What was the point of the wheel stop in the rear dropout?

[EPOJoe]

How were these things correctly adjusted, and why have they fallen out of use on modern bikes? My old Olmo has the screw holes for the stops, although I’ve never had the stops installed, and I’ve always just let the wheel fall to the rear of the dropout. I figured it might be worth placing the stops in there for authenticities sake, which started me wondering why they would have been used in the first place. To make things even more puzzling, in the photos I've found of bikes with the stops in use, the stops are screwed in so far that the wheel usually doesn't even sit halfway down into the dropout. Hmm...

[ergott]

You can shorten the wheelbase as desired.

[Pastashop]

and you could align the wheel better, in case the frame was crooked????

[Vancouverdave]

They also functioned as a chain length fine tuner; some rear derailleurs of the past needed all the help they could get. I like to use them to cheat the large-cog capacity of Campy pre-indexed rear derailleurs--move the spring from inside the dropout to outside (between the dropout and knob) and run the wheel all the way back in the slot. Lets things happen like an early Nuovo Record make clean shifts on and off of a 28 tooth cog.

[Fixed]

bro it's the best way to center a wheel i.m.h.o. and e-RICHIE does it that way good enough for me cheers :beer:

[shiftinjon]

...allow you to micro-adjust wheel alignment and fore-aft position of the wheel in the frame. If you race lots, you make sure your frame is aligned correctly and take them out and pull the wheel all the way back for a solid anchor. If you leave them in, it is a good idea to install the serrated adjusting knob/elephant ear head with blue loctite since it is a bit difficult to get it tight enough not to loosen on you.

I've got maybe ten pairs of these, long for the Campagnolo 1010(?) dropouts and short for the (what was the number for the) Campagnolo shorty dropouts. Some with serrated knobs and some with elephant ears. I always take mine out. :)

[EPOJoe]

Okay, so why would e-RICHIE have the rear wheel on his Masi set this far forward in his dropouts?

[ergott]

Okay, so why would e-RICHIE have the rear wheel on his Masi set this far forward in his dropouts?

I'm just guessing, but he might have wanted effectively shorter chainstays for better handling.

[manet]

so dbrk + dirt can dance to freddy fender

[Too Tall]

I am guessing because Twizzlerkid is a thrify sot and didn't want to crack the wrapper on ANOTHER NOS Regina Oro chain and that one is a weeee bit short.

What VancouverD said, that was my experiance backinnaday.

*Hey Sspielman, I said "sot" ;)

[cinelli]

Okay, so why would e-RICHIE have the rear wheel on his Masi set this far forward in his dropouts?

It makes for much quicker wheel changes.
If the wheel is all the way back in the
dropout, it can take almost .0001 second
longer to remove the wheel!
:rolleyes:

[shiftinjon]

If you do run these in your dropouts, and they are adjusted as far back as the spring will allow, you run the risk of bending the adjusting screw- in an accident, putting the frame in and out of the boot with the wheels out, adjusting it with a pair of channel locks(insert your own creative use of tools) ;) -making it impossible to remove the screw without cutting it off very carefully with a very fine tooth hacksaw and removing it throught the front of the dropout. A good reason to have it adjusted all the way forward if you're going to run these.

Also, it looks righter and tighter all the way in...take that any where you want to. :)

[sg8357]

Another reason for adjustable dropouts, indexed shifting.
The position of the derailer mounting and axle has to pretty
close for indexing to work well. Mount the wheel too far behind
the derailer and the indexing is poor. So once you get the derailer
postioned correctly adjust the screws so your shifting doesn't go
wonky when you remove the wheel.

Scott G.

[Fixed]

Okay, so why would e-RICHIE have the rear wheel on his Masi set this far forward in his dropouts?
bro I bet he doesn't ride that bike cheers :beer:

[cpg]

He doesn't ride it. I've tried to shame him for it but he's not inclined to ride it. The reason for mounting in the front of the slot is mostly rooted in tradition but it does make wheel changes quicker and easier. Even if it's only a little bit easier. There's no efficiencies other than theoretical ones in shorter chainstays.

Curt

[classic1]

Okay, so why would e-RICHIE have the rear wheel on his Masi set this far forward in his dropouts?
So he wouldn't scratch up all the paint on the drop outs. e-RICHIE? :)

[torquer]

Its been awhile, but as I recall you wanted to get your wheel as close to the seat tube as you could, but if you ran different size tires (outside diameter increasing with width) you needed to adjust the axle to BB dimension.

Obviously, this didn't apply to CX, where you always want maximum clearance for mud.

The reply saying that the adjusters allow you to correct for rear dropout misalignment also sounds good.

[Peter P.]

The screws helped fine tune the wheel's position in the dropouts if the wheel wasn't perfectly dished, had a broken spoke, or if the rear end wasn't quite straight. To change the wheelbase is a dubious benefit as the difference is minimal at best. Also, adjusting the screws could help improve shifting as some derailleurs required the derailleur mounting bolt to be vertically in-line with the wheel axle for optimum performance.

So, set them where you want and make up a story to justify it.

I bent many a screw until I got wise and set them where I wanted the wheel to sit, then cut off excess leaving just enough to install the knurled knob or "elephant ear", as someone else coined it.

Check the screws for movement/lubrication during regular maintenance; they're a nightmare to remove once they've seized in the dropout.

[chrisroph]

move em forward for a crit and back for a bumpy road race or a tt.