Cold setting frames with chrome - advisable?

mcj78

Hey all, just a quickie to see if anyone has had an older frame with chrome rear end & 120/126mm rear spacing cold set to 130mm to accept newer 9/10/11 speed stuff? Looking at a few retro frames at the moment but unsure if the cold setting process (i.e. bending) for opening out the rear triangle might crack the chrome - any advice welcome!
Cheers!
J

Monty Dog

Depends on how far up the chainstay the frame is chromed - chrome plating is fairly brittle and the risk of flexing it is that it will flake-off. Problem with cold-setting is that you have to bend the drop-outs well-beyond the desired position in order to get them to the right width.

mcj78

Cheers Monty - I thought that might be the case, i'll look for frames built with 130mm rear spacing then to avoid any potential issues!
John

ynyswen24

I had a Bianchi chromed frame that needed to be reset after an incident bent the rear end well out of shape - there is a tiny crease in the chrome but you really do need to know where to look to spot it. I think it depends on the quality of the chroming, which can be hugely variable. a 130mm rear is the best option, even if you took a frame to a good shop or framebuilder to do the setting.

ride_whenever

A 126mm frame probably wont need cold setting as it's such a small difference.

mcj78

Yeah I suppose there'd be less stress on the stays/dropouts to shift each out 2mm to go from 126-130mm as opposed to going from 120-130mm, i'll keep that in mind if it comes to the crunch (hopefully not literally)
Cheers!
J

Baytt

i got a 'modern' 700c wheel thats meant for 130mm dropouts into a 126mm the other day. bit of a squeeze but goes in eventually.

easier if you take the quick release out first.

mcj78

Cheers all, most helpful!
J