Bicycle Mechanics - Road Hubs to Mountain Hubs on my Volpe; is it possible?

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paralegal1973
07-11-07, 12:31 PM
I found a great deal on a Mavic A719 wheelset (36 Hole) with XT hubs. Is there anyway I could use them on my Bianchi Volpe? Is there an easy conversion or something my LBS can do so that the XT hubs will fit on my Volpe? Is the difference between road and mountain hubs a matter of spacing of the fork or is it something more technical? Please forgive my lack of bicycle saavy, I am new to biking.

Thanks everyone,
Raymond

JunkYardBike
07-11-07, 01:01 PM
Are you sure the Volpe isn't already spaced at 135mm (which is the current standard for rear MTB hubs)? As a bike marketed for cyclocross, it may be. If it's older, it may be 130mm. I think it's steel, though, correct? You could always just spread the dropouts to fit the 135mm, or you could get it cold set to 135 if you prefer.
Raiyn
07-11-07, 03:51 PM
The front won't be an issue, but the rear will be a slight issue. The Tiagra hubs it comes with are 130mm while the XT's are 135. As mentioned, you can have the frame cold set to 135, (although if it were me I'd try to emulate the Surly's and go for 132.5)

Retro Grouch
07-11-07, 04:14 PM
If it was my bike I'd modify the hub rather than stretch the frame dropouts.

Shorten the axle, throw away a spacer, and redish the rim. I'm sure that I could do it in under 30 minutes.