Hot answers tagged hub
12
A lot depends on the rider and what you mean by efficiency.
It is easy to keep a hub gear running well for years, but an unmaintained derailleur will become inefficient very quickly. A hub gear allows the chain to be fully enclosed, for all but the most dedicated cyclist; an enclosed chain will be more efficient as it will be cleaner and better oiled.
An ...
11
If you're going to be respacing, I'd suggest an alternative method from sheldon's 2x4 method. Use a threaded rod with washers and nuts. It's far more controlled and easier to keep your frame aligned, plus you can keep it in the stand as you work.
See here
If you need to adjust the dropout alignment, you can adjust thusly
9
It depends on the model you get, but the efficiency is generally comparable. Derailleurs that are in really good condition and properly lubed will be more efficient, but marginally, and will often be less efficient due to real world conditions.
At least that's what the wiki says:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hub_gear
I have one road bike with a 3x9 ...
9
Benzo and Glenn Gervais are right on, but I thought I'd include a photo for any visual learners. This is a typical fixed/free, high flange rear hub. Quite often they're available in 120mm and 130mm OLD to fit different width dropouts. These hubs generally have solid axles without quick releases to prevent the hub from slipping and slackening your chain.
...
8
For the bearings you do need the tools. The hub is advertised as a tool-free maintenance hub, but that's only for light work. Check this post out on bikeradar.com:
I recently e-mailed DT-Swiss on this
topic and here's the conversation -
Me - "This one has been mentioned by a
couple of people - you advertise a "No
tool concept" and a "No tool
...
7
This can be done two ways:
Easy way: Purchase a new 700c wheel with coaster brake hub from your Local Bike Shop or the internet. It may be hard to find this as it is not a particularly popular option, but it's not uncommon to find one at a well-appointed bike shop.
Hard way: Purchase a new coaster brake hub, and rebuild your existing rear wheel (or have it ...
7
That particular Shimano freehub can be disassembled, but it is quite a job to get it back together afterward. There are around 80 2mm bearings in two different locations in the freehub, and a skilled and practiced mechanic has roughly a 60% chance of opening without losing parts, and successfully getting it back together.
The good news is, there is a tool ...
6
This is a very subjective opinion. A standard like "change your oil every 3000 miles" doesn't exist as far as I know, although here is a suggested one.
I ride about 3,000-4,000 miles a year and my rule of thumb is to do the hubs every 300 - 500 miles or so, and the bottom bracket twice a year. Works out to a hub overhaul about every other month. Both of ...
6
The NuVinci system is fantastic in principle and one day all bikes might come with it, but we aren't there yet. As the system stands there are a few matters that might not make it the answer to your prayers of an easier time going up hills:
For hilly terrain you need gears - it goes without saying. The steeper the hills the bigger range of gears - going up ...
6
For a standard loose-bearing hub, to grease it you disassemble it, wash the components in solvent, and then reassemble with new grease. You may want to take this opportunity to replace the individual balls in the assembly.
As to how often you may need to do this, it's a little bit of a wild guess. I aim for (very roughly) every 10K miles, but a lot ...
6
The best suggestion I can make is to read "The Art of Wheelbuilding, by Gerd Schraner".
As for materials:
Use aluminum, double walled rims. They are stronger, lighter, and believe it or not easier for a new wheel builder to get true and round than steel rims will be.
In addition, steel rims for a road bike will be difficult to come by in new condition.
...
6
You likely tightened the cones too tight. Read up on the proper procedure for cone adjustment and be sure to grease it up well.
http://sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html
OR
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/hub-overhaul-and-adjustment
6
If you're saying that, off the body, the sprockets move slightly relative to each other, that's not a problem. The sprockets are only just "tacked" together so that they remain in the right order and orientation while off the body. The body provides the strength to hold them.
If, on the other hand, you notice that the sprockets slide up and down the body ...
6
You need a freewheel removal tool.
That looks to me like it will take an FR6, but you should measure first if you're planning on buying. Although, this will likely be the only time you ever use it unless you open a bike shop.
Your local bike shop will almost certainly have one of these and be able to whip it off it no time. They might not even charge for ...
5
A spacer to convert an 8/9 speed freehub to 7 speed freehub goes behind the cassette, between the hub shell and the cassette. Most cassette lock rings will not bind on the spacer, they will go inside it if you place it on the outside.
