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-   -   wheel advice for a cheapass please (https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/197238-wheel-advice-cheapass-please.html)

crittervision 05-19-06 07:38 PM

wheel advice for a cheapass please
 
hello,
i have an older road bike that i would like to fix. i paid very little for it and i would like to pay very little to convert it. i am wondering, supposing that my rear hub now is exactly the same size as an iro rear hub (ie spokes would be correct length already], would it be stupid to take the wheel apart and lace it back up with the new hub. the wheel is a 27". also pretend that the wheelbuilding is free. is that a dumb idea? also, is reusing old spokes a bad idea?
should i just buy a prebuilt 700c? right now i dont care about tires, i dont mind getting the seven dollar 27" ones. perhaps i would in a year?
i have postponed riding fixed because im so cheap and am having a hard time rationalizing paying 170 for a wheelset, but i also think rebuilding the wheel will be more troublesome than it sounds, even with help.
please do advise, thank you

baxtefer 05-19-06 07:41 PM

- it is highly unlikely that the hubs are the same size
- don't reuse spokes
- buy these, use a coupon, report back with your results
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

fix 05-19-06 09:30 PM

I actually built a 27" wheelset for cheaper than that Nashbar set. If you have access to Sheldon Brown (Which you should ALL the damn time) and a truing stand, it just takes time and patience.

Fix's Cheap 27" Wheel Recipe:

Combine
Sheldon Brown's Mojo
Suzue Basics/Juniors ($50-80/pair depending on what's on eBay at the moment)
Wheelsmith spokes ($15/75 from RockSolid Outdoors, check their site)
Nashbar 27" 36 hole Hole ($10/apiece, they're bulletproof
Can of bearing grease for spoke prep ($1.80/1lb can, Napa)
Flex
True
Flex
True
Ride and enjoy!

Now, you have to understand this will be the heaviest wheelset you have ever seen, but for me, it was great fun learning how to build a wheel, and I haven't had to true them since the first week I rode.

humancongereel 05-19-06 09:31 PM

170 for a wheelset could be a good deal, depending on the wheels...

however...i'm not on my computer right now, but when i am, i'll dig around for a link i have to a 27" fixed wheel. might be good, might not...i'm guessing it's the sort of thing that could basically hold you over till you can get a 700c wheelset front and back.

gorn 05-19-06 10:02 PM

People are probably going to disagree with me, but honestly a "suicide" setup might make sense. Check this article: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/wheels/

Basically, you'd use your current wheels, just redish and respace and screw a cog on there real tight (http://204.73.203.34/fisso/eng/schpignone.htm). The advantage is that you aren't putting any money into this, the disadvantage is you don't have a lockring.

What could happen without a lockring? You'd try to skid and it'd unscrew. That could be very bad, especially if you don't have brakes. But this is your intro to fixed gear so you will have brakes, and if you really just want a cheap setup to get started then you probably wouldn't mind relying on your brakes and not on your drive train.

I didn't go that route, I bought a cheap Suzue/MA3 wheel, which means that now i have a crappy wheel that I spent money on. If I went the suicide method, I probably would've decided to upgrade my wheels at some point and gotten something better, without wasting money on the Suzue.

Jerseysbest 05-19-06 10:29 PM

I was thinking of doing the same thing since I'm a serious cheapass too, usually if I can make a part for my cars or bikes instead of buying it, I will. But, I dunno why, I just broke down and bought the cheap set from nashbar ($119?), since my front got f'd up recently and my current rear hub is f'd up and I want to ride as soon as possible

crittervision 05-20-06 01:19 AM

it was not that i necessarily wanted 27s, but that my bicycle has them now, so if i were to be cheap as hell then it would require me not buying 700cs.
i believe i can handle $119.
the $170 price i [mis]quoted was the $184 wheelset from iro.
my dropouts are 126mm apart. i just want to confirm that its safe to squeeze em together a little bit to fit the 120 spacing. ohhhhh confirmation

riotboy 05-20-06 02:49 AM


Originally Posted by crittervision
my dropouts are 126mm apart. i just want to confirm that its safe to squeeze em together a little bit to fit the 120 spacing. ohhhhh confirmation



yes you have my approval

fixedpip 05-20-06 03:47 AM


Originally Posted by fix
Suzue Basics/Juniors ($50-80/pair depending on what's on eBay at the moment)

