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Is it worth getting frame cold set?

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Cycling Equipment
Published
4 January 2004
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4 January 2004
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Rosco
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  1. I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano road
    hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. Is there any issue with the 10mm axle
    diameter and the ability to fit dropouts? Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable
    practice? I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.

  2. I can't comment on 135 mm spacing.

    But, for what it's worth, I've spread two of my current steel bikes from 126 to 130 mm using Sheldon
    Brown's do-it-yourself recipe, sheldonbrown.comframe spacing.html.

    It seems scary to do this yourself, but by working cautiously, measuring as you go, you can be
    assured of excellent results.

    Or an LBS can do it for you quite economically. One shop charged me $25 to spread a frame in '99.

    Mike Yankee

    (Address is munged to thwart spammers. To reply, delete everything after "com".)

  3. Quoted post said:

    Originally posted by Rosco
    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano road
    hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. Is there any issue with the 10mm axle
    diameter and the ability to fit dropouts? Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable
    practice? I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.

    135 mm spacing adds a little to the right side bracing angle, so it is worth it. You might also consider a rim that has offset spoke bed to decrease the differences from right side to left side spoke tension by bringing the bracing angles closer to the same.
    I don't know what the 10 mm axle profile fit would be in your dropouts, but make sure you get complete and accurate clamping of your lock nuts to the inside of the dropouts.
    Getting a good accurate cold setting with proper alignment is a good idea. If your shop has a skilled on-staf frame builder, he will also check other frame points to make sure that they are all OK when your frame is "set".

  4. it's perfectly and reliably "doable", but imo, it's not worth the effort. you can easily fit the 135
    in there with hand pressure.

    no issues with the 10mm.

    jb

    rosco said:

    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano
    road hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. Is there any issue with the 10mm axle
    diameter and the ability to fit dropouts? Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable
    practice? I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.

  5. rosco said:

    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano
    road hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit?

    IMO, no. You will still have trouble finding a hub with more than 36 spokes, either with 130 or 135.
    Unless you are willing to spring for a Phil Wood cassette hub, you may not be able to find any. The
    extra 5mm is not worth bending the frame.

    I assume

    Quoted message said:

    a stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub.

    A significantly stronger wheel can be built with a tandem hub. Anything less is not worth the
    trouble. Besides, a road wheel should be fine for touring.

    --

    David L. Johnson

    __o | We have a record of conquest, colonization and expansion _`\(,_ | unequalled by any people
    in the Nineteenth Century. We are not (_)/ (_) | to be curbed now. --Henry Cabot Lodge, 1895

  6. rosco said:

    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano
    road hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. Is there any issue with the 10mm axle
    diameter and the ability to fit dropouts? Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable
    practice? I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.

    Try it and you'll find a 135 wheel slips into most 130mm bikes without any unusual effort.

    Is it steel? It would be trivially simple (=cheap) to have an alignment done. Many shops will let
    you watch the evaluation when the frame comes in. That's interesting to watch, because most frames
    are not accurate to 2.5mm, which is what you are adding.

    Yes nearly all modern frames are made with 10mm ends.
    --
    Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

  7. "A Muzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:


    Try it and you'll find a 135 wheel slips into most 130mm bikes without any unusual effort.

    Is it steel? It would be trivially simple (=cheap) to have an alignment done. Many shops will let
    you watch the evaluation when the frame comes in. That's interesting to watch, because most frames
    are not accurate to 2.5mm, which is what you are adding.

    Yes nearly all modern frames are made with 10mm ends.
    --
    Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

    Yes, it is steel - it's a Bruce Gordon. Very sturdy frame, and a wonderful ride. BG is very much
    against cold setting. With regard to cold setting, they say... "how would you feel if you lent your
    bike to a friend, and it came back slightly bent." I understand their viewpoint, but still find it
    hard to believe it's that risky if done properly.

