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cheap non hub replacement options?

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cheap non hub replacement options?

Old 09-22-07, 02:14 AM
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cheap non hub replacement options?

I am new to thins whole thing, but have a cannondale that has a mavic rear wheel with a shimano hub and cassette. I removed the cassette and the wheel is dished. I was wondering if there is a cheep fix to extending the hub to allow for a freewheel in line with the chain. The only options i know so far is to redish the wheel or buy a new wheelset. I am looking for an $8 solution to a $100 problem. Please help. I will spend money to perfect later but now i am desirous of the single speed road. Give me options
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Old 09-22-07, 02:26 AM
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This is a $20 single speed spacer and cog kit solution to your problem. This isn't a fixed rear wheel right? With the spacers you can move the single speed cog anywhere on your freehub to line up with your crankset up front.

Redishing your wheel will almost definitley not be necessary.

I removed the cassette and the wheel is dished.
This is ambiguous. Wheels with gears on it are always dished.
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Old 09-22-07, 04:08 AM
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does your c-dale have a vertical rear dropout ?
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Old 09-22-07, 07:01 AM
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Originally Posted by operator

This is ambiguous. Wheels with gears on it are always dished.

Actually all wheels are dished. Ones with gears are just dished more to one side.
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Old 09-22-07, 08:25 AM
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If it's single speed (not fixed) you're going to want to leave the derailleur on there, but restricted to where the cog is, so as to take up chain slack. That is, unless you have horizontal dropouts, but it doesn't sound like you do. You can also get a cheap single-speed chain tensioner that's slightly more elegant and lightweight, but that's another.. $20 or something. Do not use this if you're going to go fixed, it can be done, but it's inelegant and probably dangerous.
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Old 09-22-07, 08:34 AM
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Originally Posted by .Cole
Actually all wheels are dished. Ones with gears are just dished more to one side.
Incorrect, I was making the distinction for the OP'S benefit. Front wheels may not have any dish. Thanks for playing.

Originally Posted by Boss Moniker
If it's single speed (not fixed) you're going to want to leave the derailleur on there, but restricted to where the cog is, so as to take up chain slack. That is, unless you have horizontal dropouts, but it doesn't sound like you do. You can also get a cheap single-speed chain tensioner that's slightly more elegant and lightweight, but that's another.. $20 or something. Do not use this if you're going to go fixed, it can be done, but it's inelegant and probably dangerous.
+1 Missed the part with vert dropouts + needing tensioner.
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Old 09-22-07, 12:50 PM
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If you want to be really cheap, you can also collect a bunch of trashed cassettes, break the pins that hold them together, and harvest the spacers (you will need two or three to get enough). Get a SS cog (or cog from a separated cassette that's not too chewed up) of the size you want, arrange the spacers and cog on the freehub body so the cog is in line with the crank, lock down the lockring and you're ready to go.

As long as you don't have vertical dropouts, that is...
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Old 09-22-07, 01:23 PM
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Start here: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/singlespeed.html

Originally Posted by Couldn't be more misinformed if they tried
Actually all wheels are dished. Ones with gears are just dished more to one side.
If one were to consider a wheel with no dish as having an infinitesimally small amount of dish, then you're statement would be valid. Otherwise you're sadly mistaken.
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Old 09-23-07, 03:00 AM
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you are all fantastic! a little arbitrary with the whole dishing dialogue but otherwise spectacular. So i did purchase a freewheel and i have read about spacers but was not aware of how they worked. I live in portland seemingly a fixed gear mecca and non of my lbs s knew how to help. even the one that services primarily our local messengers just told me to buy new wheels. thanks bikeforum friends for being smarter than the average professional. So after reading it seems the spacers screw on to the hub and then each other until i reach the desired length at which time i put the freewheel on and then the lockring? this sounds like the perfect solution. now my dropouts are semi vertical. i have read that they will work with a little fine tuning. does anyone have advice? anyone do something similar. i would rather not use the derailler or a tensioner. must i file the dropout or use half links in my chain? how do i make the chain perfect. thanks again
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Old 09-23-07, 03:29 AM
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one more question about the spacers.
i found alot without threading. how do they stay in place? what am i missing here? what exactly do i need when it comes to spacers? im probably looking at 25-30 mm i am looking to move the freewheel over.
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Old 09-23-07, 04:28 AM
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ok so i took another look and i have a thread on hub and casset 2 prong by suntour. i see how the spacers work on a non thread hub. is there anyway i can work with the thread on? can i take the cassette apart and use the body as a pseudo hub? am i sol?
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Old 09-23-07, 06:09 AM
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Spacers don't really apply for thread on (freewheel) hubs. You just thread a bmx freewheel (https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1871) on. You might get lucky and get the chainline to work right out of the box. Or you'll need to redish the wheel or adjust the postion of the chainwheel.

In the above scenario, one might use thin spacers (1-2mm) behind the freewheel to make minor adjustments to the chainline.

The "coasting" ability for a cassette is part of the hub itself (https://www.sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html)
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Old 09-23-07, 07:37 AM
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Ah, ok - ignore my previous post about the spacers, since you have a screw on freewheel. If you had a freehub (where there is a cylinder that the cassette slides onto, like this:

), what i said applies (you basically use the spacers to fill up the space where the cassette used to be, and when you tighten the lockring the tension snugs everything up).

However, what Dobber says above is correct - you're probably not going to need anything more than the bmx freewheel and redishing. Which is better in the long run, since your wheel will be more symmetrical and thus stronger.
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Old 09-23-07, 12:29 PM
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can i take the sprockets off my freewheel and then put spacers on and a sprocket on the end?
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Old 09-23-07, 01:34 PM
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No - freehubs are one piece. Basically, the freewheel (multi or one gear) contains the mechanism that allows you to coast. On the freehub pic above, the cylinder looking thing contains the coasting mechanism. So with a freewheel, the gears and the mechanism are combined - it's kind of a all-or-nothing system.
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Old 09-23-07, 01:54 PM
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thanks for the help. It looks like my only option is new wheels.
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Old 09-23-07, 02:08 PM
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Huh? No, you can put on a $10 bmx freewheel in place of your current thread-on cassette, get the wheel dished, and you should be fine. I am not following what the problem is...
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Old 09-23-07, 02:15 PM
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Originally Posted by dmg
Huh? No, you can put on a $10 bmx freewheel in place of your current thread-on cassette, get the wheel dished, and you should be fine. I am not following what the problem is...
+1
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Old 09-23-07, 09:57 PM
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i can get a used wheel for the cost of redishing. I looked into doing it myself but the spokes are to short therefore requiring new ones and complete disassembly of the wheel. then i may as well get a flip/flop wheel or even a freehub wheel with spacers and a sprocket. is that correct?
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Old 09-24-07, 08:26 AM
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If it really is a cassette hub, rather than a screw on freewheel, then you don't even need spacers. They can be improvised with a suitable diameter piece of plumbing pipe and a hacksaw.
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Old 09-24-07, 08:44 AM
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would it be possible to just post a pic of the cassette/hub/dropouts in question? that would go a long way towards clearing up a lot of the hypotheticalness.
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Old 09-25-07, 11:00 AM
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yes i will post some pics. thanks
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