7-speed and less than 36 spoke hub?
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7-speed and less than 36 spoke hub?
I'm the second owner of a mid '90s 7-speed road bike (RSX equipped, for those in the know). I love the bike, and the aluminum frame is just fine for my ability and price range. However, the bike has thousands of miles, and there has only been 1 wheelset on that bike the whole time. Its been gouged and scratched by gravel embedded in the break pads, banged up, beat up, and yet I can still get it fairly true--more than enough to comfortably ride, with only one flat spot noticable when truing (And I'm no expert at truing, either). Numerous other parts have been replaced (bottom bracket, chain rings, cassette, chain, pedals, etc.), some several times over, but the wheels have stayed the same.
I would like to build/buy another set, as I don't know how much longer the current one will last, and they are not in the greatest of shape. I'd also like a new set to make swapping tires for different environments (chipseal, asphalt, training, etc.) easier and faster. Since I'm planning to build/buy a new wheelset, I figured I'd treat myself to something nicer than what I have and go with a moderately deeper cross section, something like the Velocity Fusion. I am significantly lighter than the last rider--about 130lbs with all my bike gear on, minus shoes--and figured 36 spoke on a rim with a deeper cross section would be overkill for my weight.
Only then did I realize how hard it is to come by 7-speed 130mm hubs! And the couple I did find were all 36-spoke. It seems most bikes went to 8/9/10 speeds before dropping spokes and using deeper rims. So, my question to the mechanics out there--is there any hub that is 7-speed and 28 or 32 spoke? I know that I can use a 8/9/10 speed hub with a spacer, but this seems less than ideal as it introduces more dish into my wheel without any immediate benefit. I'm not interested in replacing the brifter(s). I've figured out the right lubricant to keep them working like they were new, and thus I can't justify replacing them when I find 7-speed cassettes give me more than adequate range.
So once again, does anyone know of a hub that is 7-speed, 130mm, less than 36 hole, and uses a shimano/sram style lock ring for the cassette? Or am I stuck with the spacer route or staying with 36-spoke?
Thanks in advance.
I would like to build/buy another set, as I don't know how much longer the current one will last, and they are not in the greatest of shape. I'd also like a new set to make swapping tires for different environments (chipseal, asphalt, training, etc.) easier and faster. Since I'm planning to build/buy a new wheelset, I figured I'd treat myself to something nicer than what I have and go with a moderately deeper cross section, something like the Velocity Fusion. I am significantly lighter than the last rider--about 130lbs with all my bike gear on, minus shoes--and figured 36 spoke on a rim with a deeper cross section would be overkill for my weight.
Only then did I realize how hard it is to come by 7-speed 130mm hubs! And the couple I did find were all 36-spoke. It seems most bikes went to 8/9/10 speeds before dropping spokes and using deeper rims. So, my question to the mechanics out there--is there any hub that is 7-speed and 28 or 32 spoke? I know that I can use a 8/9/10 speed hub with a spacer, but this seems less than ideal as it introduces more dish into my wheel without any immediate benefit. I'm not interested in replacing the brifter(s). I've figured out the right lubricant to keep them working like they were new, and thus I can't justify replacing them when I find 7-speed cassettes give me more than adequate range.
So once again, does anyone know of a hub that is 7-speed, 130mm, less than 36 hole, and uses a shimano/sram style lock ring for the cassette? Or am I stuck with the spacer route or staying with 36-spoke?
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by `Orum; 11-06-09 at 12:43 AM. Reason: fixing typos
#2
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Buy any wheelset you want and put a 7-spd freehub-body on it. Move 4mm of spacers from the right to left side of the axle and take advantage of the wider 130mm spacing for less dish and higher wheel-strength.
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I've never replaced a freehub body, is it difficult? Also, isn't the freehub body size different for a 7-speed (meaning that the rest of the hub on a 8/9/10 speed is narrower)? Or, is that what the axle spacers are for? Sorry, I'm not very experienced with rear hubs.
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At 130lbs that dish isn't going to be a problem either way. Use a 8/9/10 hub with a 4.5mm spacer and you're ready to roll.
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Okay, if dish won't be an issue I suppose I can go with the spacer route. It does have the advantage that if I ever do decide to "upgrade" to an 8-speed, I can still use that wheelset without issues.
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Get a 8/9/10-speed wheel and use the 4.5mm spacer. Then when it comes time to replace your shifters, you can also upgrade to more speeds with a new cassette and chain.
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There's nothing wrong with the hubs I have now. I've taken care to clean them and regrease them. However, they're 36-spoke, which seems overbuilt for a rider of my weight, especially with a deeper cross section rim. Also, the current wheelset has a little more life in it, as the wall thickness still looks thick enough to my eye and doesn't have a major concave shape from break wear.
Either way, it'd be nice to have two complete wheelsets for the bike just for ease of changing tires, as I said earlier. Trainer tires are especially hard to mount and remove .
Either way, it'd be nice to have two complete wheelsets for the bike just for ease of changing tires, as I said earlier. Trainer tires are especially hard to mount and remove .
#9
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For new additional wheelsets you can go as fancy as you want and just use the spacers as already noted.
