scale

So i have an old set of araya 700c wheels with Sansin Alpha 5000 hubs. The rear cones are pitted and i cant find the right size (length) cones in any shop. I have some that look to be about the right bearing face but the length is longer.

IF i do use these new larger cones...my spacers (drive side and non drive side) are going to be too long and then will over run the axle not allowing my skewer to clamp down.

I guess it somes down to i need to replace the spacers. What is the general rule of thumb here. My drive side has a large alum spacer of course. The non drive has a spacer of a few mm and a second of 1 mm or so.

Is it illegal to go to the hardware store and just get a bunch of stainless washers and run them stacked on the drive side? Would a LBS have countless sizes of aluminum spacers i could fart around with until sorting out the correct size?

i want to do it right so i dont wreck the hubs / wheels. IM hoping to get at least a few seasons out of these wheels if not more.

THoughts? Ive tried searching out a used rear Sansin or Sunshine 6 speed hub hoping i could use an axle setup from that but i have come up empty.

It is driving me crazy because it is holding me back from riding my (new to me) bianchi sport sx that i have searched for for like 6 months and finally found in my size

I wouldnt be opposed to hunting out another wheelset but would rather not put the addional $ into those until i know the bike is 100% what i want in terms of a long term ride.

Retro Grouch 

I take the approach that a spacer is just a spacer. It's nice to use real axle spacers if you can find the right width but I'll substitute anything that will do the job.

Two things to consider:
1. You want to keep the over locknut dimension the same as it was previously.
2. You want to adjust both sides evenly so you don't affect the dish of your wheel.

Good luck.

cny-bikeman

It's a bit more complicated than that, actually. You mention the wheels separately, implying they may not be used with the original bicycle. You need to consider three things: The total dimension from locknut to locknut, the right side dimension and the chainline.

The width over the locknuts should match the rear dropout width of whatever bike with which you intend to use the wheels. The right side dimension needs to be such that there is sufficient room for the chain when on the small cog. Finally you need to adjust for the chainline to match the chainwheels. Chainline is the distance from the center line of the bicycle frame to the center line of the rear cog or front chainwheel. To understand chainline and how to adjust it, see Sheldon's site: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/chainline.html.

After you have insured you have the correct setup is when you check and adjust the dish as needed.

scale

nope...wheels will be going back on the original bike just as they are now. The only problem im having is finding the correct cones.

cny-bikeman

Well, that makes things much simpler. The distance to the locknut on the right side just needs to be the same as before. You will have to reassemble with the old parts temporarily to get the correct measurement.

Also - "I have some that look to be about the right bearing face" To determine whether the replacement cone is correct, measure the diameter on the old cone where the bearings were running with vernier calipers and then place the calipers on the bearing surface of the new cone. The calipers should rest near the center of the bearing surface, and the cylindrical portion should be the same or only slightly smaller than the original. If much smaller you would have to find different dust caps or some method to seal the hub, and if larger you would need larger interior diameter dust caps - neither is an easy fix.

mrrabbit 

For a vintage/true/classic 6/7 speed rear hub:

Center of Drive Flange to Outside of Drive Locknut = 43.00mm

Add what is needed on non-drive side to finish with 126mm from outside of left locknut to outside of drive locknut.



For old and new generic 7 Road speed rear hub:

Center of Drive Flange to Outside of Drive Locknut = 45.00mm

Add what is needed on non-drive side to finish with 126mm or 130mm from outside of left locknut to outside of drive locknut.



For today's generic 7 speed MTB rear hubs:

Center of Drive Flange to Outside of Drive Locknut = 47.00mm

Add what is needed on non-drive side to finish with 135mm from outside of left locknut to outside of drive locknut.



For today's 8/9 speed Cassette rear hubs:

Center of Drive Flange to Outside of Drive Locknut = 48.00mm

Add what is needed on non-drive side to finish with 130mm or 135mm from outside of left locknut to outside of drive locknut.


=8-)

cny-bikeman

The above are good guidelines, but there's no substitute for the actual measurements.

scale

on both outsides of my locknuts i had 5 thread showing. That was going to be my guidelines for my spacer setup once i have the cones on the axle. I think the cones i ended up getting that were longer were Joytech cones. Ill measure them tonight. I know the large spacer on my drive size was aluminum and much too big if i use the new cones. I might have to find another bike shop locally that has a stash of spacers. It sounds like it is going to be trial and error to get them correctly spaced.

mrrabbit 

This is easier than you think it is...

Just get the drive side done CORRECTLY first....

...once you nail that you throw everything else on the non-drive side...and do all the fudging you need to do to get it as close as is possible to the correct 126mm width..if you end up with with 125.5mm or 126.5mm...that's okay.

As already mentioned - you'll need to check the dish afterward.

=8-)

cny-bikeman

You should have the same amount of axle showing (because that means the same over locknut distance) but you can't use that alone. Measure the distance from the face of the hub to the locknut outer face with the old setup, install the new cones on the axle, and then install the tabbed lockwasher and locknut so you have the same axle exposure on the end as before. whatever space is left is the amount of spacer you need. You can use axle nuts as spacers, also.

Any spacer that is large enough to fit over the axle and small enough diameter to clear the freewheel will do. If you do it properly you should have exactly the same dish as before.

scale

This was my exact hope. I have my drive side still lock nutted into the original spot with original cone and all. If i lay everything out starting with new cone. and work outward getting my washers and spacers to exactly match the length of what is currently there...my hope is that the dish wouldnt be affected.

Maybe ill just pile like 6 locknuts or whatever it takes a call it good I wasnt sure if you had to use spacers or if any old hollow device or nut could act as a proper spacer.

ill probably still hit a few bike shops to try and find some spacers but in a pinch....hell...ill just use more locknuts.

im hitting another lbs on the way home tonight. Hopefully i find what i need.

cny-bikeman

Just realized one possible hitch - if the left side cone is deeper and there was no spacer you would not be able to have the same spacing on that side. If that becomes an issue try 1st to see if you can get a smaller locknut, then see if you can rob any space from the right side - but you can't move very far due to chainline. You can also in a pinch (no pun intended) spread the drops when putting the wheel in, or even reset them outward slightly.

As you are learning the amount of interdependent parts and systems in a bike make many "simple" repairs much more complicated than one might assume.

reptilezs

just grind the new cones shorter

scale

thought about doing that but ill loose the flats and have no place for my wrench

reptilezs

put on some new flats with a file

joejack951

Very likely a bad idea. Those cones are going to be case hardened and will not file easily. Once you do finally make your way through the case hardened steel, you'll be left with much softer steel which won't hold up nearly as well to having a cone wrench torque on it's edges. Not to mention the difficulty in accurately filing parallel flats at the right width.

If you are going to grind anything, grind the original spacer down. If you ruin it, any LBS should be able to hook you up with some new spacers to get the hub set up properly again. Or buy some once you figure out what you need: https://www.niagaracycle.com/advanced...ds=axle+spacer