Stupid question :P, but can you change the hubs on a bike???



Kez Deale

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Jan 15, 2004
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Hey all...

Can you change the hubs on a bike??

I am a complete noob to Bike componentry... but I am assuming that the HUBS on a bike, are the aquivalent of the Axel in a car???

Just wondering, as there is a bike I looked at on a website....

www.feltracing.com.... and the area next to "F/HUB" and "R/HUB" were empty?!?!?!?

So Thanks :D

Kez
 
Originally posted by Kez Deale
Hey all...

Can you change the hubs on a bike??

I am a complete noob to Bike componentry... but I am assuming that the HUBS on a bike, are the aquivalent of the Axel in a car???

Just wondering, as there is a bike I looked at on a website....

www.feltracing.com.... and the area next to "F/HUB" and "R/HUB" were empty?!?!?!?

So Thanks :D

Kez
Built bikes come with wheels that include hubs. In most cases hubs can be replaced by rebuilding the wheel.
 
That's pretty much how it goes. You also might want to think of a home computing analogy -- wheels and wheel components often fall into catgories not unlike laptops and desktops.

Some wheel components are like desktop PC parts -- ie, they're readily sold and distributed in standardized units that you can select and have combined with compatible parts to form a working wheel. Shimano, Campy, and a number of other parts makers sell hubs precisely for this purpose. Shops often build them to order; you can build them yourself if you like. You might ride with a guy using Mavic Open Pro rims with Shimano Ultegra or Dura Ace hubs -- that's a common training setup. Builds with Chris King, American Classic, Velocity and Campy parts are out there too. You can have these parts interchanged, if you want, but like boudreaux said, doing so is taking the wheel apart and rebuilding it.

There's another category of wheel which is more like a laptop -- the part categories are the same, generally (rims, hubs, spokes), but they're designed, assembled, and sold as proprietary units, in complete wheel form only. These are equally popular -- Mavic Ksyriums, or Campy Eurus, or Rolf Vigors, for instance -- are of this type. Because they're designed as a unit, swapping the Ksyrium's dedictaed hub out for another is as pointlessly difficult as swapping out your laptop's video card... it won't work. If the hub breaks down, you send it to a Mavic dealer and let them figure it out.

Hope these are hopeful generalizations.
 
Thanks a hell of a lot Lokstah… for putting it into computer terms for us, makes it all bloody easy to understand now… because I like the look of the felt F-70, and if it were to come with generic hubs, I’ll upgrade them to 105 Hubs :D, and ost likely the Rims later aswell..

Thanks a bunch all, now I understand…. Tyre fits to rims, rims goto spokes, spokes to hubs, Hubs to forks :D.. (I think, give or take.. haha)… but now get it ..

Thanks a bunch all :D

Kez
 
No problem; hope that makes things easier. Looking at the Felt website, the F-70's wheels are listed as the Formula Xero XR-4 wheelset. I'm not too familiar with this piece or with the manufacturer, so some research might be required, but I know Formula as a Chinese hub company. I think they do their business almost exclusively as a direct supplier to bike manufacturers.

The Xero line is a series of wheelsets built using Formula hubs and rims from other companies, chiefly Velocity. Velocity makes solid, reliable parts; I don't know too much about Formula.

Without knowing too much about the wheel or its spoke pattern, it's hard to say what kind of hub would be an adequate replacement. It may be that the Formula hub and that particular rim consistute a spoke pattern which is incompatible with some other hubs -- like a Shimano 105 hub.

Here's the thing, though -- take boudreaux's caveat to heart. Even if this is a wheelset which a shop may be willing to disassemble and rebuild with a different hub, all told, it might not be worth it, for a couple of reasons. The Formula hub might be alright, first off. A new hub might not be a great improvement. Take labor costs into consideration, and you might just want to either leave it alone, or get a new wheel entirely. Building a wheel is kind of an event -- lacing the spokes, getting it all properly tensioned, straight and true is a big operation.

If changing up is on your mind, consider doing a little poking around for a new wheelset entirely. You could get a new wheel built up with a basic Mavic rim and a Shimano hub, or you could look into some of the nice entry-level sets from Ritchey, Velomax, or the like. Anyways, hope that helps.
 
Originally posted by Kez Deale
Thanks a hell of a lot Lokstah… for putting it into computer terms for us, makes it all bloody easy to understand now… because I like the look of the felt F-70, and if it were to come with generic hubs, I’ll upgrade them to 105 Hubs :D, and ost likely the Rims later aswell..

Thanks a bunch all, now I understand…. Tyre fits to rims, rims goto spokes, spokes to hubs, Hubs to forks :D.. (I think, give or take.. haha)… but now get it ..

Thanks a bunch all :D

Kez
You are better off just upgrading wheels or trying to get the bike shop to swap them out. Rebulding a wheel is not inexpensive and generic hubs often also equals cheap spokes and cheap heavy rims. Upgrading the rims later, after the hubs, means paying for another rebuild as well. Not the cost effective way to better wheels.
 
Hmm.... I see, well then I'll look at getting an ENTIRE wheel replacement then, with 105 Hubs..... that's if the new ones are garbage at least, or something goes wrong with them :)
 
Originally posted by Kez Deale
Hmm.... I see, well then I'll look at getting an ENTIRE wheel replacement then, with 105 Hubs..... that's if the new ones are garbage at least, or something goes wrong with them :)
If the Xeros just bug the heck out of you, which they might not, you can probably get a good Mavic or Velocity / 105 or Ultegra combo at any shop for pretty cheap. We'll just see how things unfold for you, right?

New bikes are a blast!
 
Yeah of course... I'm gunna wait and test out the bike at first... like, you dont go out and buy a new computer, and immediately upgrade a part in it if it will do the job decently now :D

Kez