Spacer, the final frontier.

"Martin Bulmer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have a back wheel in bits having inserted a quick-release thing a few
months ago. This isn't quite as long as the previous spindle, so my

present

Quoted message said:

spacer is too long. Is there any reason why I shouldn't ditch the spacer,
and load on nuts and washers to the correct length instead?

I might have misunderstood somewhat but:

A quick release axle will be a lot shorter than a bolt on type.
The back drop-outs will be a given width depending on year of manufacture,
road bike or mtb. Say 135mm for a nine speed mtb measured to the inside of
the drop-outs (OLN = Over Lock Nuts), the axle should be longer than this
measurement, but somewhat shorter than the measurement to the outside of the
drop-outs, and the spacers etc should be exactly this measurement allowing
for a minute amount of spring in the rear stays.
If you remove spacers to wind up less than this measurement then you will be
spraining the rear triangle, if this is a small amount it won't cause a
problem, especially if steel rather than alu, other than making wheel
re-fitting a tad more akward requiring the QR to be unscrewed further. If
the sprain is significant I'm unqualified to advise.

Here's a link that maybe helpful:
http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_sp-ss.html#spacing

--
Pete
http:[email hidden]/P

Martin Bulmer came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

I have a back wheel in bits having inserted a quick-release thing a few
months ago. This isn't quite as long as the previous spindle, so my
present spacer is too long. Is there any reason why I shouldn't ditch the
spacer, and load on nuts and washers to the correct length instead?

Depends what 'isn't quite as long' means ....

I'd worry if I had to bend my frame too much, anything more than a few mm,
maybe 3 or 4mm, would make me think I'm adding stress to an already stressed
area. I wouldn't like to do it at all on an aluminium frame. There is a
certain amount of 'spring' built into every frame, but bending it beyond the
usual level will induce stress.

Then there's the question of using numerous spacers instead of one.
Providing they are of a uniform internal diameter then they might work,
Using 'nuts and washers' suggests you're bodging it. I'd get a local bike
shop to see if they have a spacer to suit, or a machine shop to turn me one
up, or shorten the original spacer correctly and squarely. If the nuts and
washers don't sit perpendicular to the axle then you could encounter
problems with the wheel loosening if they get dis-lodged.

Personally, I'd get a spindle that was the right length and not rely on
maybe, perhaps and possibly for something so safety critical. You only have
two wheel, I presume, so loosing or loosening of one of them is a pretty
major problem, in my book. They're cheap enough to be a no-brainer.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!

Martin Bulmer came up with the following;:

Quoted message said:

I have a back wheel in bits having inserted a quick-release thing a few
months ago. This isn't quite as long as the previous spindle, so my
present spacer is too long. Is there any reason why I shouldn't ditch the
spacer, and load on nuts and washers to the correct length instead?

Depends what 'isn't quite as long' means ....

I'd worry if I had to bend my frame too much, anything more than a few mm,
maybe 3 or 4mm, would make me think I'm adding stress to an already stressed
area. I wouldn't like to do it at all on an aluminium frame. There is a
certain amount of 'spring' built into every frame, but bending it beyond the
usual level will induce stress.

Then there's the question of using numerous spacers instead of one.
Providing they are of a uniform internal diameter then they might work,
Using 'nuts and washers' suggests you're bodging it. I'd get a local bike
shop to see if they have a spacer to suit, or a machine shop to turn me one
up, or shorten the original spacer correctly and squarely. If the nuts and
washers don't sit perpendicular to the axle then you could encounter
problems with the wheel loosening if they get dis-lodged.

Personally, I'd get a spindle that was the right length and not rely on
maybe, perhaps and possibly for something so safety critical. You only have
two wheel, I presume, so loosing or loosening of one of them is a pretty
major problem, in my book. They're cheap enough to be a no-brainer.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules ..... Doh !!!

"Paul - [censored]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Personally, I'd get a spindle that was the right length and not rely on
maybe, perhaps and possibly for something so safety critical. You only

have

Quoted message said:

two wheel, I presume, so loosing or loosening of one of them is a pretty
major problem, in my book. They're cheap enough to be a no-brainer.

The same advice that I meant to add at the end of my post. The axle is going
to be in there for some time presumably. The logic of bodging to save a
couple of quid for a long lived (if done properly) critical componponent
doesn't add up.
--
Pete
http:[email hidden]/P

in message <[email hidden]>, Martin Bulmer

(') said:

I have a back wheel in bits having inserted a quick-release thing a few
months ago. This isn't quite as long as the previous spindle, so my
present spacer is too long. Is there any reason why I shouldn't ditch
the spacer, and load on nuts and washers to the correct length instead?

Frame material?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

<p>Schroedinger's cat is <blink><strong>NOT</strong></blink> dead.</p>

in message <[email hidden]>, Martin Bulmer

(') said:

I have a back wheel in bits having inserted a quick-release thing a few
months ago. This isn't quite as long as the previous spindle, so my
present spacer is too long. Is there any reason why I shouldn't ditch
the spacer, and load on nuts and washers to the correct length instead?

Frame material?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

<p>Schroedinger's cat is <blink><strong>NOT</strong></blink> dead.</p>

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Martin Bulmer

(') said:

I have a back wheel in bits having inserted a quick-release thing a
few months ago. This isn't quite as long as the previous spindle, so
my present spacer is too long. Is there any reason why I shouldn't
ditch the spacer, and load on nuts and washers to the correct length
instead?

Frame material?

Steel, but I think two little dicky birds have already told me the way to
go.
Thanks guys.

--

Martin Bulmer

Peter B said:

"Paul - [censored]" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Personally, I'd get a spindle that was the right length and not rely
on maybe, perhaps and possibly for something so safety critical.
You only have two wheel, I presume, so loosing or loosening of one
of them is a pretty major problem, in my book. They're cheap enough
to be a no-brainer.

The same advice that I meant to add at the end of my post. The axle
is going to be in there for some time presumably. The logic of
bodging to save a couple of quid for a long lived (if done properly)
critical componponent doesn't add up.

Thanks. I went to a LBS, and was told they didn't sell them. I went to a
multiple often spelt with stars and was offered a 2nd hand one with grooves
in from the toolbox. Where are all these cheap spacers, please?
I'll study the Sheldon Brown thing (why didn't I think of that before?) and
sort it out eventually. It might call for a longer spindle, but we're only
talking a couple of millimeters here, and anyway, the spindle cost me a pint
of Guinness........
--

Martin Bulmer