Potential High Flange Hub Failure?
11-04-10, 07:30 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 185
Bikes: 4
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 9 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Potential High Flange Hub Failure?
As my obsession with French high flange hubs continues I’ve acquired a front Normandy Luxe Competition with a slight wobble in one of the flanges. The run-out is a little less than 1/16 of an inch, noticeable when spun while mounted in the vise but not too terrible. Otherwise the cones, axle, and spoke holes look great- no signs of other damage. Is this too much? Am I dancing with the devil if I lace it up this winter? I've heard of Campagnolo hub failures but nothing regarding Normadies.
11-04-10, 07:49 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 11,138
Bikes: 1986 Alan Record Carbonio, 1985 Vitus Plus Carbone 7, 1984 Peugeot PSV, 1972 Line Seeker, 1986(est.) Medici Aerodynamic (Project), 1985(est.) Peugeot PY10FC
Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 150 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 31 Times
in
26 Posts
I wonder if the hub was dropped and landed on that flange, bending it slightly. I don't think that there's any accepted runout of that much on cast (or forged?) hubs that will be acceptable for most hub makers, but I guess we'll never know with the French back then.....
Chombi
Chombi
Last edited by Chombi; 11-04-10 at 11:31 PM.
11-04-10, 09:22 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2008
Location: SoCal
Posts: 1,246
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
clamp the naked hub in an old fork, clamp the fork in a vice and get a dial indicator, and be carefully straighten it
11-05-10, 08:38 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,770
Bikes: Cinelli, Paramount, Raleigh, Carlton, Zeus, Gemniani, Frejus, Legnano, Pinarello, Falcon
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 5 Times
in
5 Posts
Keep in mind aluminum doesn't like to be bent twice!
11-05-10, 08:51 AM
#5
multimodal commuter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: NJ, NYC, LI
Posts: 19,845
Bikes: 1940s Fothergill, 1959 Allegro Special, 1963? Claud Butler Olympic Sprint, Lambert 'Clubman', 1974 Fuji "the Ace", 1976 Holdsworth 650b conversion rando bike, 1983 Trek 720 tourer, 1984 Counterpoint Opus II, 1993 Basso Gap, 2010 Downtube 8h, and...
Mentioned: 572 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1902 Post(s)
Liked 548 Times
in
326 Posts
I think I'd just lace it up and see what happens. A slight bend in the flange isn't going to make it impossible to build a true wheel, and you'll only weaken it further by bending it back and forth trying to get it perfect. You might want to build it with extra crosses... four, even five or more.
11-05-10, 08:53 AM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Tampa, Florida
Posts: 14,100
Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 413 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 100 Times
in
73 Posts
Back in the day I had a hub (Nashbar branded) with varaible run out. As I increased spoke tension the entire hub shell would shift out of alignment.
11-05-10, 10:45 AM
#7
rain dog
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Northern PA
Posts: 823
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 16 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 8 Times
in
6 Posts
Meant to post this in a separate thread but just saw that this one popped up. I was having trouble adjusting my rear derailleur to reliably get my chain to the highest gear. Seemed like it was either always too short and it would rattle something fierce without making it or it would just be a little too far and throw it off the inside. I got so frustrated that I pulled the freewheel off, getting ready to throw a dork disk on as a last resort when I saw this 
When I looked at it from the back (no pic) the flange looks pretty bent in parts but I don't know if the bend caused the breakage or vice versa. This was an old sunshine hub from around 79/80. Kinda bummed, now I'm on the hunt for a new rearwheel or a new wheelset to use.
When I looked at it from the back (no pic) the flange looks pretty bent in parts but I don't know if the bend caused the breakage or vice versa. This was an old sunshine hub from around 79/80. Kinda bummed, now I'm on the hunt for a new rearwheel or a new wheelset to use.
