Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - track hub on 27x1-1/4 wheel?

I'm currently using a suicide hub on my 27x1-1/4 rear wheel. I am getting tired of being worried about the lockring slipping in an emergency situation. Is it possible to buy a track hub and re-lace it to my existing wheel? Keep in mind that I don't know anything about wheel building but this seemed like a low-cost solution as opposed to buying a new wheel altogether. Thanks in advance.

It's possible. You should definitely buy new spokes and nipples too though. Just get a Formula or Dimension hub and lace it up. Sheldon brown has a great wheelbuilding tutorial on his website.

yes its possible. it may or may not be cheaper than a new wheel after the purchase of a hub, spokes, and wheel build.

if its a good wheelbuilder and your rim's in good shape, it might be worth it just for the quality of a hand built versus a machine built wheel, imo.

edit: or, obviously, do it yourself if you're so inclined. it's fun to learn new stuff.

don't go cheap, go campy!

Thanks! I may have to use this as an opportunity to learn wheel-building.

It's possible. You should definitely buy new spokes and nipples too though. Just get a Formula or Dimension hub and lace it up. Sheldon brown has a great wheelbuilding tutorial on his website.

Mr. Brown also sells whole 27 inch wheels built on Formula track hubs.


http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/wheels1.html#622


27 inch (630 mm) Fixed-Gear Wheels

DESCRIPTIONThese use the excellent Formula Sealed Cartridge Hub, DT stainless straight-gauge spokes and Weinmann aluminum alloy rim.


WE274 27 inch Weinmann RM19 Rim, Formula Sealed Cartridge Hub, 32 Stainless Spokes $99.95 buy button

The Weinmann RM19 is a single-wall rim with no eyelets, 25 mm wide (19 mm interior width.)

Lock ring not included in price (Dura-Ace lockring $7.95 buy buttonadditional)

This wheel features the super-smooth Formula/IRO sealed cartridge bearing hub.

If you get a new hub with flanges approximately the same diameter as the old one, you won't need new spokes or anything. Spokes can be reused indefinitely.

General rule: You're not going to save any money building your own unless you either have a rim or hub already or somehow get a screaming deal on one. This goes double if you have to buy spokes by the each for retail. This is not like 100% true, but exceptions are rare. You have a rim, but how long has it been used? If it has a lot of miles on it, ask yourself if $30-40 for a good cheap rim is really that much of an investment.

Also, you would almost definitely need new spokes, your suicide rig was dished and had 2 different spoke lengths, a track hub is a symmetrical build. You might get away with doing something weird, but not worth it just to save $25 on spokes.

It's almost assuredly not worth it to rebuild. The old rim is probably crap and buying a complete new wheel is usually cheaper then rebuilding one even if you include the cost of getting it professionally tensioned afterwards.

Also, you would almost definitely need new spokes, your suicide rig was dished and had 2 different spoke lengths, a track hub is a symmetrical build. You might get away with doing something weird, but not worth it just to save $25 on spokes.
Old wheels with freewheels generally have the same spoke length on both sides with more tension on one to cause the dishing

Old wheels with freewheels generally have the same spoke length on both sides with more tension on one to cause the dishing


They are less dished so sometimes they can get away with the same length spokes just screwed in less. All dishing is acheived by a combination different functional spoke length and tension though.(with asymetric flanges you could dish with the same tension but different length spokes.)

Old wheels with freewheels generally have the same spoke length on both sides with more tension on one to cause the dishing

Yeah, come to think of it I did once redish an old wheel to SS that pretty much had the same spoke lengths both sides. I'm not sure it's generally true, but ripping up old wheels just to measure the spokes ain't exactly on my list of fun things to do on a Friday night.

Another general rule: ghetto solutions that cost more than 30% of doing it right will rarely be economical in the long run, and frequently won't get you past next tuesday. If anybody here is a guitar nerd, my analogy is always that most people spend more money over time trying to get some crap rig to sound like a les paul through a marshall than it would have cost them to just fork it over (or finance it) for the paul/marshall in the first place.

Spokes can be reused indefinitely.
I know a lot of wheelbuilders who would disagree with this.

i built one a while ago,
cost -
free rim, $20 suzue hub, $15 for dt swiss champion 2.0 spokes. did the lace myself. so $35 for the wheel.

pics here if your interested.

http://fixedgeargallery.com/2006/oct/SpencerGaddy_2.htm

Where did you find dt spokes for $15?????

To the OP :
You're looking at least $15 for spokes, and $30 for a hub. According to Jobst Brandt, who wrote the book The Bicycle Wheel, spokes can be reused as long as they are not kinked, rusted or damaged. However, the chance of the spokes currently on your wheel being the right length is slim. And you'll want to use new brass nipples.

OK, I appreciate the responses. It looks like I'll have to loctite it for now and wait until I have the money to buy a new wheel. Assessing the condition of my current rim/spokes, it would be cheaper to go the 700c/track hub route. Plus, I have a campy record hub laced to a 700c front wheel that is just begging to be added to the bike. Thanks again!

put the campy front wheel on now, why wait?

that's a matter of finding a tubular tire for a decent price (as mentioned before, I'm currently poor). Or I could open up a whole can of worms and relace the campy hub to a clincher rim! Either way, it's a beautiful hub. Found it in a trash dumpster and the bearings are almost new.

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q184/balindamood/th_2.jpg

Yes.

Where did you find dt spokes for $15?????

To the OP :
You're looking at least $15 for spokes, and $30 for a hub. According to Jobst Brandt, who wrote the book The Bicycle Wheel, spokes can be reused as long as they are not kinked, rusted or damaged. However, the chance of the spokes currently on your wheel being the right length is slim. And you'll want to use new brass nipples.

dt swiss champions are pretty cheap i paid like $.36 a spoke so 36 spokes a little more than 15 but i dont exactly pay wholesale