Wheels

[dirtyjack]

Hi,
I am new to the road forum and have sent an introduction post.
I am building up my 1989 Holdsworth Professional 531c road frame. It's not a classic restoration, I'm intending to use it as a commuter bike so I'm not rebuilding it as original. However, the original blue anodised gear mechs and brake calipers, bars, stem and seatpost are in good nick and still useable. I have just picked up a Campag C Record chainset on *bay for £35. My problem is wheel axle length. I need new wheels and it seems that most new wheels have 130mm axles. The Holdsworth frame takes 125mms. I've trawled the bay and searched online but there's not a lot out there. I've taken a look at Sheldon Brown's site but don't fancy attacking the frame with a length of 2"x4" in an attempt to spread the sea/chainstays.
Apologies if this is an old question, but any ideas are welcome.
Ta

 

[dirtyjack]

Or, I could just buy a 130mm wheel and force it in I suppose. Just tried it with an old 135mm mountain bike wheel and it went in with a little bit of effort.

 

[retro-rich]

The standard size was 126mm

I think most people simply spread the forks when fitting the wheel to a steel frame, they then spring back when removed. Seems fairly easy on a 531 frame, not so on the cheaper heavy frames.

You might need to check the wheel is still centered though, on mine it seems to spring more to the right but not enough to be a problem I hope.

 

[spatuluk]

Use the 2x4! It's a lot easier, and less scary than it sounds.

I cold set my frame in 15 minutes, and 14 minutes of that was mucking about with a length of string, trying to check the alignment (which was spot on).

 

[ScillySuffolk]

I've used 130mm wheels in a couple of 126mm frames without problem, a little bit more effort required to get it in and out, but it's only 2mm each side.

Just one of the reasons steel is so awesome!

 

[dirtyjack]

Thanks for the replies,
I'm going to go ahead and buy new wheels. I managed to fit a 135mm hub in without too much bother and the wheel seemed centered. don't anticipate any major issues.
Cheers

 

[orbeas]

the easiest way to reduce the axle length is to replace the thick lock nut on the non gear side with a thin one and redish the wheel.. most frames will open up easy to 128mmm and you can fit 8/9 speeds..

 

[ugo.santalucia]

Thanks for the replies,
I'm going to go ahead and buy new wheels. I managed to fit a 135mm hub in without too much bother and the wheel seemed centered. don't anticipate any major issues.
Cheers

Your rear wheel will never be secure in place... as you spread it, the dropouts open up at an angle, which means the contact between QR and dropout is not ideal.
Cold set it, it's easy... and then align the dropouts, it's easy too