    My plan was to have a new wheel built using an Ultegra hub in the rear (the front Suntour XC-Comp
    hub is still 100% great, so no need to change that out). I've been lead to believe that mt bike hubs
    (e.g. Shimano XT) have somewhat better seals. If the seals are significantly better, that might be a
    desireable feature on a touring machine.

  8. On Sun, 04 Jan 2004 02:27:16 GMT, "rosco"

    reverse-the-following'ocsor_g'@hotmail.com may have said:

    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano
    road hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. Is there any issue with the 10mm axle
    diameter and the ability to fit dropouts? Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable
    practice? I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.

    For 5 mm, I'd just spread it enough by hand to slip the wheel in, assemble and ride.

    --
    My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
    Yes, I have a killfile. If I don't respond to something,
    it's also possible that I'm busy.
    Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

  9. Quoted message said:

    IMO, no. You will still have trouble finding a hub with more than 36 spokes, either with 130 or
    135. Unless you are willing to spring for a Phil Wood cassette hub, you may not be able to find
    any. The extra 5mm is not worth bending the frame.

    You can take a Shimano tandem hub down to 135mm. If you're willing to live with a 7 speed freehub
    you can have a 40 hole (or 48 hole) cassette hub with very little dish (center-to-flange on mine
    about 28mm left and 22mm right). And the Shimano tandem hubs are very nice. They are around $125, so
    they're still a lot cheaper than a Phil and they're better than just about any of the other tandem
    hubs available. With double-butted spokes and a nice rim, you'll have a very reliable rear wheel.

    I'd spread the frame, it's not too hard with old bikes like that. I spread my Schwinn Traveler
    commuter from 126 to 135 and have had no problems.

    Its rear wheel has a 40 hole Shimano tandem hub, Wheelsmith 2.0/1.7 double-butts, and a Mavic T519
    rim. This was the 2nd rear wheel I'd ever built and it has been absolutely indestructable over 5000+
    miles( so far), on rough roads, ocassionally hopping curbs, and usually carrying lots of weight.

    -Bruce-

  10. Quoted message said:

    "A Muzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:

    Try it and you'll find a 135 wheel slips into most 130mm bikes without any unusual effort.

    Is it steel? It would be trivially simple (=cheap) to have an alignment done. Many shops will let
    you watch the evaluation when the frame comes in. That's interesting to watch, because most frames
    are not accurate to 2.5mm, which is what you are adding.

    Yes nearly all modern frames are made with 10mm ends.


    rosco said:

    Yes, it is steel - it's a Bruce Gordon. Very sturdy frame, and a wonderful ride. BG is very much
    against cold setting. With regard to cold setting, they say... "how would you feel if you lent
    your bike to a friend, and it came back slightly bent." I understand their viewpoint, but still
    find it hard to believe it's that risky if done properly.

    My plan was to have a new wheel built using an Ultegra hub in the rear (the front Suntour XC-Comp
    hub is still 100% great, so no need to change that out). I've been lead to believe that mt bike
    hubs (e.g. Shimano XT) have somewhat better seals. If the seals are significantly better, that
    might be a desireable feature on a touring machine.

    Everyone's got an opinion, I'm sure, but the Ultegra hubs are well-sealed, fit your frame and work
    just fine.

    --
    Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

  11. rosco' reverse-the-following'ocsor_g said:

    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano
    road hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub.

    An alternative would be spreading to 132.5mm so it will comfortably take both 130 and 135mm hubs.
    Some new custom frames are built to this size.

    As well as extra strength, it's easy to find better sealed hubs in the
    135. Chainline is an issue, though - could be a pro or con depending on components and preference.

    Quoted message said:

    Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable practice?

    Yes with steel frames. See: www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

    Quoted message said:

    I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.

    That's probably best. I just did mine (125 to 133mm) at home with a threaded rod - seems to be ok,
    fortunately.

