Convert 126 mm spacng hub to 130

[Phil Zminda]

I have a NOS 126 mm Shimano Deore XT threaded rear hub that I had purchased a long time ago as a
wheel-building project for an older bike. I have a Sun CR18, 36-hole rim and double-butted spokes to
match it, but now I don't need a spare for an older bike. Is it practical to convert the hub to 130
mm with spacers and longer axle? Does the lack of a cassette and the 36-hole rim , which are so far
from modern standards, make me better off to get rid of the pieces and start a new wheel project?
Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Phil.

 

[Robert Taylor]

You don't even need a longer axle, just 4mm worth of spacers. Your hub will have 5mm to 5.5mm of
axle sticking out on each side for a total of 10mm or 11mm and you can use up 4mm of that with
additional spacers and it'll still work fine. You can put the extra 4mm worth of spacer on the non
freewheel side and reduce the dish of the wheel you build so you'll have a stronger wheel or you
could put all 4mm on the freewheel side and it might allow you to use a 7 speed freewheel rather
than a six. You could also put 2 mm on each side but I can't see much advantage in that. Though
freewheels are a little off the cutting edge there are still 6 and 7 speed ones in production
(Shimano has some especially nice ones) and 36 spoke wheels are nice and sturdy. The weight savings
of 4 fewer spokes is trivial in my opinion. So it seems to me you have all you need (except maybe
4mm worth of spacers) to build a nice wheel.

Bob Taylor

 

[Paul Kopit]

If you already have the freewheel too and don't care about whether you have a freewheel or cassette,
you already have invested all the money.

You can add spacers to the non-drive side to get to 130. Move the locknut on the drive side so that
2½ mm of axel instead of 5 mm sticks out. Put all the stuff together and ride away.

If you don't already have the freewheel, get an decent cassette hub and build a wheel with it.

On Thu, 20 Mar 2003 21:38:17 -0500, "Phil Zminda" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I have a NOS 126 mm Shimano Deore XT threaded rear hub that I had purchased a long time ago as a
>wheel-building project for an older bike. I have a Sun CR18, 36-hole rim and double-butted spokes
>to match it, but now I don't need a spare for an older bike. Is it practical to convert the hub to
>130 mm with spacers and longer axle? Does the lack of a cassette and the 36-hole rim , which are so
>far from modern standards, make me better off to get rid of the pieces and start a new wheel
>project? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Phil.

 

[A Muzi]

"Phil Zminda" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> I have a NOS 126 mm Shimano Deore XT threaded rear hub that I had
purchased
> a long time ago as a wheel-building project for an older bike. I have a
Sun
> CR18, 36-hole rim and double-butted spokes to match it, but now I don't
need
> a spare for an older bike. Is it practical to convert the hub to 130 mm
with
> spacers and longer axle? Does the lack of a cassette and the 36-hole rim , which are so far from
> modern standards, make me better off to get rid of
the
> pieces and start a new wheel project?

Yes, you could do that easily. But once you are committed to building a wheel, getting a free
modeern cassette hub from the scrap pile behind a bicycle shop is a better idea. Cassettes have
distinct qualitative advantages over freewheels, not the least of which is virtually
unbendable/unbreakable axles.

--
Andrew Muzi http://www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971

 

[M Gagnon]

"Phil Zminda" <[email protected]> a écrit :
> I have a NOS 126 mm Shimano Deore XT threaded rear hub that I had
purchased
> a long time ago as a wheel-building project for an older bike. I have a
Sun
> CR18, 36-hole rim and double-butted spokes to match it, but now I don't
need
> a spare for an older bike. Is it practical to convert the hub to 130 mm
with
> spacers and longer axle? Does the lack of a cassette and the 36-hole rim , which are so far from
> modern standards, make me better off to get rid of
the
> pieces and start a new wheel project?

36-hole rims are still manufactured in large numbers, and the relatively new Shimano Nexus dynohub
is offered with 36 holes only. So it still is _a_ standard for some time. So, all you need is a
cassette. At a shop recycling stuff, you may get a 5-speed to 7-speed cassette for $10 to $25 (CDN)
respectively, and 7-speed will work with 126-mm or 130-mm spacing.

Problems?
- The axle is weaker, but unless you weight 300 lb or ride with a heavy baby in the back seat, just
be careful on bumps (lift up your rear end) and you won't have any problems. I'm 170 lb and have
done lots of _loaded_ touring on a bike with a freewheel and have yet to break its axle. However,
on the previous bike, I snapped the axle within a few weeks. Quality?
- Freewheels will probably disappear from the market in a few years, but so might 7-speed cassettes.
Depending on how much you ride with that bike, consider that you have a great wheel while the
freewheel last (I have one that is 20 years and 50 000 km old)... or buy an extra one for spare.
- It's much harder to remove a freewheel than a cassette when you are on the road. It is a real
issue for a touring bike, but not that much for a bike used for commuting, leasure rides, etc...
IOW, where you can return to the shop to remove the freewheel if you need to change a spoke.

Regards,

Michel