130mm hub in a 126mm dropout

Hi,

I wanted to ask for some opinions before I do anything drastic / stupid.

I recently puchased a rear wheel (with a 7 speed freewheel) but the (quick-release) hub has been spaced to 130mm. The rear dropout spacing on my frame is 126mm. From what I've read, it seems that spreading the dropouts either each time I put the wheel in or by cold setting seem to be the easiest solutions. However my frame has 653 tubing and so I'd like to avoid this if possible.

The other alternative I can think of is to remove a 4mm spacer (from the non-drive side as to not affect the chainline etc.) and redish the wheel by 2mm. Is this more trouble than it's worth or do you think this is a realistic solution? Also, would this significant weaken the frame as I would be 'increasing' the dishness of the wheel?

If 7 speed then why worry about chainline?(when only talking about a couple mm anyway.)

true. so I guess I could remove 2mm from both sides.

anyone have any experience with cold setting or just trmporarily stretching dropouts to fit hubs that are larger in 653 frames (or similarly thin tubing)?

I have stretched the dropouts on 531 frames many many times. Can be a bit annoying if you get a puncture and it is hassle to do, but so long as you have the strength to do it it's fine.

so without cold setting? i've done this too with 531 frames but i can't seem to pluck up the courage to do this with my 653

I didn't coldset, it is a bit too final/dangerous for me, I just pulled it apart with my hands each time I put the wheel on or took it off

I coldest mine with a bit of 8mm studding,about 9 inches long& a couple of nuts & washers.A nice,gentle stretch.

Redishing the wheel will not weaken the frame but will theoretically weaken the wheel. However the way I see it is that your 7-speed wheel has less dish than a campag 11-sp wheel anyhow, and those run just fine, so adding 2mm won't be a big deal. I have done this on a friend's bike - an 8-sp freehub shell was put on a 126 mm 6-sp hub and the wheel redished. She has ridden the bike for over a year with no problem what so ever, although she does weigh next to nothing so your mileage may vary.

ah right yes i meant the wheel of course. i just pulled the forks apart and smashed it right in, although smashed is a bit of an exaggeration. apparently 653 frames (which i think all have 753 stays) are harder to cold set since they spring back very easily which is also the reason why i decided to just stretch it in.

thanks for all the help!

I have happily run mismatched wheels in steel frames for many many years and never had an issue (generally Columbus tubing, which is likely to be no better/worse than any Reynolds tubing for risk of cracking)