I popped the back wheel off my newish track bike the other night and was surprised at the amount of nut gouge/indent marks on the outer surface of the dropout.

I guess this is probably bound to happen as the nut has the rotating serrated face on it, which then gets bolted well tight againt the dropout….

prsumably this is just a cosmetic thing and as long as its bolted tight and cant move its all ok. I guess if I changed rear sprocket size and had to move axle back or forward a bit it could make bolting up a little awkward ?

It’s cosmetic. Don’t worry about it. My retro track bike has painted dropouts. They are not pretty. Same with my Kona Paddy Wagon. Just make sure you tighten them down. NIce frames have special chromed or stainess dropouts to allow for more frequent sprocket and chainwheel selection. At a track meet people will gradually gear up as they progress, hence rapid changing of teeth may be needed and the back wheel will need to be moved. For me it’s now 42×16 road and 48×14 track.

Thanks TiRed. Mine’s a Precursa with replaceable dropouts, but they appear quite soft, pretty sure alloy rather than chromed or stainless. At £30 for a new pair am reluctant to bother if only cosmetic. I’m on 49×15 which seems to suit my knees.

I got some of those nice Velosolo tracktool spanners, so easy to tighten down