Cold setting a frame

I've currently got a charge plug, which I've been reliably informed has 120mm rear hub spacing.

Due to an impending longer commute (13 miles each way) I fancy a new bike, but funds are a bit tight at the moment. The commute is relatively flat - Hampton Hill to Victoria - and I fancy something geared.

My first thought is to sling an alfined rear wheel in there using the Sheldon Brown Cold Setting technique.

Is this relatively safe assuming I don't jump on the bit of timber and over stretch the frame?

I've thought that maybe you may be able to achieve a similar result using some threaded bar, washers and nuts and spread the frame like that, leave the assembly in place for a while and the frame should be spread, no?

Any thoughts?

I've tried the sheldon method on my steamroller as one side of the rear triangle got a little bashed it. I broke the first bit of timber in the process without causing the frame to budge. second piece was a lot longer and still took considerable force to make a tiny difference. So having tried it it would seem quite difficult to overstretch as long as you stop and check along the way.
Just my two-cents.

Don't know what tubing your frame is (Steel i know...) but setting 531 with the sheldon method works a treat, remember it's springy stuff so you might move it a good 50mm to achieve 2mm set.. remember to keep measuring in between levering so that you know how much each stay has to go. Get that bit right and you don't need to fuck around with alignment too much, (I'm quite satisfied by just tweeking the track ends with a big wrench and doing it by eye). By the way 120 to 135mm you will definitely need to re-align the track-ends! Bigggg bit of wood and be brave!!

I spaced out my touring frame with a small car jack from a VW. It did both sides equally which surprised and pleased me.

I originally spaced it in using the bit of wood method though. worked fine.

I have a VW and a touring frame requiring cold setting, which method was best for you BlueQuinn?

take note of what steel you're working with, 653/753 like quite a few condors, peugeots, an odd few bob jacksons, to name a few (long list) uber treated uber thin tubing that just wont budge until it goes....

jacking is fine but getting the stays to move the same amount is complete luck!!

Well, pop the jack in between the fork ends and open them out. force is applied equally to both sides at once, so you may find like I did, that it all stays central.

Do a little bit at a time.

If not you can then make any small adjustments with a bit of wood using the Sheldon method to each side individually.

If you use a jack, or the studding, washers and nuts method, you have no way of making sure each stay is moving equally, and won't know until you put your wheel back into the frame if you have cocked it. A 5 foot piece of 2x4 is your friend. I've only done it with 531 frames, but much less force is required than I envisaged at first. The only shag factor in doing it is removing the front mudguard if you have one.

13 miles each way is fine on a singlespeed/fixed wheel bicycles as I commute the same amount of mileage (used to) so you don't necessary need to have an internal gear bicycle.

Given the cost of the Alfine, the wheelbuild and it's shifter, wouldn't it be better to sell the Plug, add a bit more money and get the Tap (or the disc brake Mixer)?

i've re-aligned a few frames which just bare hands and a bit of patience. 531 is easy, chromo 4130 takes a bit to budge. i used to stand or pull apart with feet/hands, thing is to do it slowly bit by bit. you will feel the steel move, when it does stop and reassess.

i've re-aligned a few frames which just bare hands and a bit of patience. 531 is easy, chromo 4130 takes a bit to budge. i used to stand or pull apart with feet/hands, thing is to do it slowly bit by bit. you will feel the steel move, when it does stop and reassess.

I did the same in an italian Columbus SL frame. 126 to 130 mm and it worked fine. The frame was still straight afterwards. Didn´t have the tool for the dropouts but I coundn´t see any problem changing wheels.

I recently had to widen a pair of rear dropouts but I could not find any resource to tell me how much to 'overset' the spacing so as to give the desired final width.

I used a 25cm threaded bolt with wing nuts and big washers to push the dropouts apart. I needed to go from 120mm to 130mm. Pushing the rear dropouts apart to 140mm and leaving for two hours resulted in no change - they just went back to 120mm. Pushing to 150mm and leaving for two hours gave 126mm. Pushing to 155mm and leaving for two hours gave 127mm final spacing. By then I had worked out the ratio so I pushed them apart to 170mm and that gave the desired 130mm final width.

Therefore it looks as if once you get beyond a critical amount of stretch (the amount where the bending exceeds the 'yield strength' of the steel I suppose), which in this case was around 20% of existing width, then the amount you push the stays apart results in a final increase in a ratio of around 5/1. Obviously there is going to be a limit - what as a photographer I would call the onset of reciprocity failure, aka breakage - but you can push them quite a lot. You want 10mm increase, you have to push them apart by 50mm. This was double-butted 531 by the way.

Alfines are great, but pricey, and the 135 OLD is just fskcing stupid.

Practical alternatives - Nexus Red Band, can be re-spaced to 122mm odd. Or 125 if you like the dust cap. Ping the dropouts open. Away you go.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/juddparco/sets/72157613358920756/with/3253914278/

Or just find a Sturmney Archer 3 speed. You could have a really nice wheelset built up with a three speed for the price of an Alfine hub. Ish.

Or you could buy my Mixer (medium) from me? PM me if interested.

^ much cheaper than an Alfine hub, even secondhand ones go for £90-100 . My 3sp hub wheel was £50 (for Open Pro rim, DT spokes, labour) + however cheap you can get an old hub for (car boot sales, ebay, less than a tenner) + couple of quid for a shifter and cable.

My 3sp hub wheel was £50 (for Open Pro rim, DT spokes, labour)

Is that a deal that can be repeated? :)

:|

Yes it can be repeated. The downside is that you have to live in Coventry. All things considered, I'd rather spend an extra £20 on my wheel and get to live somewhere else.

Anyone in west london (preferably) who could help me to cold set a frame in return for a few beers?
It's a 531 frame that needs to be set from 110 to 120.
I'm really afraid of doing it myself...

I have some experience of this using threaded bar and I am in Walton on Thames if that is of any use to you.

Thanks freezing77, it's a bit of journey for me. I'm hoping to find someone closer to west london.

where are you based?

Shepherds bush

For what it is worth, I did a 531 with a scissor jack from the car.

It is a bit scary, but I reckon just give it a go... The threaded bar method I reckon would be easier, and parts easily got from B&Q

george

I'm sorted now thanks to Provenrad who kindly came over and cold set the frame for me.

Thanks Prav again.

some great info on this thread, thanks!

Just got a frame with 112 spacing, not been able to find a track wheel this size, does anyone know if 112 was ever a regular width? The frame is mid late 50s. I think I'm going to have to go down the cold setting route and make it 120, will probably be back for advice soon!