I might actually get lucky with the axle/hub spacing. I'm replacing 27x1 with 27x22.8mm, according to Google, but they look wider, but they are 0.89 inches. However, the axles on the 22.8s are about 1/4" short of sitting flush in the forks like the original x1's do. I'm replacing them because the rear is bent, and I got the replacements complete with fresh tires for $10. So, if thinner wheels have wider hubs and axles, maybe it's because more spoke angle helps with a thinner wheel, and a wider wheel needs less. Therefore, I'm swapping over the skewers and axles to the wider 27" wheels that I just got and hoping for the best. This has me thinking that I might also get lucky with road wheels on a 90s mtb. Probably, the newer the wheels are, the wider I'll find, and by sticking to bikes from the 90s, maybe the forks aren't as wide as newer bikes, and I'll get lucky like that.