In addition, the aluminum used in most cassette spacers is too soft, and would compress under direct compression from the ...
5
Looking at the spec of your bike it says the BB is a cartridge unit. This probably isn't serviceable -- it's designed to be replaced when worn out, so just keep riding it until it grinds or gets excessively sloppy.
The hubs might be serviceable. If you ride a lot in nasty conditions, or you're aggressive with the degreaser you might want to service them. ...
5
Daniel summed up the first half of your question pretty well. For the second half, start by visiting this link to learn how to adjust the hub. When you go to inspect the bike try what you've learned first. If the shift lever is obviously sticky it may just need new cable and housing. Other than that, it's hard to tell. Internally geared hubs typically aren't ...
5
Cone nuts have lock nuts. The lock nuts (in an ideal world) prevent any motion.
And, as you observe, precession in either direction is bad on wheel bearings, so there's no real point in preferring self-tightening or self-loosening.
(In fact, having both the same direction means that any slight "creep" in one will tend to be canceled by the "creep" in the ...
5
If you have a singlespeed, you may already have a flip flop hub. A flip flop hub has threads on both sides of the wheel. Typically there is a side for a freewheel and a side for a fixed gear. Take a look at the rear hub opposite the freewheel and chain.
The fixed gear side will have two tiers of threads, one larger diameter section for a fixed cog and a ...
5
It does appear a bit off. Looks like there is some extra resistance present somewhere in your drivetrain.
Check your chain tension. If it's too tight, that could be adding resistance.
You could also remove the chain from the fixed cog and spin the wheel to see if the resistance is coming from the hub.
4
In 2001, Kyle and Berto published a comparison of the mechanical efficiency of several configurations of derailleur and internally-geared hubs in Human Power, which you can find here. Among the systems tested were a Shimano MTB derailleur system, a Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub, the Shimano 7-speed Nexus hub, and the 14-speed Rohloff hub. MTB derailleur systems ...
4
At 7 miles a day on road riding, assuming you have well sealed hubs and bottom brackets I would expect you to be able to go well over a year before having to grease and repack.
A lot depends on the space you have and if you are happy to do the work your self – if you have a warm dry workshop then you may decide that doing maintenance more often is a good ...
4
Yes, you can. You just need to get the right size of loose ceramic ball bearings as that's what shimano wheels use. They are available from various vendors, like here for instance.
You didn't ask this, but I'll answer it for you anyway: would I recommend replacing the bearings on a pair of WH-R550's with ceramic bearings? No, and neither would many others. ...
4
Another book recommendation: The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt. He covers a lot of engineering detail (forces acting on wheel components, failure modes, etc) but also includes practical step-by-step instructions for wheel assembly.
4
Phil Wood Hubs rarely have issues. If it is the pawls that are the problem, a rebuild kit will be enough. They are replaceable parts. They are the "teeth" that the freehub use to drive the hub shell (and the rest of your wheel) forward.
Let them try a rebuild. You won't lose anything by it, and it will be faster than an RMA. But if you continue to have ...
4
No, with either the 8 or 11 speed Alfine hub, there is no possibility of using it on a 120mm frame. The hub shell itself is about 120mm wide, without the cable carriers for shifting, or any spacers at all.
If, as it appears from your 120mm reference, you are considering a fixed gear frame with that spacing, then you should reconsider. 120mm spaced dropouts ...
4
Yes - if you change to a 15mm or 20mm though axle, you will need a new hub to suit. Keep in mind that bike carries that you remove the front wheel and use the QR will be not be useable as well.
Apparently the benefits of the though axle out-weigh the disadvantages of incompatible parts etc. However I would think hard before "upgrading" away from QR and ...
4
Flip-Flop hubs have freewheel thread on one side, fixed-gear threading on the other side. Many SS bicycles come with this sort of wheel, if you have a sprocket on both sides of your hub, you already have a flip-flop hub/wheel.
If you only have a single sprocket (and it is a fixed gear hub, see note below), you can purchase a fixed sprocket and replace the ...
4
As you suspected, you may not run a 7 speed free hub with a 9 speed hub shell. You will need a new 9 speed free hub, and continue to use the spacer ass you have been.
Hubs are not generically sized. Each model is sized for the number of gears it is expected to work with. Replacing the freehub will mess with your dropout spacing, or the position of the ...
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