36 in the front, 32 in the rear?
 

Hi All,

Looking for some opinions. A recent salvage bike me and my buddies came across had two lovely vintage hubs on it, but with 36 spokes in the front and 32 in the rear. I've never seen a front wheel with more spokes than the rear. Is it common? Is there a reason for it?

Sounds like someone just needed a wheel or two to get their bike mobile. That is not a planned combination.

That's what I thought, but the rims and the tubular tyres on both wheels match, and the fact that the two hubs are campy record, it made me think someone purposely built it that way.

It may be that the rim / hub combination was a common combination. Finding wheels built with Campy hubs was easy as they were the best you could get. The rims were probably common as well and likely to be a built on Campy hubs.

I would guess someone swapped wheels along the way somewhere. The rear wheel takes the most load and usually the most abuse, so typically it will have a higher spoke count.

Aaron :)

Tandem track bikes occasionally went that route. These are custom Doc Morten 40/36 drilled hubs from the 30's or 40's.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=201841

I had a new bike that came that way by mistake. The mfg. was a bit sheepish and sent a 32 rear right away, keep the 36 was the advisory.

My atala has 36 spokes in the front and 32 in the rear right now... I found the rear wheel at the coop and the front hub and rim in the trash. Et voila!

Once the finances are looking better, I'm building new wheels, but it rolls fine for now. I'm guessing your bike is a higher-class version of my situation.

I wanna build them up for a mid-70s Bianchi. Weight's not really an issue for me on this bike, so I was wondering if anyone else had this config. I have a 28-hole record hub too, but for some reason it's a MAJOR pain in the ass to find a 28-hole rim in Italy. The only type I can find are really expensive, really modern looking aero rims, which would look crap on the bike.

Maybe some previous owner had two bikes, one with 32's and the other with 36's. Wanting 32F and 36R, he swapped them and sold you the extra.

But I speculate.

Nah, they were on an old bike we found in the trash.

Has anyone seen a bike with 36f, 32r? Would it look stupid? As I have a 36f and a 28f, I was thinking I'd build up the 36 right away and continue my search for a 28-hole rim.

If a 36h rim is easy to come by, I say go for it as a temporary measure. It doesn't even look that funny... nobody noticed it when I posted pics of my Atala in the other thread:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/...fb55e2fec2.jpg

Maybe watch eBay and other internet resources for a vintage 28-hole rim that would ship to you? Then you'd eventually have 28-front 32-rear, but you'd be able to ride until then. At that point selling the 36h wheel could even recoup the cost of the 28h rim and spokes.

You are wise, MrEss. And that bike is gorgeous! I hadn't even thought about selling the 36 wheel when I get a 28*. That's a great idea.

*I have hoarding issues.

This forum is a support-group of sorts... but we usually support further hoarding. ;-)

It's always nice to talk to people who can empathise.

In hoarding news, I just bought a brand new San Marco Rolls for 20 bucks in the LBS. Do I need it? No. Does knowing I have it for when I do need it make me happy? Yes. ;)