Fitting a rear wheel

Got a 1980's Benotto frame with 126mm rear dropouts

I have bought some 1980's Campag 6 speed wheels

When I try to fit them, the threaded part of the axle (that sticks out from the part the inside of the dropout actually tightens against) won't fit into the dropout

Can anyone help? I haven't built a road bike before

the frame is steel right??

measure the wheel/hub OLD (sheldon brown can help with almost all bike queries)....if it is 130mm you just have to spring the frame out a bit to make them fit in (4mm is totally fine for a steel frame)....if it is 135mm (very unlikely on old hubs) then you should either get a new wheel, or think about getting your frame cold set (if the wheel is that important).....if this only happens on the front I seem to recall there were two standard axle sizes one of which was tiny, so if you frame was made for this size it might explain your problem on the front but the back should be standard.

Remember: dont force it. Get a bigger hammer.

But shouldn't the threaded part fit in the drop out slot? If it doesn't then you'd be tightening the skewer and drop out against the tiny threaded bit and not the larger stop thingy

What I'm hearing is that this isn't about axle length, it's about axle diameter - ie the fact that the dropout "slot" isn't big enough for the axle to slide into.

There are lots of axle diameters - http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/axles.html - and it could be there's a mismatch. One option would be to file down the dropout "slots" to accommodate the axle. Kinda depends which you have a greater attachment to - the frame or the wheels.

I can't see anything about campag 126 rears on that page

I have campag dropouts and campag hubs as far as I can tell

Are the dropout jaws bent closed a little? (admittedly that's unlikely with campag dropouts)

Measure stuff! Then you will know which bit is weird.

A micrometer is a good shout

I'll have to see if I can borrow one from somewhere

The frames chromed so don't want to start filing anything!

Ah yes, seems as though I misread the problem...sheldon's site is good and it seems you might be trying to get a 10mm campag QR axle into a 9.5 or 9mm dropout? Which still seems strange to me so I would check as mentioned.

Personally, as it is a Q/R axle I would just carefully file down the section of the axle that is going to slot into the frame. This will potentially give you problems if you need to repack bearings etc unless you are careful about it in which case you should still be able to get the cones etc off....have seen this done on lots of bikes before without any trouble.

Good luck!

^never tried that so didn't want to suggest filing the axle - but that seems like a good idea. As long as you keep running the cones/bolts over the thread as you're filing it down, it shouldn't impact the usability.

And you'll have to file right up to the edges of the locknut otherwise the dropout may close onto the partially filed axle rather than onto the locknut.