[CR]Frame Alignment Obsession?

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing)

From: "garth libre" <rabbitman@mindspring.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 18:46:39 -0500
Subject: [CR]Frame Alignment Obsession?

Thank you Jon Schaer, for your complete review of my brake bridge question. In this case, I waited until my rear wheel was rebuilt and before I took it home I had the wrench show me with the dishing tool that the distance from one side to the rim was the same as the other. Then we looked at his work on the wheel truing stand and once again it proved to centered between the faces that would touch the inside of the dropouts.

When I got home and put the wheel on frame it still was a shade off from having the rear wheel centered under the brake bolt of the bridge. It is a shade over 1 mm off. Others can not see it, as 1 mm is such a small difference. Finally I just took a ruler and measured the distance from the center of the braze on bolt holder to the inside face of the seat stays and there was the 1 mm difference. No futzing around with the drop out screw adjusters could change that. With the wheel centered between the chainstays the horizontal difference is 1 mm at the seat stays. My eye does tell me that the drop outs are not perfectly parallel, but the difference seems so slight to my eye that I would be afraid to have someone move them a hair. I want to take the bike to someone who is obsessed with getting it right as I am. I would like every minutiae of alignment I can get. I feel that this could make the difference between a 28.5 mph sprint up a mild incline and a 29 mph sprint up a mild incline. BTW, Monday morning I sprinted away from the pack that I had traveled 20 miles with by breaking away at exactly 28.5 mph up a slight hill. None of their hot shots wanted to take me on, and so I was victorious, happy but lonely. All the people that I had chatted with for almost an hour, now viewed me as just another uncooperative racer wanna be. Actually I find it hard to find any group that has my pace, but I keep looking.

Garth Libre in Surfside Fl.