Don't see why you would go through all this work when using ****e hubs. Theres a really good reason why the Suzue Basics/Jnrs are hated on this forum: they have horrible build quality and will strip when skidding/skipping (which is really two reasons).

Use Nashbar/Formula/Ambrosia/Kogswell/IRO/On-one hubs which are about the same price with ok sealed bearings. Lots of places carry them online.

Hobartlemagne 05-20-06 06:17 AM


Originally Posted by baxtefer
- it is highly unlikely that the hubs are the same size
- don't reuse spokes
- buy these, use a coupon, report back with your results
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

So- whats so bad about reusing spokes?

fix 05-20-06 09:53 AM


Originally Posted by fixedpip
Don't see why you would go through all this work when using ****e hubs. Theres a really good reason why the Suzue Basics/Jnrs are hated on this forum: they have horrible build quality and will strip when skidding/skipping (which is really two reasons).

Use Nashbar/Formula/Ambrosia/Kogswell/IRO/On-one hubs which are about the same price with ok sealed bearings. Lots of places carry them online.

I scored a pair for 50 bucks, repacked them, and they've been fine. I'm not claiming Suzue Basics are anything more than junk, but I had fun making a wheelset that fits my bike. I'm not racing and nothing has broken, so my cheap build did the job perfectly.

mihlbach 05-20-06 07:40 PM

wanna go real cheap?..do a google search for rotafix

onetwentyeight 05-20-06 07:48 PM

ugh rotafix is ghetto. It may not have failed you yet, but I don't trust it. harris cyclery has a suzue promax to mavic open pros for 269, pretty good deal if you're willing to spend a little more, and end up with something nice

papalok 05-20-06 08:22 PM

60 pair of rims
70 72 spokes
90 pair of hubs
30 cog
10 lockring
40 wheelbuilding class
learning to build a wheel like a good caveman...priceless

mihlbach 05-20-06 08:33 PM


Originally Posted by onetwentyeight
ugh rotafix is ghetto.

Yeah I know...but the word "cheapass" is in the thread title. I think rotafix is an acceptable way to start out with fixed (use a brake), but one you learn how to skip and start thinking about brakeless, you should seriously start thinking about a legit track hub. That being said...i've never actually heard anyone relate a story of a rotafixed hub slipping. Mine hasn't slipped and I'm a big guy and I skip with it all the time.

Jerseysbest 05-20-06 09:07 PM


Originally Posted by papalok
60 pair of rims
70 72 spokes
90 pair of hubs
30 cog
10 lockring
40 wheelbuilding class
learning to build a wheel like a good caveman...priceless

Wheelbuilding class, where? Id take that

BostonFixed 05-20-06 09:09 PM

suicide method- your only out the cog, loctite, and bb lockring...extra points if you ****er the hub, cog and bb lockring up with loctite, then rotafix the cog on...3k+ miles on my bumbike hubs...no problems yet...

BostonFixed 05-20-06 09:12 PM


Originally Posted by Jerseysbest
Wheelbuilding class, where? Id take that

free: http://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

my lbs charges $75+parts for a 4 session wheelbuilding class

papalok 05-20-06 10:24 PM

http://www.bikekitchen.org/
I feel fortunate to live in a city with a resource like this. Bike Co-Ops are butchigiri fasho.

Ready to Ruck 05-21-06 08:00 AM

Hey guys, so Harris Cyclery does sell 27" fixed wheelsets for like 110$. just sayin'.


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