Sheldon once again proves his genius. That's one of those--"Duh, why didn't I think of that?" inventions. The only issue I can see is that a bike with misaligned dropouts might bow the axle a little more that one that is properly aligned, but the slight difference is probably the least of one's worries when working on a bike like that.
I remember a fresh mechanic at the shop where I worked who was bragging about how smooth he could adjust a Campy hub, until another mechanic showed him that after clamping into the frame, the valve could be set at 9 o'clock and it was just sit there.
Steve Barner, Bolton Vermont, -18 degrees F this morning, full moon, 2' of snow, does it get any better than this?
> Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2003 12:58:47 -0500
> From: "Roy H. Drinkwater" <roydrink@ptd.net>
> To: classic list <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Subject: [CR]Re: hub bearing compression
> Message-ID: <a05200f00ba4f434be6c5@[192.168.1.1]>
> In-Reply-To: <e.2b8451d4.2b5aea99@aol.com>
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>
> Bob Hovey quired:
>
> >>>On Thursday, January 16, 2003, at 09:29 PM, Sheldon Brown wrote:
> >> I've invented a doodad that allows you to actually adjust the cones
> >> and locknuts with the the axle compressed by a skewer, see:
> >> http://sheldonbrown.com/
> >
> >I'm not sure I see how this works... My understanding is that hub
compression
> >results from the quick release pressure forcing the dropouts to
counteract
> >and overcome the push-pull action of the locknut and cone combo. If this
is
> >the case, shouldn't the force be applied to the outside faces of the
locknuts
> >(the knurled area in your photo) rather than the end of the axle? I can
see
> >that compressing the axle itself might squeeze the hub a tad, but I don't
see
> >how it would cause nearly as great an effect as the inward force of the
> >dropouts on the locknuts.
>
> I was also puzzled by this, I don't think clamping the axle
> is as effective as clamping the locknuts. What I do when I adjust
> hubs is to clamp them in my 25+ year-old cheap Cyclepro wheelstand
> and tweak them until perfect.
>
>
> Roy H. Drinkwater
> Lititz, PA