mrv 

The HUB photo
The RIM photo - I'm not sure how the rims are joined / butted together.

Got a lovely set of old wheels on an old bike I refurbed. The front hub is a bit 'grindy', and I can't find cones for replacements to smooth things out.

Here's my question: are the Mistral rims worth a nice set of new hubs? Or should I go with the Economy hubs?
- Are they durable enough for heavy touring? If these mid-80s rims are round and true, are they worth the investment of nice hubs?
I've never built a set of wheels, so this would be my first swing at it. My thinking is I'd reuse the rims and spokes, just take everything apart and re-build with whichever hubs seem like the best use of money.

The wheels would go on my commuter / tourer / gravel / coffee shop bike.

Here's the hubs I'm thinking about:
CHEAP ONES / FREEWHEEL HUB
$17 Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA
$17 Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA

NICER ONES / CASSETTE HUB (no freewheel option)
$68 Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA
$43 Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA

The Maillard hub-flange spoke hole circumference are within a mm of the spec sheet for either set of hubs. I can get an exact number if someone responds whose done this before. I know I'll have problems either way if spokes are too short or too long for the rim/hub set up.
Velocity Wheels - Hand Made in USA

eschlwc

i like that you're venturing out to build your first set of wheels. congrats. it's really not difficult, and i believe everyone that rebuilds classic bikes should build at least one set of wheels. you can use the upsidedown frameset as a stand, and just use sheldon's wheelbuilding page as your recipe.

dimensions are different between hubs, and they determine spoke length. so you can't often change hubs and merely reuse spokes. here's what i usually do:

1. use a matching vintage hubset. these can be had fairly cheaply.
2. use new rims. there's nothing like riding on new rims. it's worth the cost. a great value is the sun m13ii rim. you can get a pair delivered for around $70 usually. if you like tires fatter than 28mm, you can use a wider rim like the sun cr18.
3. calculate hub dimensions using a metric ruler or similar.
4. using an online spoke calculator (with the online published e.r.d. of the rims and your hub dimensions), calculate spoke length. you will usually have three lengths, one for the front wheel and two different lengths for each side of the rear wheel.
5. buy sapim 'race' spokes from danscomp.

eschlwc

how to measure hub dimensions: https://leonard.io/edd/howtomeasure

sheldon's wheelbuilding page: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html

oddjob2

Your photo links don't work.

mrv 

updated photos - (don't know what's going on with google's photo links. something changed and the way i did it doesn't work now)

THE HUB:

THE RIM:

mrv 

RIGHT! I'll get some detailed measurements with the hubs and the spokes. I was hoping to recycle stuff (aka "being a cheapskate"), and use this as a learning project. Which I'm willing to do at a cost of $35. But if these vintage rims are really good stuff, which I'm uncertain of, I'd be willing to spend more on the hubs: $120.
Eventually I'd like to build up a nice set of touring rims -either for this or my MTB drop bar conversion. Velocity Cliff Hangers, nicer hubs, new everything. Then I'm in to like $500. But for $35, I'm will to make some misnakes and learn from it.

Right now I'm hoping to find out if the rims are just old French 'junk', which I don't think they are, or if they are something that deserve more durable hubs.

Thanks!

Road Fan

The label on the rim says it is made in USA. I don't know the name "Mistral," but the model number M13 622 follows the same form as modern Sun rims. I'd guess they were made in the '80s by one of the companies/brands that Sun now has, since there seems to have been a lot of consolidation in the rim business world.

I'd be really surprised if your hubs have an features that limit their durability. A better point to focus on is, do they need bearings serviced or replaced, and are there any cracks in the flanges or near the spoke holes. If the bearings can be renewed and the hub shell has structural integrity, you don't need new hubs. Maillard was a decent, low-priced French product. Nothing wrong with them in general (my opinion, at least), but not a bling part.

If the rim can be tensioned and trued, it also doesn't have any key problems and does not need to be replaced, even if they were French.

I don't know if the rims can handle modern spoke tensions, which are higher than back in the day.

Do the rims have any radial or lateral hops? Are the spoke tensions even?

BradH

When I started building and fixing wheels my first projects were replacing bad hubs and rims on a few existing sets of wheels I had. I had a set of wheels from a Trek 400 with like new rims and neglected, pitted and rusted Maillard hubs. I took hub measurments and noted that they were very close to, if not exactly the same as Shimano road hubs. I disassembled the wheels taking care to keep the spokes sorted out so that they could be put back in the correct positions. It was very easy. I also went from a freewheel rear hub to a hyperglide cassette rear hub which was a bonus.

Hub measurments can be slightly different and use the same spokes. One millimeter here and there is of no significance.Unlacing a 126 hub and lacing in a 130 hub has never required different spokes every time I have done it.

I’d use these hubs for such a project. I’ve used them on a couple projects and they work just fine. Add grease and adjust tension. They have the same or very similar hub dimensions as 8/9/10 speed Shimano road hubs.

Formula 32h Road Bike Front Rear Hubs 100 130mm Shimano SRAM Compatible New | eBay