Re: [Frame] Digest for framebuilders@googlegroups.com - 3 updates in 1 topic

[Wayne Lim]

Thanks to everyone who responded to me here and offline!

The bike rides fine and I think my best course of action is to offset the rear wheel by the 1-2 mm that would be needed to center it between the chainstays and beneath the rear brake bolt.  I was never going to run this pair of wheels on another bike so that would solve the problem and not risk this 25 year old frame to damage from cold setting.

I so much appreciate everyone’s generosity in sharing your advice and experience!

Wayne Lim

On Mon, Sep 28, 2026 at 1:47 PM <frameb...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

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• Frame alignment check/cold setting - 3 Updates

Frame alignment check/cold setting

Alex Meade <alexd...@gmail.com>: Sep 28 05:47AM -0700 Just adding my $0.02 to the crowd, I'm regularly surprised how "not straight" some production frames are, and that cyclists don't notice. Over the decades, I've done a lot of S&S coupler conversions. For each of those, I put the frame into my main frame fixture so the frame's geometry is preserved through the coupler installation process. In the fixture, I can easily see how well aligned (or not) every frame is. Some are so far out it's visible just by looking at the frame from the front. But what really surprises me is that at least one well known production frame manufacturer apparently moves the entire rear triangle side-to-side to make the wheel appear to be centered in the stays. It's not uncommon with this popular brand to see the rear triangle 3-5mm offset. And again, these frames never come to me with a request to check alignment or some complaint about handling; they're just here for coupler installation. Some are brand new, so it's not a question of whether the frame was damaged before it got to me. On the other hand, other production frames are darn near perfect. It does make me think perhaps I've been overly worried about frame alignment and straightness. Even so, I'm not planning to relax the standards I impose on my own frames and the tools and fixtures I sell.   But back to the OP's question: I agree that if it rides fine, leave it alone.   Alex www.alexmeadetools.com   On Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 9:01:47 AM UTC-4 Mark Stonich wrote:

Skip Montanaro <skip.mo...@gmail.com>: Sep 28 08:04AM -0500 > installation. Some are brand new, so it's not a question of whether the > frame was damaged before it got to me. On the other hand, other production > frames are darn near perfect.     When I took Doug Fattic's class, he actually did most/all the fine work. I chose vertical dropouts (most first-timers use horizontal because it's easier) because I knew I wanted fenders, so the rear triangle setup fell to Doug. I was kind of surprised how long that took for someone as experienced as he is, probably an entire afternoon.   My understanding is that many production frames in the bike boom era of the early 70s also suffered from misalignment because the manufacturers were pushing them out as quickly as they could.   Maybe a good part of what Alex is seeing is just a time/precision trade-off.   Skip, Evanston IL

Jon Norstog <mutton...@gmail.com>: Sep 28 01:20AM -0700 Back when I was just a beginner, I made a road frame to ride and show. I used a beautiful chrome fork from a Redline road frame, when I built it up I built the front wheel to center in that fork ( I didn't have anything like a truing stand) and rode it also took it to bike shops to show. One shopowner, a former nationally-ranked road racer in Albuquerque, rode it a few days and when I stopped to pick it up told me how beautifully it rode. Later, when I had bought a wheel alignment gauge, I found the wheel was about 20 mm off-center and I had built it to a bent fork. Just saying.   jn   "Thursday"

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