2 Cardinal sins? Or OK?

[celeste boy]

Old bike- '80s. I guess 27in wheels under the old system. Sins:

1) Filing small amount off front dropouts to fit 700mm wheel.

2) Running 700mm wheel on front while back is a 27in.

I haven't taken it on the road yet so no offence if i have broken the rules. Tell me.

Thanks,

CB

[high_tea]

Nah, sounds more venial to me. I remember when I went to school, someone had put a 20" front wheel on a 27-ish frame. So you're not alone. As for filing stuff, you won't hear a peep out of me! I reckon it's soothing to take boltcutters or a powertool or something, you know, satisfying to a bike every so often.

[WyvernRH]

Lowering brake blocks a few mm might be easier?
Cheers
Richard

[bychosis]

Only a sin if it is a high value bike ie a collectors item. If its an old clunker of little value file away ( check the retro biking thread about identifying 80s roadies). A little filing won't cause significant damage and will keep some old school gear rolling.

An alternative might be to file some flats onto the axle to make it fit.

[wqlava1]

Lowering brake blocks a few mm might be easier?
Cheers
Richard

Most 27" wheels have a 5/16" axle, which is 7.9mm. Metric front axles including Shimano are 9mm. Brake adjustment is an extra task.

[elantra]

Lowering brake blocks a few mm might be easier?
Cheers
Richard

Most 27" wheels have a 5/16" axle, which is 7.9mm. Metric front axles including Shimano are 9mm. Brake adjustment is an extra task.

That's interesting, i have a 1979 Malvern Star DoubleX road bike which came with 27 inch wheels but i run it 700C now.
That would explain why it is sometimes a bit stiff to get a modern wheel into the dropout.

[WyvernRH]

Lowering brake blocks a few mm might be easier?
Cheers
Richard

Most 27" wheels have a 5/16" axle, which is 7.9mm. Metric front axles including Shimano are 9mm. Brake adjustment is an extra task.

Ah! I understand now...you want to widen the slots, for some reason I thought you were trying to file UP into the dropout
Widening the slot sounds fine by me, but the other way to do it is to file parallel flats onto the axles. That way you can use the wheels in 'old' or 'new dropouts depending on how you orient the axle.
This is what I do to slot modern track wheels into my 1952 Gillott.
Cheers
Richard

[celeste boy]

Thank you for the replies guys. The 700 wheels had a slightly thicker axle on the front dropouts and that's where the filing needed to take place (not on the axle though).
The brakes are not an issue at the moment.

CB

[wqlava1]

Old bike- '80s. I guess 27in wheels under the old system. Sins:

2) Running 700mm wheel on front while back is a 27in.

I haven't taken it on the road yet so no offence if I have broken the rules. Tell me.

Thanks,

CB

To branch this thread on the other matter from the OP, yes, I ran 27 on the front and 700 on the back when the rear of an (expensive) set of MA2 rims I had treated the Malvern Star that I bought in Sept 84 to, turned out to have an unfixable bump. I had a rear 700c with an MA2 rim around, and ran that for 6 months of morning rides - unfortunately with the later stickers rather than the red and green that most 27" MA2s have. It has been off the road a year or so but I recently got another pair of 27" MA2s and can put it back the way I wanted it. I ran that frame as a commuter for a couple of years earlier on with 700C, and it was a very comfortable ride then too. So you're far from the only one. Better to have wheels on it and be riding it than the alternative.