Subject: Re: cold setting 531 - FWIW Posted by: Al on November 14, 2005 at 04:17:57: In Reply to: Re: cold setting 531 posted by Ed on November 13, 2005 at 09:23:21:

Message: >thanks for your reply. road touring bikes usually use mountain drivetrain and wheels with lx/xt etc. hubs - I have these bits already so I'll just have to decide whether or not to risk it! I've spread the stays on about a half-dozen of my frames. I have not had any problems with the brake mount -- some of the frames were "better" CroMo than others ... some were common carbon steel. You (or, whoever does it) will want to do this using only your own upper body strength. I have found that using extra leverage is only required with "cheap(er)" carbon steel frames because the tubing on those frames is thicker. IF the seat stay's brake mount is a concern, then it should be strapped during the process. You MUST have the dropouts realigned if you are going all the way to 135mm. You SHOULD have the dropouts realigned if the new spacing is _only_ out to 130mm from 126mm; but, you may be able to get by without squaring everything up (it is probably only about a 5º splay). BTW. You can have your LX rear hub(s) respaced to ~130mm by simply removing the 4mm spacer ... the rubber "cone" will still fit. Of course, if the wheel has already been built, it will need to be re-dished. If you don't want a to buy a new axle, you can shorten the existing one. BTW2. Similarly, you can respace your LX rear hub to 126mm; but, I don't think the rubber "cone" can be used, as is. You can fit the front rubber mud-seal from a front hub in place of the original. FWIW. I recently respaced an old touring frame's rear spacing from 135mm down to 130mm just so I could increase wheel interchangeability.