Hi,

Just aquired a 70’s Falcon Majroca 531 road bike. I need to understand if the 120mm rear hub frame width could fit a cassette hub of any sort as the rear wheel is 5 speed screw through.
Are thetre any wheels that I could buy to fit the frame? Ideally want to fit STI leaver as well so would need 8 speed cassette minumum.

Cheers

Master Sheldon Brown covers this very topic. If I remember correctly a 130 rear wheel will probably be OK in a 120 drop out, and if you need to modify the frame, 531 should ‘cold set’ (bend) OK.

Just cold set to 130 and carry on.

Are you sure its not 126?

Not without resetting it, and though doable it’s horrible. Probably best to do it up as nice as poss. 120mm is way before STI/Ergo, it’s just of a different era.

120mm will probably have large horizontal drop outs. When you cold set it that much the drop outs flare, they move from the parallel.

Which is why you then cold set the dropouts

Just don’t watch it being done, you have to go a long way to stretch the stays so they remain 10mm wider when released.
Never seen the process that holds the stays in place while you bend the drop outs back again to a parallel position.

No

Single speed?
APF

^ This, especially if it does have horizontal drop outs and no mech hanger. Which is some thing else that will need alignment afterwards.

Whilst I agree with the Oldgit’s theories , in practice you can just give them a yank. Hold the drop outs in front of you and give them an equally pull outwards. They will have to go more than the 10mm combined that you need. The dropout’s will not be parallel with the centre line of the frame but you won’t notice that but its a good thing if they are parallel with each other 😆
If the mech hanger is built in and is not inline with the centre line a tug with some water pump pliers will do it. Actually I suspect it might have a separate hanger in which case bend it a gnats.
Or you could pay someone to do all this properly.
If it was mine and I really wanted STI I would sell it and buy something newer, maybe with a 126 spacing.

yeah I just think its one era too early. Some 126’s built on the cusp accept 130’s

I had a 531 frame with a 126 spacing and it would take a 130 though a wheel change could be a bit of a faff.

The only issue with just widly pulling things apart is that you can fracture chainstay bridge joints and stuff, especially on older frames.

Easier to convert to singlespeed or fixed of course – 120mm is track spacing standard.

oldgit – Member
mech hanger…. will need alignment afterwards.

No. 1 peril of internet advice – people giving advice on topics they clearly don’t know a lot about.

Don’t get ya cynic-al if indeed he does have a hanger and cold sets the stays the the hanger will be out, he might get away with it but the hanger will be out.
Stays are welded to the BB shell, the drop outs are parallel. Spread the stays and the drop outs will move out of alignment, they’ll flare out. Never found it an issue on frames I’ve done with vertical drop outs, but ones with the early long horizontal drop outs have been ‘awkward’ But again keep it five or six speed friction and no problem.
Those Falcon drop outs don’t have IIRC a screw adjuster to set the wheels position, that combined with drop outs that are now not parallel and modern STI’s and you’d be lucky to get good shifting.
I’ve never used any proper tools, just threaded rod with nuts and penny washers using a spanner to open up them as evenly as possibly. And just reset drop outs in the workshop using eye and line 😕

I had a 531 frame with a 126 spacing and it would take a 130 though a wheel change could be a bit of a faff.

I’m sure when I had my last frame with 126mm ends built, the builder said the shape of the ‘short’ ends would allow the use of the new fangled 130mm hubs, something to do with a flared mouth?
Might have dreamt that.

I went from 126/6 speed to 7 then 8 without cold setting or trouble with the (semi-horizontal) drop-outs being out of parallel. That bike always had friction shifting though which could be more forgiving. I guess you could bung a modern wheel in and take a view?

Even on a budget and some spare time.. why not trim the axle, re-space it and sort out dish? Don’t go wangling old steel frames to suit hubs. Wangle hubs to suit old frames.

oldgit – Member
Don’t get ya cynic-al if indeed he does have a hanger and cold sets the stays the the hanger will be out, he might get away with it but the hanger will be out

Anyone who knows what they are doing will set the dropouts, with which the hanger should be in line.

Never seen the process that holds the stays in place while you bend the drop outs back again to a parallel position

They temain in position while one sets the dropouts.

Sorry but this is basic stuff and no matter how long you’ve been doing whatever if you don’t get thus then you don’t understand the basics.

martinxyz – Member
Even on a budget and some spare time.. why not trim the axle, re-space it and sort out dish? Don’t go wangling old steel frames to suit hubs. Wangle hubs to suit old frames.

The dishing on modern hubs compared to 5s makes this dodgy/impossible.

Never seen it done properly….is there a proper way? are there tools that do this, always thought it was a workshop bodge.
That said Argos did my old Gios, like to think they didn’t do it with a plank of wood and pump pliers!
How do you do it?
I can remember doing a 70’s Claud and the chainstays looked almost curved by the time they were at 130mm, so I set them back.

I do understand the basics of bending some tubes and setting the drops so everything works fine. not sure what you don’t think I understand.
Set the stays
Set the drop outs
check all measurements
Seems to work every time.