Originally Posted by bg4533

A friend just picked up a 1986 Cannondale ST500. The bike is in reasonable condition, but the wheels are a bit out of true and the nipples and eyelets are fairly corroded. I'm not sure I trust the wheels for touring, so am looking into building up a new set. The frame is aluminum with 126mm spacing. Normally I'd just throw on a new 130mm cassette hub, but I suspect that aluminum won't respond as well to that as a steel frame.

What are my options? Are there any quality, inexpensive 126mm hubs that are still made? Should I buy an old 126mm hub from Ebay? Any recommendations for hubs to look for or stay away from? Would it be worth reusing the Shimano 600 hub that is currently on the bike?

Not sure I've ever seen this done, but could a formula track hub be respaced and used with a 6 speed freewheel? It seems like the hub body might be a bit wide which would make it difficult to get proper tensions.