Wheel axle protrudes out of dropouts

Hey, I've got problem with putting the modern wheels on my Peugeot 87' road bike. It's cold set for 130mm from 126mm, and I was already riding the whole season with 130mm hub wheels last year with no problem, but I bought new wheelset (Vision Team 35 Comp SL), and the problem is that the axle of the rear wheel just protrudes out of the dropouts, and I can't clamp down the QR. Is there any way to make it work with modern wheels and stamped dropouts? Guy in LBS told me that I just need to put some washers between the QR and dropouts but I don't know how safe is that idea. Also the front wheel gets in without any problem, it just sits like it should be.

3 Attachments

I'd be fine with the LBS suggestion (assume a grip washer). But I'll try anything once and have a fleet of bodged bikes.

Would anything be wrong with a washer on the inside of the dropout instead of the outside?

I RODE A BIKE WITH A 3MM HOMEMADE ALU WASHER FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS. A PROPERLY MADE STEEL WASHER WILL BE MORE THAN SAFE IN MY VIEW, AS ABOVE I WOULD INSTALL INSIDE THE DROPOUT IF POSSIBLE. NO IDEA WHY, I JUST WOULD.

as above i would install inside the dropout if possible. no idea why, i just would

So the QR grips the frame rather than the washer I guess, sounds good to me

File the axle down so it's below the surface of the dropout on each side.

Try a different QR? They normally have recesses in the face where the axle would be so you need a lot of protrusion for this to be a problem.

That space is usually occupied by the conical spring.

I've already tried the original ones that comes with the wheels, the old ones, also I bought some old Shimano steel ones with enclosed cam, but still the wheel just shifts in the dropouts. The bike comes originally with some plastic inserts to the dropouts, I don't know if I should use them, but with the new wheels it's get stuck with the hub so I guess not.

Could it be due to the frame out of alignment or bent dropouts? Sometimes when I install the wheel it's seems off on the top by looking at the mouting hole for brake calipers. Also do I need to pull the wheel all the way back in the dropouts?

Also do I need to pull the wheel all the way back in the dropouts?

Not really - the length of the dropout is almost all fair game for adjustment (other people's opinions may differ from mine here). So you could try it, to see whether it makes a difference? I would doubt it though.

No, and no
:)

Seriously, I'm a big advocate of not making irreversible changes except as a last resort but, in this instance, is there any reason not to just file a bit off each end of the axle?

"The ends of the axle must not protrude past the outside faces of the dropouts, or else the quick release will only tighten against them and leave the wheel loose -- sometimes a problem with thin stamped-steel dropouts on older bicycles. In this case, shorten the axle, or use the wheel on a bicycle with thicker dropouts."

https://sheldonbrown.com/skewers.html

It's not gonna affect for the next person if I'd sell the wheels?
I'm already making a lot of changes with this bike and slowly starting to lose hope for anything to work out straight away. I'll probably look for some grip washers and try them out.

True, it's possible they wouldn't like it, so YMMV and all that if you might sell them on. I've run wheels with only about 2mm of axle beyond the locknut face and had no trouble with them. In fact, Sheldon reckoned you could have no axle sticking out at all and you'd be just fine.

One thing you could try is removing the conical springs from the QRs. This will effectively created a void in the centre of the QR that the end of the axle would poke into. It makes fitting the wheel a bit more fiddly as the QR won't self-centre, but avoids the need for a washer.

Today I found out also that spacing between smallest cog and frame is really tight, I don't know why thought. I've checked again the spacing of the dropouts and it's 130mm. I'm using 8 speed cassette on 11 speed hub with 1.85mm spacer under the cassette.

Sounds like you need to put a washer in there. It will space the cassette from the frame and solve the original issue.

If it’s done up tight enough it wont cause any problems. It’s quick, cheap, easy, reversible.

Worse case scenario is that the wheel will rub on the frame if pedalling hard up a hill. If that happens just realign the wheel and do up a bit tighter.