Would there any be problem with removing the spokes and hub from this wheel https://cgi.ebay.com/Front-Road-Bike-...#ht_1301wt_932 and replacing the hub with a rear wheel 32 spoke hub that has a freewheel on it? I would buy just the rim itself (https://cgi.ebay.com/Mavic-CXP-22-700...ht_6226wt_1208) but that one doesn't have free shipping on it and would end up being more expensive than the laced up one. Any thoughts appreciated, thanks.

it's more than "removing the spokes and hub and replacing the hub." you'd probably need new spokes, and you'd need to pay a wheelbuilder to build the wheel for you. A good wheelbuilder tends to charge between $30 and $50 for a build. Spokes are about a buck a pop. You'll need 32 of them. Do the math, see if that adds up to the ten bucks you'll save.

Well I'd just be spending less in the end I suppose if I bought the built up one. The built up one is $50. $62 including shipping for the other one that's not built up. I could always sell the spokes (if I couldn't reuse them for putting the new hub on) and hub that I take off of the built one. I was just wondering, without cost being a matter, if I would be able to use a rim that's already built up as a front wheel to strip and use as a rear wheel. I assumed this would be okay, but I just wanted to make sure.

Good luck selling used spokes.

I meant the spokes that would be taken off of the brand new wheel.

that's a great price with free shipping! yes, you can take the rim and use it for a rear wheel build.

Thanks for the straightforward answer, that's exactly what I wanted to know.

Horrendous idea from what I can tell of your description. Once a spoke is put into a wheel it's "done". It is used and not re-sellable in any way.

hold on - taking the time to try to figure out what it is that you are actually trying to do. ...

.....that one that's built...the hub is a cheap, cheap hub. There are a TON of "pre-built" CXP-22 rear wheel options available through your local shop. They can get them very inexpensively from places like QBP and J&B. Even with a shop markup you will still end up saving money.

In the future too it might be easier to just state what it is you are wanting in the first sentence: "I am trying to get a rear wheel with a CXP-22 rim. I found this .....which I can covert to a rear by doing...... or this........"

If what you want is an inexpensive rear wheel - there are a ton of options available to you.

The rear rim on my 1989 Trek cracked and I wanted to replace it. The rear rim had a 126mm 7 speed freewheel hub on it. The bike is indexed shifting for the rear. I was told that I would have problems even switching to a 7 speed cassette because the spacing in between the actual gears is different -even when going from a 7 speed freewheel to a 7 speed cassette. Therefore, to keep things "easy", I wanted to use my current hub and put it on a different wheel. The rim that is already built up is cheaper than the non built one which is why I asked If I could strip it down and use it for a rear wheel build. I suppose I'll call around the LBS's and ask them what they could do.

Ah...now it makes sense.

1. You can spread a 126 out to 130. I did it for 10 years or so. If the frame is steel you can get it cold set at any shop that has been around for more than 5 years. if aluminum you should be fine spreading it each time,
2. You can put a spacer on an 8/9/10 freehub body to allow you to use a 7spd cassette. Read up on it here. "The wider 8/9/10-speed freehub body requires a 4.5 mm spacer behind a 7-speed cassette. You might as well stay with the larger number of sprockets if the hub already has this freehub body."
You can get the spacer or you can run your 7's in friction mode and run an 8 or 9 spd cassette....or pick up cheap 8 or 9 spd shift levers and you now have an 8 or 9 spd system.
3. all you need is the rim and requisite spokes if you want to actually move your 7spd hub. Sure buying that front would allow you to take it and cut out the front hub and just utilize the rim. May be cheaper than just buying the rim, but who is going to build it? Personally I seldom have a problem with using other people's parts, but most shops won't want to do it or could end up charging you more in the end.

So - focus on what you want to achieve - you want a new wheel. Question is how to get it working in an old frame and 7spd system. I would buy a cheap prebuilt catalog wheel from a local shop, get the 4.5mm spacer and install your current cassette. It will be the cheapest option.

....actually I lied about what i would do. i would use that as an excuse to go get a whole new bike and setup. ....but I am like that.

Thanks for the advice. I want to try to stay away from a really cheap wheelset. I do a moderate amount of riding on some rough areas and want a good wheel, at least on the back. I would use it as an excuse to buy a new bike if I wasn't a extrememly poor college student - haha.

You have to forgive my frame of reference. What I mean by that is something like an Ultegra laced into a CXP22 using DT spokes. They can order wheels like that very easily already built for them through the big catalogs. Tha kind of set would last a long time and be a quality set, but it wouldn't break the bank of most college student riders. That's what I meant by cheap/rather inexpensive.

The best way to get a budget but reliable wheel is to get one of the prebuilt ones and have a decent wheel guy properly tension it. The quality of the build, particularly the tensioning is way more important than the parts that go into it.

Oh, sorry. I saw the title of the thread, Hub Swapping.. thought this thread was about something else.