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  • Ultimately the best solution to keep a rear brake aligned on a fixed wheel bike is to use a rear disc brake and sliding dropouts.

    There is a much simpler solution.

    The forward opening dropouts which were a standard feature on road frames for many decades (say 1910 - 1980, at least) are angled down towards the front. This is precisely to maintain the correct angle of the brake blocks (pads if you will) as the wheel moves in the
    fork end.

    The attached pic of my Gillott shows this angle - I could find a clearer example, but I happen to have this one conveniently to hand.

    A question: for non track use, can anyone explain why it is better to have rearward opening ends for fixed?

    I can see disadvantages (eg: with mudguards it's difficult to get the wheel out to change a punctured tube), but no real advantages.

  • I think Condor at one point made a fixed gear frameset with horizontal dropouts precisely for this reason

    This sounds interesting, but I really don't quite understand how this was supposed to work.

    For what it's worth, I have tried removing the back wheel from my Gillott (see post 2980 above) and it's tight, but it can just be done without delating the tyre. It's perhaps worth noting that this frame is now quite a way from the builder's original intentions, since it now has Campag ends and 700 wheels (probably intended for 26" since it dates from about 1950)

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