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How easy is it to replace a hub

Old 03-31-09, 04:26 PM
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How easy is it to replace a hub

I am thinking of buying a single speed rear hub from nashbar and installing it on an late 80's rear wheel
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Old 03-31-09, 04:51 PM
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You will be rebuilding the wheel from scratch. Make sure the hub and rim take the same number of spokes. Also, it's very possible that your old spokes won't be the correct length and you will need to get different length spokes.
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Old 03-31-09, 04:55 PM
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Get a hub, spokes and a new rim and learn how to build a wheel.
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Old 03-31-09, 04:57 PM
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Originally Posted by steve001
I am thinking of buying a single speed rear hub from nashbar and installing it on an late 80's rear wheel
Waste of time. Why bother rebuilding on a used rim. You won't be able to reuse the spokes. This is more labour than starting from scratch with all new mats.
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Old 03-31-09, 05:18 PM
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You can reuse the spokes. They and the hub are the most durable parts of the assembly. If the hubs measure nearly the same width and flange diameter is similar you can do it.
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Old 03-31-09, 05:21 PM
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Originally Posted by operator
Waste of time. Why bother rebuilding on a used rim. You won't be able to reuse the spokes. This is more labour than starting from scratch with all new mats.
why cant he reuse the spokes if the hub dimensions are the same? I do it quite a bit and havent had a problem doing it. just dont mix up drive side and non drive side spokes.
If the hubs measure the same and the flanges are the same spacing you can do it the hard part is the lacing patern. find a good how to book and go for it. I use Tod Downs Road bike maintenance. very easy to understand.
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Old 03-31-09, 06:31 PM
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Originally Posted by ls01
why cant he reuse the spokes if the hub dimensions are the same? I do it quite a bit and havent had a problem doing it. just dont mix up drive side and non drive side spokes.
my guess is the late 80's bike had five speeds and he is replacing it with a single speed so the change in dish will likely result in a change in required spoke lengths. (the hub dimensions will not be the same - I would think the flange to flange distance will be greater for the single speed)

Last edited by bubbagrannygear; 03-31-09 at 07:30 PM. Reason: stated "hub to hub" and meant "flange to flange" distance
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Old 03-31-09, 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by bubbagrannygear
my guess is the late 80's bike had five speeds
By the late '80's most decent quality bikes had 6-speed freewheels or casettes and 126 mm spacing.
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Old 03-31-09, 06:39 PM
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The short answer is that its not easy. Wheel building is one of the more difficult skill required for working on bicycles and generally a skill you learn after being good at most other things.

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Old 03-31-09, 06:43 PM
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Wheelbuilding can be fun, but it's also a pain that can take a lot of time and there are multiple factors to consider. operator is right that this is more trouble than it's worth for you, unless you really want to build a wheel. And even so, in that case, I'd recommend you build a new wheel from scratch, unless you have no use for (and can't sell) the wheel presently on the bike.

Another thought: if your goal is singlespeed (not fixed-gear) and you have a rear wheel with a freewheel, then just take the freewheel off, re-space the axle and re-dish the wheel, and put a singlespeed freewheel on and you're set.

But you may want a fixed-gear rear wheel, and you may have a late-80's hub with a 7-speed cassette.
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Old 03-31-09, 06:50 PM
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Originally Posted by davidad
You can reuse the spokes. They and the hub are the most durable parts of the assembly. If the hubs measure nearly the same width and flange diameter is similar you can do it.
You people never make any sense whatsoever. 50 cents a pop for new spokes - and how likely is it that the hub selected will have compatible dimensions that results in identical spoke lengths? The rim is used, the spokes are used. If the OP already knows he can resuse the spokes and rim, and he wants to - he wouldn't have made this thread.

Why again, are we penny wise pound foolish again?
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Old 03-31-09, 07:39 PM
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I'd much rather buy a wheel unless that rear hub was dirt cheap and I was itching to learn (by doing) how to build a wheel which takes a lot of time a patience. Like 3 days of patience for my first one.
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Old 03-31-09, 08:27 PM
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Do yourself a favor and get a new rim and appropriate length spokes. As big of a headache it is to built your first few sets of wheels, it will only frustrate you more if you try to wing it with a rim and spokes that may or may not be the correct length.

It took me around 2-3 hours to build my first wheel. Now I can go from parts to trued and tensioned wheel in 45 minutes.
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Old 03-31-09, 08:39 PM
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Originally Posted by davidad
You can reuse the spokes. They and the hub are the most durable parts of the assembly. If the hubs measure nearly the same width and flange diameter is similar you can do it.
Originally Posted by ls01
why cant he reuse the spokes if the hub dimensions are the same? I do it quite a bit and havent had a problem doing it.
Remind me not to buy any used bikes from you guys.

You'd seriously use 20+ year old spokes to build a new wheel? Crazy talk.
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Old 03-31-09, 09:08 PM
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I did this exact same thing this fall, mostly for fun and practice building a wheel, and I ended up having to buy a rim (needed 32 hole, had a 36) and then had to buy spokes because they didnt fit. it ended up being more expensive than i had figured and i still ended up with a 27" wheel, now i wish i had a 700. But it was a fun journey trying to get everything figured out. so if your doing it for fun, go for it, but if your doing it to save money, either ditch the RD and just run one gear on the rear group, or find a cheap wheel set on line
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Old 04-01-09, 04:55 AM
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The op didnt ask how to build a wheel from scratch. He asked about replacing a hub in his current wheel. If the thing was a p.o.s. he would have asked where he could just buy a new one.
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Old 04-01-09, 06:14 PM
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The op didnt ask how to build a wheel from scratch.
+1. Although I do LIKE building wheels from scratch, which is probably why everybody leans that way. The economics are not on your side, though, as a pre-built SS wheel is always cheaper.

And no way you could or should reuse old spokes to do it.
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Old 04-01-09, 07:38 PM
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Originally Posted by tellyho

And no way you could or should reuse old spokes to do it.

I cant understand this attitude,why is there no way I "could," I do it quite often. I have never had a problem, if things are in good shape what is the difference? Please educate me as to why you can not reuse spokes.
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