying, you get a framebuilder to cold set (ie bend) your frame.
A racing bike would normally be 130mm, and only tandems are normally 140mm.
Are you measuring across the outside of the dropouts?
You should measure inside to inside, so you don't include the thickness of the dropout itself in what's getting measured.
It would be normal to just accept a small difference in dropout width on a steel frame. Some are made in in-between sizes to allow fitting either 130 or 135mm hubs. If having to keep playing with the QR adjustment gets too annoying, you get a framebuilder to cold set (ie bend) your frame.
mickle
innit
- Location
- 53.933606, -1.076131
Alluding. What a lovely word.
OP
OP
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Apologies all - I am an arse. The new one is indeed 135mm, inside measures - and the old one, 126mm, not 136mm (it's an old bike). So the difference is 9mm. Spacers? Might the wheel need redishing?
andrew_s
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucester
A 126 wheel in a 135 frame is probably a bit too far to just spring the frame on a long term basis. The dropouts can fail where clamping the wheel forces them from slightly angled in to straight if you do it too long.
There's also no point in cold setting a new frame to an old wheel size.
Assuming the wheel is QR, you'll need a longer 135mm axle and some spacers. The axle end has to come to just short of the outside face of the dropout. Put most of the spacers at the non-gear side. If you get the smallest sprocket the same distance from the chainstay as with the new wheel this will minimise fiddling with the gear indexing when you swap wheels. This will leave the cassette in the right place relative to the rear mech, but will mean that the wheel has to be redished.
Slack off all the gearside spokes half a turn, and tighten the non-gearside spokes a turn, then assess how much the rim has moved and how much further it still has to move. Repeat as required, reducing the amount of movement as the centre is approached. Finish off by truing the wheel properly (see Sheldon or wherever for truing advice), and adjusting your gear indexing
There's no need to be too exact when getting the rim central. So long as the brakes are happy, within a couple of mm is OK.
Afterthought:
If the old wheel is 126mm and the new wheel is 135mm, will a new cassette the same as the one fitted to the new wheel fit on the old hub? A 135 hub will have an 8/9/10 freehub body on it, and my memory is that 126 wheels were 6 or 7.
If the cassette off the new wheel doesn't fit the old wheel, then you'd be looking at the possibility of replacing a 6/7 freehub body with an 8/9/10 one (if they fit). This would have to be done before deciding on spacer location and wheel redishing.
PS
The palindrome of Bolton is not notloB. A palindrome is a word or words that read the same backwards as forwards. BoltonnotloB would be a palindrome if it were a word or name, but it isn't.
The only UK place with a palindromic name I can think of is Glenelg.
The classic multiword palindrome is "Able was I ere I saw Elba" (Napoleon was exiled there)
There's also no point in cold setting a new frame to an old wheel size.
Assuming the wheel is QR, you'll need a longer 135mm axle and some spacers. The axle end has to come to just short of the outside face of the dropout. Put most of the spacers at the non-gear side. If you get the smallest sprocket the same distance from the chainstay as with the new wheel this will minimise fiddling with the gear indexing when you swap wheels. This will leave the cassette in the right place relative to the rear mech, but will mean that the wheel has to be redished.
Slack off all the gearside spokes half a turn, and tighten the non-gearside spokes a turn, then assess how much the rim has moved and how much further it still has to move. Repeat as required, reducing the amount of movement as the centre is approached. Finish off by truing the wheel properly (see Sheldon or wherever for truing advice), and adjusting your gear indexing
There's no need to be too exact when getting the rim central. So long as the brakes are happy, within a couple of mm is OK.
Afterthought:
If the old wheel is 126mm and the new wheel is 135mm, will a new cassette the same as the one fitted to the new wheel fit on the old hub? A 135 hub will have an 8/9/10 freehub body on it, and my memory is that 126 wheels were 6 or 7.
If the cassette off the new wheel doesn't fit the old wheel, then you'd be looking at the possibility of replacing a 6/7 freehub body with an 8/9/10 one (if they fit). This would have to be done before deciding on spacer location and wheel redishing.
PS
The palindrome of Bolton is not notloB. A palindrome is a word or words that read the same backwards as forwards. BoltonnotloB would be a palindrome if it were a word or name, but it isn't.
The only UK place with a palindromic name I can think of is Glenelg.
The classic multiword palindrome is "Able was I ere I saw Elba" (Napoleon was exiled there)
Soltydog
Legendary Member
- Location
- near Hornsea
Where abouts are you SP99 ?
I recently bought a new rear wheel for an old racer & it's too wide, so maybe we could do a swap
I can fit the wider hub wheel at a push at home, but i'd struggle out on a ride if i had to get it off & on again
I recently bought a new rear wheel for an old racer & it's too wide, so maybe we could do a swap
I can fit the wider hub wheel at a push at home, but i'd struggle out on a ride if i had to get it off & on again
OP
OP
swee'pea99
Legendary Member
Many thanks Andrew S - very helpful. All makes very good sense. Soltydog - I'm in Norf Lundun. A swap might be an idea (I see you're in Hornsea). Let me have a wee think about that (what's the wheel you have, if you don't mind me asking? Perhaps you could PM me. I'm not sure how that works, but I've seen others mention it, so it must be possible.)
Oh, one other thing mista S - 'Notlob' comes from a classic old Monty Python sketch.
PS A man, a plan, a canal - Panama!
now that's what I call a palindrome!
Oh, one other thing mista S - 'Notlob' comes from a classic old Monty Python sketch.
PS A man, a plan, a canal - Panama!
now that's what I call a palindrome!
Soltydog
Legendary Member
- Location
- near Hornsea
pm sent 
