If the problem is that the small cog of the FW is too far from the dropout, or the freewheel is too far inboard overall to acheive good chainline, doesn't it make more sense to re-space the hub so there is less axle on the drive side? This way there are the added benefits of less dish and less bending stress on the axle. OTOH, if it is a matter of the big cog simply being too close to the spokes, a spacer makes sense. There are other little things you can do to keep the rear der from ending up in the spokes, but the spacer is the standard fix. The steel Sturmey type are nice but the overall diameter is too big for some FWs that aren't flat on the inside face of the inner body. The Campy spacers are nice, but hard to find. The Bicycle Research aluminum spacers used to easy to find (back in the days of screw-on FWs), and I didn't have problems with them getting crushed, though it seems that some folks have.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, PA
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