Andiroo99

Hi

My recently acquired suntour superbe rear hub is somewhere between 5 & 10mm wider than my frame is set for - which looks like approx 120mm. I managed to spring in the new hub pretty easily but I don't want to cause undue stress on frame or harm my hubs. Do I need to get it cold set or will it widen anyway now in a uniform way?

Thanks

Andy

Homebrew01

Many of us just spring it open each time we put in a wheel. No big deal in my opinion, but the correct way is to coldset.

Grand Bois

Do it yourself. Find Sheldon Brown's instructions and follow them to the letter. It might take you all of 15 minutes. I've done it many times, so it's more like five. You don't have to disassemble the bike. I do it on a piece of carpet to avoid scratching the bike on the garage floor.

Springing it open every time is a big deal, in my opinion.

Velognome 

+1 and would add, be sure to clamp the brake bridge 99% of the times nothing happens if you don't. But it would ruin your day if the joint failed because you didn't.

dddd

Since you're using a freewheel hub with what, 7 speeds(?), the axle may see enough stress to break one day.

To the extent that you get the dropousts aligned to a re-spread triangle, this stress can be reduced to a minimum, and will also reduce stress on your frame's possibly weakest link at the rear dropout attachment zone.

All of this can be done at home, but should only be attempted if you're knowledgeable and have the experience needed to bend both solid and tubular steel without doing any damage.

Andiroo99

Hi
I am fitting only a 5 speed freewheel but the hub itself is wider than the dropouts. I like the 10 gear set up on my vintage ride.

To be honest I am kind of nervous about doing what Sheldon says especially keeping everything centered.

Thanks

andy

Grand Bois

Don't be nervous. The beauty of his method is that you are adjusting one side at a time. keeping it centered requires only a sting (I use a straighedge) a ruler and knowledge of basic arithmetic. There is no skill required.

Velognome 

No spelling skills anyway...

zukahn1 

First off is the Superbe hube laced to a nice rim making nice wheel? If not I suggest you stop right now and sell or keep the hub for a different project and look for a differnent wheelset. If it is in the form of a nice wheel either spreading the frame or coldset are both fine. Also since you intend to run only a 5 speed there is the option of changing the axel and respacing dishing the wheel a little bit of work but it can be fairly easily done.

dddd

Removing 2 or 3mm from each end of the axle spacer stack (possibly by removing a single washer from each end), and then either substituting a shorter axle or cutting down the original axle, is altogether simpler and safer than messing with the frame.

I'm assuming here it's probably a 6-7-speed hub currently spaced at 126mm.

You can do a lot of different things with rear hub's axle spacers, you just need to end up with about 3-5mm of axle protruding past the outer locknuts on each end.
The locknut's gripping surface only needs to extend 3-4mm past the outer face of the smallest cog in most cases, to allow the chain to clear the frame.

I used the stock 121mm rear hub and axle from a Peugeot PX10LE as a starting point, and re-spaced the axle's over-locknut-width to 124mm to clear a 7-speed freewheel.
The resulting hub and wheel is built very strong, and still slips into the Peugeot's original 121mm dropout spacing with little difficulty.

zukahn1 

+1 great example of axel respacing, I have managed to get a 9/10 speed on my old Juenet with 123 6speed spacing basically the same way.

randyjawa 

When you spread the stays, you change the relationship of the drops to each other,rendering them non-parallel. When you install the wheel and tighten it up, this non-parallel situation places tremendous stress on the axle. So, spread to the desired width (usually no more than 5mm extra, not 10 in my opinion), set the drops parallel to one another, ensuring that they are parallel to the center line of the bike. Ensure also that the stays are properly spaced from the center line.

As you can see, it is not just pull apart, install, tighten up and go. That, eventually, will lead to failure, in my opinion.

This is how I go about setting up a rear triangle.

RobbieTunes

Clear, concise, succint, and to the point. I agree, and I've never had a problem going from 126 to 130. However, it appears you're going from 120 to 130, and in that case, Randy's advice is more prudent.

Grand Bois

Very embarrassng for a guy that tends to get all pedantic about other people's spelling.