Dropout replacement

[johnniecakes]

Has anyone ever replaced horizontal dropouts with vertical ones? I plan on having my Colorado refinished over the winter and would be a perfect time to replace the dropouts. It seems to me that vertical are more secure since you do not have to tighten the skewer as tight to prevent the wheel from sliding forward under torque. Are there any down sides to installing vertical dropouts that I am missing?
Thanks

[muz]

I chatted with a framebuilder about this while on a bike ride. The executive summary is that it can be done, but not so simple. The rear wheel could be in a slightly different height, so the geometry would be affected.

[Ken Robb]

Have you had a problem with the wheel slipping? Are you using the best skewers available?

[johnniecakes]

Have you had a problem with the wheel slipping? Are you using the best skewers available?

No, If I tighten the skewers (Shimano 6800) very tight then no the wheel does not slip.

[David Kirk]

Changing from one style of dropouts to another seldom works out.

Think of dropouts this way - drops hold thew wheel a specific distance from the ends of the chain and seat stays. There is a given distance between the end of those tubes and the axle and this distance is in no way whatsoever the same from style to style or from brand to brand of drops.

By extension a given drop places the ends of the seat and chain stays in a given position relative to each other and this is not standardized.

So....the chances of finding a new drop that will place the axle in the right spot while at the same time find a happy home with the stays in their locations is very, very small.

The real way to do it is to replace the entire rear triangle of the frame and this way too much work and money for most people just to end up with a different drop.

dave

[johnniecakes]

Dave

Thank you very much for the explanation. I will just be sure to tighten the skewers.