Wheel question
 

I need to replace the rear wheel on my Bike Friday because the hub has too much play and cannot be repaired per my lbs. They don't have a supplier that can sell them a replacement part.
I see two options. My rear dropout is 135mm. the Kinetix comp wheel is 130mm. I can get one for around $65-$95 but I would have to squeeze my frame with the quick release and it might impact my chainline.
The other options is a new 135 wheel. 20", ISO 406mm recumbent wheel [disc or rim brakes]
As far as I can tell, this is a perfect match for my bike. I would put my 7 speed cassette on using a spacer until I wore it out, then upgrade to more speeds and change out my shifter (something I wanted to do anyway).
Both wheels give me the same upgrade potential - but I am not sure about using the 130mm wheel. Has anyone used a 130mm wheel in a 135mm dropout without a lot of gerry-rigging? Is the Kinetix wheel better than the other one for some reason? Other alternatives? thanks...

A 130 wheel in a 135 frame is a so-so thing, particularly if it's a small-wheeled bike with short chainstays. The dropouts will sit at an angle which will try to bend the axle as you clamp the wheel in place.
I'd rather get the right sized wheel, or respace the 130 to 135 - which is often doable w/o replacing the axle.

Building up around a common Hub, for spare parts , will allow a minor adjustment to the over-all width..
Axle longer add a spacer , Re Dish..

[Rohloff FWIW is 135], several others like Shimano 8 speed IGH can be adopted , and wheels Built around it Use the RD mount for a chain tensioner ..
That is what I have on my Bi Fri Llama .. IGH + chain tensioner..


Ask Bi Fri about shipping a built wheel? or call the MN shop you Listed ? Perennial Cycle Minneapolis - Perennial Cycle

and Ask..





;)

You can get a 130mm to 135mm adapter. I have never tried it but I'm guessing the wheel may need to be dished a bit.

https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Spaci.../dp/B00SMKYZAG

Don't think re-dishing would be needed. Derailer (maybe) and brake adjustment only.

Oooh...I hadn't seen this. Looks like something my middling mechanical skills can deal with. To Jur's pont, if a derailleur adjustment or brake adjustment is needed, that much I can handle.

Okay, looks like I can get the Kinetix wheel for $40 bucks new, yay! So would using this wheel spacer and then using a cassette spacer for the 7 speed move everything too much? Or does the cassette spacer not affect the wheel position in the dropout?

You'll need to redish the wheel because the rim will be off-center towards the drive side. The freehub/cassette remains in its current position, so I don't think you'll have much derailleur adjusting to do. That said, it all sounds like a big hassle for trying to get the wrong wheel in there.

Well, now I'm confused. Jur says no redishing likely, you say I will, lol. Figure a new wheel @ 135mm is $120, and the Kinetix with spacers is $60 - if the Kinetix wheel is a better quality wheel, it might be worth taking in to the lbs to set it up...????

Kinetex Dahon Wheels looks too low spoke boutique to me . also a Proprietary Hub.

I have CR 18 32 hole rims on my Bike Friday

Get a wheel built around a 32hole Shimano/Sram hub and You can always find spares ..

8 speed is the current hub cassette driver Might as well not try to buck planned obsolescence too Much..




'/,

Not sure I am the person to reply to this but on your last question about getting the $60 wheel and taking it to the LBS I would first ask the LBS what they would charge. You may end up with an "almost good" solution at the same price as the expensive wheel..

The LBS can not get the parts needed for your wheel, but is it possible for you to find it yourself on the net? Can you find a almost new wheel from somebody who want to upgrade or go IGH?

Sounds like now is the time to learn wheelbuilding, at least if there is some life left in your rim and spokes you can (after you find a solution) rebuild your old wheel and keep it as a spare.

The solution depends on how fast you need the bike to be back on the road.

So this one would work okay? I can try to find an equivalent locally as the shipping is on the high side...but are all the specifications correct for what I need? All I would need is to add the spacer for 7 to 8 speeds, right?
20", ISO 406mm recumbent wheel [disc or rim brakes]

I'm learning a lot about working on my bike - and am getting a bike stand for Xmas (weird request, I know) but wheels are something I am not quite ready to tackle. I replaced an axle on my son's mountain bike but that's the extent of my wheel knowledge. Will have to see if our community shop has any kind of wheel building classes; I'd like to learn but need some hand-holding.