    ~PB

  12. rosco' reverse-the-following'ocsor_g said:

    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano
    road hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. Is there any issue with the 10mm axle
    diameter and the ability to fit dropouts? Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable
    practice? I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.

    Yes. Do it properly and check and double check the tracking using Sheldons help. Else get a shop to
    do it. I did mine without the aid of Sheldon Brown or a threaded rod, didn't check the alignment and
    suffered serious speed wobble when laden. I took it to a 531 frame builder they put it on a jig and
    fixed it for me - no problems.

  13. rosco said:

    I'm starting the process of redoing my 14 year old touring bike, and changing from Suntour 7 speed
    to Shimano 9 speed in the process. The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano
    road hubs, but is it worth getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? I assume a
    stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. Is there any issue with the 10mm axle
    diameter and the ability to fit dropouts? Is bending your frame (cold setting) an acceptable
    practice? I would have a skilled LBS with an on-staff frame builder do the job.


    I would permanently cold set it rather than force the hub in every time. Steel will fatigue under
    the sort of force required to spread a rear end, so you don't want to do it every time you have the
    wheel out.

    I did 126-130mm myself a few years ago. It only took moderate strength
    [1] and long pieces of scaffold pole etc. aren't necessary. It's essential to pull both sides out
    equally - to check this, run a piece of thread around the dropouts and the head tube and measure
    the distance between the thread and the seat tube on both sides.

    If your frame is not made from steel, don't even consider it!

    [2] the frame is 531C - if you have seriously beefy stays on a touring bike, it might be more
    difficult.

  14. rosco-<< The rear is spaced at 130mm. Certainly I can go with Shimano road hubs, but is it worth
    getting the rear respaced to 135mm so mt bike hubs will fit? >><BR><BR>

    It's not a big deal to cold set it or make the hub 132.5mm by replaceing a few spacers on a MTB hub
    with thinner ones.

    rosco<< I assume a stronger wheel can be built with the wider mt bike hub. >><BR><BR>

    yes, but don't assume that a wheel, using the proper rims, spokes and number for a touring bike is
    'weak' using a 130mm hub.

    Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
    (303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

  15. Zog The Undeniable wrote: <snip>

    Quoted message said:

    I would permanently cold set it rather than force the hub in every time. Steel will fatigue under
    the sort of force required to spread a rear end, so you don't want to do it every time you have
    the wheel out.

    the force necessary to spread the frame elastically is at least an order of magnitude less than that
    of the rider's weight. you're /not/ going to see any material difference in fatigue at that level.

    jb

  16. "Qui si parla Campagnolo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    "]news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:


    yes, but don't assume that a wheel, using the proper rims, spokes and


    number

    Quoted message said:

    for a touring bike is 'weak' using a 130mm hub.

    Assuming an Ultegra hub (36 hole)...

    For rims I was considering the Bontrager OSB Maverick, Mavic A719/T520, Velocity Dyad or Ritchey
    Comp Trekking OCR (I believe the Ritchey's are available in 36 hole even though their spec sheet
    doesn't say so). Is there a good or bad choice in this lot? The idea of an off set seems attractive,
    although I don't know if in reality it makes much difference.

  17. Bruce Lange said:

    Its rear wheel has a 40 hole Shimano tandem hub, Wheelsmith 2.0/1.7 double-butts, and a Mavic
    T519 rim. This was the 2nd rear wheel I'd ever built and it has been absolutely indestructable
    over 5000+ miles( so far), on rough roads, ocassionally hopping curbs, and usually carrying lots
    of weight.

    I think that the Shimano tandem hub, HF-08 is built for 145 mm spacing. You may find HF-07 that are
    ok for 140 spacing and can be taken down to 135 mm. In my very limited experience, when you do that,
    the width of the flanges on the hub seems to reduce the amount of tension you can get on the non
    drive side of the rear wheel. If you want a 40 hole XT hub, your prize is a HF-732. That is a
    regular XT hub with 40 holes.

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