drop out spacing steel frames

sam218 said:

One seller I asked said his dropout spacing was 128.5, thus it could work with 126 and 130mm. Is this normal? What is ideal spacing for 7 or 8 speed? How is this measured? Also is it hard to re-align with the axle tools?

126 was the original 7 speed spacing.there was a later compromise 128 that worked with either 7 or 8 speed. There were even 130 7 speed hubs.130 is the current road standard with 8,9 and 10 speed. With steel,you can just stick the wider hub in and ride it or spread it permanently. One that's 128 really needs no messing with.

sam218 said:

One seller I asked said his dropout spacing was 128.5, thus it could work with 126 and 130mm. Is this normal? What is ideal spacing for 7 or 8 speed? How is this measured? Also is it hard to re-align with the axle tools?

Your questions are answered at URL:

<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html>

daveornee said:

Your questions are answered at URL:

<http://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html>

And good old Sheldon doesn't even mention the 128 that really did exist. It was used when makers were putting both 7 and 8 speed on bikes in the 90s. That way they didn't have to build one rear triangle for 7 speed and another for 8.