Bicycle Mechanics - Roadie Hub Question(s)

Hey Board,

I'm a daily commuter who knocks out about 17miles daily in Columbus, OH which is not a very bike friendly town. My path of least resistance to work is wrought with half paved brick streets, potholes, curbs, rail road crossings... I'm sure you know the drill. Anyway... I'm riding Mavic Cxp21 rims with a 36h Shimano RSX hub up front with a Superbe 36h rear. My question is... is the RSX hub junk since I'm on my 2nd truing since May already or am I just riding too hard/carelessly? I was thinking of uprgrading to 36h Mavic OpenPros with a 105 hubset (or suntour grease guards if they make em in road spacing) but if its me or my environment rather than my gear I don't want to waste the money as I don't really have it to burn. Any suggestions or affordable gear recommendations welcome as I'm kind of new to the nuts and bolts of the cycling world.

For the curious the bike is a late 80's or so vintage Schwinn Tempo

The hub is about the last part of the wheel I'd blame if it won't stay true. Spokes which loosen up under the pounding of your rough streets could be a culprit, or perhaps the wheel is just settling in... is it fairly new? Another possibility is that the wheel took damage in the past and no longer wants to be straight.

The rim, being a V-shaped middle-weight road rim, is pretty stiff and ought to be suitable for commuting, particularly in 36-spoke format. I wouldn't give up on it just yet, if you can nail down what's the matter. Who did the truing on it, how far out of true was it, and did you get any indication of what it needed (spokes unravelling, ???).

I agree with mechBgon. It's more than likely a spoke problem. I think it is also caused by the terrain you are riding. For wheels to remain true the spoke tension has to be fairly high and uniform around the entire wheel. When it is not, the spokes have a tendency to loosen under severe road vibration caused by the uneven conditions you described.

If you are truing your own wheels, make them tighter. If an LBS is doing it, I don't know what to tell you.

By the way: WELCOME! to the Forums. You've chosen an interesting name.

yeah there were some loose spokes... guess I need to stay on top of them a little more. I've got a spoke wrench and everything... but I've noticed a spoke wrench does not a wheel truer make. I was just going to have another set of wheels put together so I can have a secondary set to practice on or as a backup when my daily needs professional attention. Thats why I've been stalking these OpenPros on eBay. I also found a 36h Suntour GreaseGuard 'mountain' hub but its 100mm I can have it laced to 700c rims right?

You can put any hub to any rim as long as they have the same number of spoke holes.