I'm looking for a bike frame made of steel with a 135mm rear dropouts spacing. The reason is that I might have to cold set at ~ 138mm for a project.
It could be a road bike, a mountain bike, or a hybrid.
Retro mountain bikes have steel frames like the specialised rockhopper but it seems they are not always in 135mm. Ebay adds rarely mention this information so I need to know what frames are in scope before I start hunting.
Thanks.
Most but not all mountain bikes from the 1990s were using 135mm spacing, which I believe was introduced in the 2nd half of the 1980s, maybe. The steel rockhoppers pretty much all have this spacing. The Kona Lavadome (1990) i used to have was a 135. The only MTB I have laid hands on with 130mm spacing is a 1988 Cinelli which also has an italian threaded bottom bracket shell.
Hybrid and touring frames are a trickier subject. For instance, the Trek 520 from the 2010s has 135mm spacing but but various maker's modernish hybrids are either one or the other, 2010s Cannondale usually 130mm, 2010s Trek 135mm, 1990s Marin 132mm (though these would be alloy so unsuitable anyway). I have seen steel touring frames with either 130 or 135 though 130 may be more common.
Any normal disc brake Quick Release frame will be 135mm spacing except for some of the very first road disc frames in the 2010s.
In my garage there are two.
One is a BSO, but the other is a tourer (Genesis Tour de Fer).
Halo Wheels say "135mm rear – QR MTB, Most QR disc road bikes" - and sure enough my tourer is QR, as is my aluminium MTB, which is also 135mm.
The 1990-ish Raleigh Atlanta I'm breaking for spares is 130mm, though you might get away with that in practice.
I suggest you go for a fairly modern steel tourer or road bike - with disc brakes - or an MTB with QRs and at least 7 or 8 sprockets. The reason I say tourer is that they're commonly steel, and steel road bikes are uncommon, as are modern steel MTBs. Most old steel MTBs are 3x6 and probably 130mm (I've had a few).
