schnee

I have a set of IRO hubs that are black. I changed my mind, I now want them in silver. That basically means tearing apart my wheels and taking the hubs down to the local polisher and anodizer shops (strip, polish, re-anodize). I already did this with my Miche seatpost and it looks pimp.

Has anyone taken them apart? How hard is it, and does it require special tools? When I'm done, can I re-use my old spokes, or is it time to give 'em up for toast and get different ones to re-build the wheel?

Oh yeah, is this even advisable? Any weird problems I'll cause? Thanks...

deathhare

It would be cheaper to buy new silver IRO hubs and just sell the black ones.

BC Dub

I suppose this depends on what type of rims you've got... needing an "upgrade"?

LóFarkas

It's doable and you can reuse your spokes, if you can sort them into 4 groups and relace them the same way they were. Tools needed: Lockring wrench, spoke wrench, wheelbuilding knowledge, tyre lever, patience.
I still say don't do it unless you enjoy doing bike mechanics. Sell the wheels and buy new ones if you really want shiny hubs.

mihlbach

The title of you thread is about disassembling a "cog". But your question is about disassembling a wheel. I don't mean to offend, but your confusion, not to mention your very nieve questions about wheel dissasembly, indicates to me that you lack the experience to rebuild your wheel safely. If you really want to disassemble your wheels and properly rebuild them you are going to need to spend even more money on a wheelbuilding book, tensiometer, truing stand, spoke prep, and spoke wrenches. Moreover, it would be wise to dig up and old wheel that you could use for practice. And its going to take some time, probably days, to read, practice, and rebuild your wheels. Don't attempt to rebuild your first set of wheels without the right equipment (especially a tensiometer). that would be like working in the dark, and you will end up with poorly built wheels. It simply isn't worth it if your only motivation is to change the color of your budget hubs. You are much better off just getting new wheels and selling your old ones...or better yet just ride what you have and stop nitpicking about how it looks. No one really cares...trust me.

BostonFixed

I'll go a step farther and just say to buy new wheels from iro with silver hubs raher than replacing just the sliver hubs..use your black hubbed wheelset as a spare, build a beater, or trade/sell it.

deathhare

agreed.
Disassembling the wheels to have a set of average hubs polished is rather ridiculous. Do like BostonFixed said then youll have zero down time as well.

LóFarkas

Damn, this forum is redundant then

schnee

No, this forum not allowing you to edit the post title sucks, especially when you post late when you're falling asleep.

I never mentioned doing it myself. I would pay my LBS.

Sounds like the 'sell/replace' is the way to go, but that's not cheap.

Thanks for the advice.

LóFarkas

Oh, going to the LBS is definitely pointless. I'm pretty sure they'd charge you more than $50 apiece for disassembly and lacing... then add the polishing fee and you've spent more than the price of new hubs already.
Get new complete wheels and sell the old ones or keep them as spares.