OK to spread the back to fit a wheel???

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I have a Specilized Sirrus 02 bike, and my friend gave me some Rolf Vector wheels. The front fits fine, but the rear requres me to spread the back of the bike about .25" to fit the rear wheel. Is this normal, or does the wheel just not fit?

if its a steel frame its ok to spread it, if its aluminium or carbon then you're asking for trouble... it'll be fine for a little while, then it'll fail on you all of a sudden - don't go there!

It's aluminum... Oh well.

1. Is it normal to have different mounting widths for wheels?

2. There is a shim in the wheel, but if I remove it the wheel will be ofset... So am I just screwed?