racer51970

CrMo 20" Raleigh MTB with frame spacing of 135mm. Rear wheel (old Shimano Deore hub w/ 7sp freewheel) has 130mm hub (O.L.D.) spacing. Was thinking of installing spacers, but when I put the wheel in the dropouts, then screw down and tighten the QR (not excessively! just normal hand-tightness for QR's), the gap between locknuts and dropouts disappears. I'm assuming the QR is squeezing the stays towards each other and eliminating the 5mm (or rather, 2x2.5mm) gap. Everything seems secure; axle ends are sitting comfortably about 2/3 the way through the dropout. Anything I should be worried about?? Seems safer to me than adding spacers and having less of the axle sitting in the dropout.

(Not worried about chainline at this point. Also, let's assume for now that each stay is squeezed inwards the same distance; I haven't actually measured that, but... I don't want to.)

3v1lD4v3

Don't do it. Take the wheel in and get the axle changed so the OLD can be set to 135mm.

hueyhoolihan

if it was me i'd probably put some spacers on as you suggested, but then again, it's possible that a longer axle would be necessary. if so, i'd probably just use it as is.

63_dorinte

I have one bike with a 120mm hub in a 126mm spaced frame. Another has a 130mm hub in a 126mm spaced frame. Both steel frames, no issues, YMMV.

fietsbob

When they add the 5mm spacer and the longer axle,
the 5mm comes off the dish/spoke tension asymmetry,
and the wheel is actually strengthened.

JiveTurkey

If the total (left and right combined) length of the exposed axle is greater than 5mm, then you won't need a new axle.

racer51970

So... Rather than two 2.5mm spacers, you're saying put a 5mm spacer on the left side, and then re-tension the spokes with the now better-centered hub?

(Certainly more involved than anything I'm comfortable with. But that's just me.)

edit: Additional info - It's a MTB, but I never ride it off-road. It's just the bike I've always had, and it seems to fit well, and I'm comfortable with it. But I'm not putting it through any rough off-road treatment.

Jeff Wills

I agree with Bob- just put the 5mm spacer on the left, re-center the axle, adjust the spokes to center the rim, and enjoy a stronger wheel. You can install a longer axle if you want, but it will work fine without- you'll still have about 3mm projecting beyond the locknut on each end.

frantik

i've noticed plenty of 135mm wheels are really just a 130hub with a 5mm spacer so thats the way i'd do it

racer51970

Thanks for all the replies. It sounds like putting the 5m spacer on the left and re-tensioning the spokes is the way to go.

However - let me ask the question this way, just to extend the discussion a bit: Since it seems to be OK to permanently spread a steel frame (via 2x4) to fit a larger OLD hub, is there anything really wrong/unsafe with temporarily squeezing a steel frame (via QR) to fit a smaller OLD hub? Where lies the danger? I understand that this may not be the BEST solution, but is it at least an OK solution?

(The frame pops back to 135mm as soon as I release the QR. Is the tension against the QR ends going to make the wheel somehow more likely to fall off, for example? Under normal conditions.)

Nerull

QR travel and tension that is going into squeezing your frame together is travel and tension that isn't going to holding the wheel in the frame.

gyozadude

I'm actually uncomfortable with too much dish on the rear wheel. So I try to minimize it by putting more washers on the Non-Drive side. But that's just me. I do carry a stock of my own axles, spacers and lock nuts in various lengths/widths, and this is one of those cases where I'd swap to longer axle for a 135, then add a 5mm space on the left, and then re-dish the wheel. I think my axles cost around $6 - $8 each, washers are like $5 for 10 in a small bag of a single width. And I already have cone and spoke wrenches and truing stand. So I can sympathize with the possible dilemma you face, but from my perspective, and I'm sure others, the obvious solution seems to be to do it right and swap the axle out with a longer one and replace with longer one and add a spacer. I also carry extra skewers in stock too. I'd make sure I still have at least 6 or 8 complete turns from the end. If in doubt, swap with a slightly longer skewer too.

racer51970

There are plenty of threads left on the QR. (For all I know, I've got a QR that's meant for a longer hub!) So my guess is the QR skewer threads are bearing the tension involving in squeezing the frame. The tension in the QR mechanism itself is what would be holding the wheel in place, as would be the case regardless of whether the frame was squeezed or not.

Well - maybe I'll ride it for a while, check the tension on the QR regularly, and report back if I find anything.

(To be honest, I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed much elsewhere... There's plenty of talk of widening the frame spacing, but shortening it doesn't seem to have been discussed too much!)

harinagitari

what about the report ?
is it doable