Gitane Mixte - rear wheel issues: is it the dropouts?

[IvonaDestroi]

One thing you can check on your wheel. Take out the quick release skewer with the wheel in the bike and see how much axle protrudes into the dropout. The axle end should not be flush with or protrucing past the outer face of the dropout, but recessed inside it, yet long enough to be supported by the frame. If the axle were too long, then the quick release would not hold it in place and the wheel would slip as you ride and apply pressure to the pedals. Different frames can have different dropout thicknesses, and 70s bikes sometimes had a thick derailleur hanger on the derailleur that effectively made the dropout much thicker. If the wheel you just put on originally came from such a bike and the new bike has the derailleur hanger on the frame, or just has thinner dropouts, this could explain the problem, and the fix is easy. You'd either have to move both cones to change the axle spacing outside the lock nuts, or cut the axle shorter with a hacksaw.

Ok, so I took out the skewer and took some photos. Also both the schwinn that the wheel came off of and this bike have a 1/8" derailleur hanger.

Also, I measured the length from dropout to dropout straight line from derailleur hanger on both bikes, and for the schwinn I got 5 1/4" and on the Gitane 5.0". Of course I'm using a ruler and eyeballing whats straight... but i measured again counting the derailleur hangers which should each add 1/8 and they did so the numbers matched both times.

so the schwinn dropouts are 1/4" wider then the gitane ones from what I can tell.

I'm trying to picture what you meant by flush or portruding past the outer face, I'm not sure if this is looking right:

Left Side:






Right Side:



Is 1/4" difference enough to cause this problem? Do they look right on the pictures?