Andy in Germany
Legendary Member
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
Today I happened to be at work, so I decided to swap the cassette on my touring bike: The 11 tooth gear had (once again) worn down long before anything else. I dropped the back wheel, cassette off, new cassette on, no worries.
The gears didn't work. Eventually found the wheel wasn't straight in the horizontal dropout (I'd checked the hanger, mech, and dropper were all as they should be). Furthermore, it proved pretty much impossible to straighten it out: the dropouts seem scratched and the wheel jumps between the scratches; just pulling the axle back to the limit results in a wonky wheel.
This was a conversion from a 26" wheeled mountain bike, built with my son some years ago when I had less experience working with bikes. These Horizontal dropouts have always given me some trouble: the chain stays are built for a 6 or 7 speed gear block, and are a little too tight for an 8 speed cassette. Apart from that I had to replace the forks because they were not straight, and the whole bike does feel a little small. Now, even if I get the axle straight, if I have to remove the wheel, it seems impossible to get it back in place accurately without a bike stand.
Now I've got a couple of options for frames: one is a rather lovely lugged 80's/90's Chromoly lugged steel frame, and the other is in the remains of a VSF Fahrradmanufaktur T400. Either would probably work well, and I have someone willing to solder the lugs on for the main bar gear levers. Crucially, both frames have vertical droppers and wide enough spacing for an 8 speed cassette.
So, the question is, is this necessary, or is there a reliable way to get the axle straight in the frame?
The gears didn't work. Eventually found the wheel wasn't straight in the horizontal dropout (I'd checked the hanger, mech, and dropper were all as they should be). Furthermore, it proved pretty much impossible to straighten it out: the dropouts seem scratched and the wheel jumps between the scratches; just pulling the axle back to the limit results in a wonky wheel.
This was a conversion from a 26" wheeled mountain bike, built with my son some years ago when I had less experience working with bikes. These Horizontal dropouts have always given me some trouble: the chain stays are built for a 6 or 7 speed gear block, and are a little too tight for an 8 speed cassette. Apart from that I had to replace the forks because they were not straight, and the whole bike does feel a little small. Now, even if I get the axle straight, if I have to remove the wheel, it seems impossible to get it back in place accurately without a bike stand.
Now I've got a couple of options for frames: one is a rather lovely lugged 80's/90's Chromoly lugged steel frame, and the other is in the remains of a VSF Fahrradmanufaktur T400. Either would probably work well, and I have someone willing to solder the lugs on for the main bar gear levers. Crucially, both frames have vertical droppers and wide enough spacing for an 8 speed cassette.
So, the question is, is this necessary, or is there a reliable way to get the axle straight in the frame?
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