Even a correctly spaced, fully built bike takes some familiarity before dropping a rear wheel in comes easily. It took me a while (way back when) to get the hang of getting it past the derailer without some frustration. If this kind of thing is new to you, even the built bike with narrow spacing will be a struggle. Which brings me back to something a few of us said early on in this saga: The OP should practice on a beater before working on his brand-new-spensive frame. Joe Bernard Vallejo, CA.
On Friday, September 21, 2012 12:17:17 PM UTC-7, Philip Williamson wrote: > *What I Learned From This Thread* (too little too late). > > I won't try to put an unshod wheel into a bare frame if the dropouts need > spreading. It's easy with a built bike, less so without. > If I think people are missing crucial facts, I'll reiterate gently, in > different terms, with more specifics. > If someone gets frustrated with me or their bike while trying a stressful > new thing on an expensive frame, I'll cut 'em some slack. > > > Philip > www.biketinker.com > > On Friday, September 21, 2012 4:38:05 AM UTC-7, Matt Beebe wrote: >> >> Even relatively little things can be somewhat unnerving when you've >> parted with so much cash for a new frame. I'm glad to hear it is sorted >> out now- Rivendell has a reputation for being really good about stuff >> like that and for valuing their customers. Here's to finally getting >> your bike together and putting in some happy miles on it. >> >> Cheers, >> >> -Matt >> >> P.S. welcome to the group, stick around. >> >> >> >> On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 8:36:59 PM UTC-4, Michael Richters wrote: >>> >>> Thanks for the advice, guys, but you obviously didn't read my >>> description of the situation. It's not a complete bike; it's just a >>> frameset with nothing on it, except maybe the front wheel. There's no >>> chain, no derailleur, et cetera. Since I only have two hands, I can't >>> spread the dropouts and simultaneously lift the wheel in. And I'm not >>> the slightest bit interested in how far other people are able to flex >>> the frames of other bikes, as this is not at all relevant. I don't >>> doubt that you're able to spread the dropouts of the frames in >>> question as you describe. It would be nice if you would give me the >>> same courtesy of accepting the truth of my statement that I have tried >>> the same thing on the frame in question, and I cannot accomplish the >>> feat. >>> >>> Before leaning on the frame with all my weight to jam the wheel in the >>> dropouts, I tried spreading it with my hands and lowering it onto the >>> wheel, but my fingers can only get so close to the dropouts with the >>> wheel in there, and whether I grab the seatstays or the chainstays, I >>> can't spread it far enough (if I grab it right at the dropouts, I can, >>> but that's not at all useful). I tried several methods, and the only >>> one that resulted in a wheel all the way in both dropouts was leaning >>> on the frame with most of my weight. Even after this scraped off >>> virtually all the paint on the forward edge of the inside surfaces of >>> the dropouts, this was still the only thing that worked. >>> >>> As for how big 1.5mm is, I know full well. As I wrote before, I >>> measured the space between the dropouts with calipers. >>> >>> Lest I sound too ungrateful, I do appreciate that you guys are (more >>> or less) trying to be helpful. I just want you all to understand that >>> how easy something *should* be in theory -- or even in your own >>> experience -- is not relevant. What is relevant in this case is *my* >>> experience with *this* frame. And in this case, I paid $2000 for a >>> frame with 135mm dropouts, and I got one with 132mm dropouts, which I >>> would have been willing to put up with if I could have been confident >>> that I could get the wheel in and out of on the road without risking >>> hurting myself. Fortunately for me, when I discussed the matter with >>> the very excellent people at Rivendell, they decided to replace the >>> frame with one that has the correct dimensions. I am grateful, >>> although I have misgivings about how much this is costing them; I >>> would have much prefered it if we could have found a less expensive >>> way to solve the problem (none of the local bike shops seem to be >>> confident that they can spread and align the dropouts on a steel >>> frame). Alas, this was not to be. >>> >>> Now, since I am not a three-armed Arnold Swarzenegger, I would >>> appreciate it if people would stop telling me what I "should" be able >>> to accomplish. >>> >>> --MR >>> >>> On Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 6:50 PM, Jim M. <math...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> > Agreed. You should stand behind the bike to spread the dropouts and >>> pull the >>> > wheel up into them. I put a 130 in 126, and a 126 in a 122 all the >>> time. You >>> > won't damage the frame -- another benefit of steel. >>> > >>> > jim >>> > >>> > >>> > On Wednesday, September 19, 2012 4:40:47 PM UTC-7, ttoshi wrote: >>> >> >>> >> You don't put the wheel on the frame by pushing down on it with your >>> >> weight. You need to spread the frame with your hands and then slide >>> >> the wheel in. >>> >> >>> >> 3 mm means you just need to spread the frame by 1.5 mm on each side. >>> >> It shouldn't require much force. You can see this by flexing the >>> frame >>> >> with your hands (with no wheel). Check with a ruler to see how small >>> >> 1.5 mm is. >>> >> >>> >> The wheel may not go on the drive side too easily because your rear >>> >> derailer (RD) is not aligned properly. Put your RD in the smallest >>> >> cog in the rear cassette and put the chain onto the smallest cog >>> >> before you try to slide it into the dropouts. If you don't do this >>> >> already, then it's a great method for fixing flats. >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/rgVDUUGIDI8J. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