For the current wheelset there's absolutely no big disadvantage to lacing on a new rim with new spokes other than adding a bunch to the cost of rebuilding the wheels. To keep it simple stick with rims that have the same ERD as the present ones so you don't need to replace the spokes. This assumes that the nipples unscrew easily without any undue excessive spoke twist. Sometimes corrosion in the threads can render the old spokes useless as too much damage is done taking the wheel apart in the first place. But if you can unscrew the existing nipples pretty easily then I'd just tape the new rims to the old, slacken off all the spokes and then one at a time remove the nipples and move the spokes to the hole in the new rim. But before I did this I'd suggest you clean up and relube the hub and check on the freehub bearings. If there's much of anything wrong with the hubs in terms of ball race wear or corrosion or the freehub isn't smooth running then it may be time to just retire the wheelset. But if it runs well then the cheaper and highly effective plan of just lacing on new rims is the way to go. Keep these as your big tire wheels and then use the deeper V section minimal spoke wheels you want to get as your quick road set. Overall it'll end up a lot less costly that way.
For the current wheelset there's absolutely no big disadvantage to lacing on a new rim with new spokes other than adding a bunch to the cost of rebuilding the wheels. To keep it simple stick with rims that have the same ERD as the present ones so you don't need to replace the spokes. This assumes that the nipples unscrew easily without any undue excessive spoke twist. Sometimes corrosion in the threads can render the old spokes useless as too much damage is done taking the wheel apart in the first place. But if you can unscrew the existing nipples pretty easily then I'd just tape the new rims to the old, slacken off all the spokes and then one at a time remove the nipples and move the spokes to the hole in the new rim. But before I did this I'd suggest you clean up and relube the hub and check on the freehub bearings. If there's much of anything wrong with the hubs in terms of ball race wear or corrosion or the freehub isn't smooth running then it may be time to just retire the wheelset. But if it runs well then the cheaper and highly effective plan of just lacing on new rims is the way to go. Keep these as your big tire wheels and then use the deeper V section minimal spoke wheels you want to get as your quick road set. Overall it'll end up a lot less costly that way.
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If you want a nice new wheelset, you're in luck since your frame is 130mm spacing; just get a modern 8/9/10 speed freehub and use a spacer so the 7-speed cassette fits.
This way when you RSX brifter finally croaks, you can just move to 8-speed shifters and cassette.
And if you decide to get a new frame at some point, you'll have wheels worthy of a build-up with more recent shifting systems.
But really, unless there's a problem with your current wheelset, keep riding them. Have the extra (new) pair for fast days or event rides, etc.
This way when you RSX brifter finally croaks, you can just move to 8-speed shifters and cassette.
And if you decide to get a new frame at some point, you'll have wheels worthy of a build-up with more recent shifting systems.
But really, unless there's a problem with your current wheelset, keep riding them. Have the extra (new) pair for fast days or event rides, etc.
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"c" is not a unit that measures tire width
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Only then did I realize how hard it is to come by 7-speed 130mm hubs! And the couple I did find were all 36-spoke. It seems most bikes went to 8/9/10 speeds before dropping spokes and using deeper rims. So, my question to the mechanics out there--is there any hub that is 7-speed and 28 or 32 spoke? I know that I can use a 8/9/10 speed hub with a spacer, but this seems less than ideal as it introduces more dish into my wheel without any immediate benefit. I'm not interested in replacing the brifter(s). I've figured out the right lubricant to keep them working like they were new, and thus I can't justify replacing them when I find 7-speed cassettes give me more than adequate range.
So once again, does anyone know of a hub that is 7-speed, 130mm, less than 36 hole, and uses a shimano/sram style lock ring for the cassette? Or am I stuck with the spacer route or staying with 36-spoke?
Thanks in advance.
So once again, does anyone know of a hub that is 7-speed, 130mm, less than 36 hole, and uses a shimano/sram style lock ring for the cassette? Or am I stuck with the spacer route or staying with 36-spoke?
Thanks in advance.
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There's nothing wrong with the hubs I have now. I've taken care to clean them and regrease them. However, they're 36-spoke, which seems overbuilt for a rider of my weight, especially with a deeper cross section rim. Also, the current wheelset has a little more life in it, as the wall thickness still looks thick enough to my eye and doesn't have a major concave shape from break wear.
Either way, it'd be nice to have two complete wheelsets for the bike just for ease of changing tires, as I said earlier. Trainer tires are especially hard to mount and remove .
Either way, it'd be nice to have two complete wheelsets for the bike just for ease of changing tires, as I said earlier. Trainer tires are especially hard to mount and remove .
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I recently compared the weight of an old 36-spoke wheel I build back in the 1980s with a modern high-zoot 12-spoke Rolf wheel and found my old 36 spoke wheel was only 50gm heavier than the Rolf.
The primary reason to use low spoke count wheels is to improve aerodynamics, not to reduce weight. If you're not engaged in high-level competition there's no compelling reason to use a low spoke count wheel.
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And if you get hit by a car, you WILL have those wheels for the rest of your life.
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If it was my bike I'd go the DannonXYZ route. Buy a wheelset that has a Shimano freehub body, replace the freehub body with a 7-speed freehub, add a 4mm spacer to the left side and redish the wheel.
It's a little more work than sticking a 4.5 mm spacer under the cassette but it's more elegant looking.
It's a little more work than sticking a 4.5 mm spacer under the cassette but it's more elegant looking.