I have an old bike I bought from ebay that looks to be '80s vintage. I'm converting it to a single speed. I have some new(ish) wheels that I plan to use. I tried to just slot in the existing wheels and struck the following problems:
- The axle would not fit into the dropouts as it's too big.
- The axle also wouldn't fit between the dropouts as the space between the dropouts is too narrow
- Even if I could mount the wheel the brakes I have don't reach the rims, as the distance from the dropouts to the brake mounting point is too great.
So I think I will upgrade to a new fork. My question is how do I ensure that these measurements will be correct for a new fork? I've measured a fork from another bike that I know fits with my wheels.
- The axle is 10mm diameter (on the old fork it's 7.5mm)
- The inside measurement between the dropouts is 100mm. Outside measurement is 110mm. (On the old fork, it's 95mm and 100mm)
- The distance from the dropouts to the brake mounting point is 355mm (on the old fork it's 375mm)
Will this fork fit? It looks like it will but I'm not sure if the measurements supplied are inside or outside. I'm aware that it's for a threaded steerer and I know it's a 1" steerer tube (see this question for the information about the existing fork.
Also, since the replacement fork is 20mm shorter from the dropouts to the brake point is that going to throw out the angles of the bike?
Update: I bought the fork and it's a great fit for the wheel. The offset against the original fork is less than I expected, somewhere between 10-20mm so the handling is not too bad.