chico1st

I have just realized that using an old 3-speed hub doesn't save me any money becuase you have to buy 40h rims which arent cheap.
From velocity I can get them for 50USD + shipping to canada , combined with a practically free hub comes to say 80 CAD...plus you need washers and probably some parts for fixing.
I can buy nice rims for 20 CAD and a new 3-speed with drum brakes for 40 CAD totalling 60CAD.

Do you guys use old hubs just for the vintage aspect?

Grand Bois

That's why I ended up using a new hub.

Sixty Fiver

SA hubs are not all 40 spoke... many are 36.

The 1950's hubs are the best in quality (vintage) while the modern 3 speed does not have a dead spot / neutral which is an improvement and their quality is also very good.

clubman 

It's my experience that the majority of 3 speed hubs in Canada are 36 holes. It was an export standard adopted in the 60's by Raleigh and others. I've had dozens of them. Keep your eyes open.

MnHPVA Guy

Schwinns had 36h hubs, even the alloy shell models from the mid '50s.

cudak888 

Schwinn SA hubs are 36, many Taiwanese machines with 3-speeds are 36, Raleigh Sports after 1972 are as well.

Take care,

-Kurt

chico1st

so do you all avoid the 40h hubs? I have 3 hubs with 40h and i realized how big of a mistake this was.

Grand Bois

Find a worn out 36 hole hub for cheap and switch shells?

chico1st

yeah... i just got caught up in all of this... every time i'de get one thing i would need to got another wierdo part... and the cost just kept rising. Now I regret this foray all together.

michael k

Yes...

and with a new rim and having it laced up it ran me $65(including new spokes). Problem I'm having now is finding a matching front rim with 32 holes.

Charles Wahl

I bought a 40H AW in good condition first, then found a 36H (both steel shells) that turned out to be pristine on the interior, and just needed cleanup on the exterior. Like others have said, there are a lot of both types around.

Had intended to build the 40 into a Velocity Dyad rim, but I really didn't like the MTB shape they have, so when I found the 36H, I got a Synergy instead, which I'm much happier with (similar profile to Sun CR18). Occasionally you can find NOS tandem rims that are 40H, but then you're looking at trying to find a matching front in 32H; not easy.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

whats with all the 40 holers? 3 speed Tandems?

bikamper

Raleigh did 32 front and 40 hole rear to use the same length spokes on both wheels.

tatfiend 

It is also good engineering as the majority of the weight on a normal bike is on the rear wheel except under braking.

clubman 

Yes they did and then they didn't. I've owned several Raleigh Superbes and Sports with 36 hole wheelsets. Not all. It was an export market thing.

cudak888 

Wrong, at least for U.S. market machines: 32/40 existed until 1972, then it switched to 36/36 in 1973. This does not include the DL-1, which was 32/40 until 1972, and became 36/40 in 1973.

-Kurt

mickey85

yup. I have a Phillips with a 40 hole, an AW from another Phillips that was 32 hole, and a '73 Sports with 36/36.

Just find a Schwinn or post-1973 Nottingham built Raleigh. Or, you could go the smart way and get a Shimano from the '80's. Those you can even find on Sears/huffy/murray bikes. I like those a LOT. They're greased instead of oiled, are no maintenance, have no dead spot, and operate a lot more solidly. There's no looseness at all.

clubman 

So tell me why I'm wrong...I've owned several machines that had 36/36 wheelsets. Did I say they were pre 73? Did I say I was from the US? Whats the problem Kurt?

cudak888 

There is no problem. I was referring to the suggestion that the spoke count is exclusively related to the intended market the bikes were being sold in, which isn't factual. In the case of the U.S.-market bikes, it was little more then a design specification change.

Granted, the Canadian or English-market machines might have been different (and I'd be inclined to suspect that Canada in particular might have continued 32/40), but this doesn't apply to all.

-Kurt

Sixty Fiver

If you can't find a 36 hole hub locally send me a pm.

I'll swap a 36 for a 40 since I have quite a few 36's kicking around and at some point may need a 40 for some other restoration project.

The current rear wheel in my 54 Raleigh is a 1974 hub (which is 36 spoke) while it's stock hub is going to get laced into a 40 hole rim at some point... just need to find a set of vintage rims to go with that and the front Dynahub.

Working on vintage bikes can be quite an adventure... if I had a 40 spoke Super Champion I'd have everything I needed for my new wheelset.

wahoonc

I use whatever hubs I have on hand. CR18 rims are available in a variety of drillings. FWIW my 1972 Superbe has an OEM set of wheels that are 40/32 with a front dynohub. I have a second set of wheels being built up using CR 18 rims and they will be 36/36 because that is what my spare hubs happen to be. The new hubs do have some advantages over the old. My bride's Twenty is getting a modern version of the coaster brake 3 speed SRC-3, no neutral issues and it will stop unlike the older TCW series hubs, and cheaper to purchase than a vintage AWC.

Aaron

rhm

If you need a rim for a 40H hub, you can use a 32H rim. I know, that's not ideal, but it works fine. Skip every 5th hole in the hub. 16 of your spokes will be a little longer than you'd expect; the others will be a little shorter. I'm sure someone can calculate the correct lengths, but I can't; I just winged it when I built up a wheel like this a couple weeks ago, it was pretty easy, and looks fine.

thenomad

I picked up a Shimano 3 speed 36 hole rear hub with shifter, now I wish I had gotten a different rear hub, like a simple 1 speed coaster brake as this is just too annoying to deal with and more expensive than I thought it would be for the time being. I may try to lace it to some 36 hole 700c rims I have to make a frankenbike but I don't want to spend a whole lot more money. Yep, prebuilt nowadays is cheaper if it gives you what you want.

chico1st

damn... i didnt know i could just lace it to a 32.. that would have been great.... i thought doing stuff like that was reallllly bad though... like doesnt it make it impossible to true?

I have a wheel with crows feet ? ... a fancy pattern and the spokes are at such wierd angles that its horrible to true.

MnHPVA Guy

Nope, the fronts were 1/8" longer than the rears. And as huge as Raleigh was there would have been no savings from this. The reason was that the front wheel is more lightly loaded. The change to 36/36 was made to satisfy dealers who didn't want to stock rims in 3 drillings, 32, 40 and 36 which in the mid '70s was the de-facto standard.