There is quite a lot of info on the net and great tutorials on You-tube. Best is to practice on a wheel you do not really need, just to avoid stress and extra cost.

Yep, that'll work with the spacer behind your 7-speed cassette.

Thanks. I think that is the easiest path for now. Maybe I will pick up a wheel for cheap on craigslist to learn on, don't want to do it on the one I ride.

Can you explain to me how this works? It is just a spacer so the OLD is correct for 135 but you still need a longer axle so that some of the axle is protruding to fit into the dropouts.

135 axles are 146 mm in length, 130 are 141. That 5 mm has to come from somewhere.

Am I missing something here?

I wouldn't use a 130 to 135mm adapter. That's a workaround. I don't like workarounds when you can get a 135mm rear wheel with no workaround.

Can we go back to the original problem for a moment? Something here I don't understand. You say your hub can't be rebuilt because it has too much play, and your LBS can't get a replacement hub.

What kind of hub are we talking here? The most cost-effective option would be to keep your rim and replace the hub, and just because your LBS can't or won't get it doesn't mean they're not available. Also, exactly what size rim are we talking? 406 in what width?

The existing wheel is Sun AT 18, 406. I don't know the exact width but I have a Marathon racer tire on it. If that info is really critical, I could pull the tire and measure. I was getting a noise off the rear wheel and my lbs took the hub apart. Now see if you can follow my "technical" language here, lol, the "brown part with the slots that the cassette fits onto" apparently has too much play and is causing some clicking. He said the bearings are fine. He tried to get a replacement for the "brown thingy" but could not. He probably can get a whole new hub, but then I am looking at rebuilding the wheel. Since the rim is from 2003 and has some wear and is a 7 speed, and I would like to eventually go to more, rebuilding the existing wheel doesn't make sense in terms of cost or benefit, does it?

Your Sun AT18 has a 393 ERD, which I believe makes it a 20x1.75 rim.

In 135mm spacing, I found one with QR skewer for less than $70 with shipping:

Bicycle Wheel Rear 20x1.75 406x19 Alloy Sl 36 Alloy Cassette 8/9sp Sl 135mm Ss2.

...and if you don't mind a nutted axle, right around $52 with shipping:

Bicycle Wheel Rear 20x1.75 406x19 Alloy Black 36 Alloy Fw 5/6/7sp Black 135mm 14

Everything else being equal, I'd take the QR over the nutted, unless you never plan on removing the rear wheel in the course of folding/packing.

These are the most cost effective options I can give you if your hub can't be replaced.

Wow, that was really helpful, thank you! I saw these but honestly the description was like scrambled acronyms to me, I could not decipher it at all. I agree on the QR, flats are a pain without.

That 5/6/7 speed wheel is for a freewheel not a cassette, is it not? Probably a bad way to go?

Yes, you are correct. Fw = freewheel.

For me if I am replacing something I use I will upgrade. Don't cheap out.

Call Bike Friday or Thor and get a really nice Wheel. Tell your wife it is to just some of the gas money you have saved by riding your bike.

I am not Jur level of upgrader---he has done some cool stuff-- but you wore out your last one... you have earned an upgrade.

the bike has a cassette, not a freewheel. ThorUsa only shows wheels with 130mm OLD, not 135mm. I did check with Tim at BF, but the cost for them to build a wheel is $150+. I don't lock my wheels, don't want to have to carry an extra lock, and don't want a wheel that might look enticing to a thief. That's the nice thing about my old Sun wheels - no one is going to want to take them. If I get a "fancy" wheel, then I have to lug around a second u lock (cables mean nothing here) and stress over it. Under a hundred bucks and I'm not going to be too worried, but a pretty wheel with a high end hub is like candy to crooks.

BF charges $55 to build a wheel plus the prices of components and shipping. Danscomp.com is a better place to build custom wheels because to build a wheel and shipping will be free if you pay for parts.

My personal choices to order a custom wheelset with DT swiss 350 hubs or buy one from China. I bought a set from China with Novates D041SB/D042SB hubs which are almost as good as DW Swiss ones. Can't beat a $142 set with a nice sealed bearings hubs, double wall rims, and 32 spokes wheels.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/NOVA...9-3b5ba19e0b43