another wheelset bites the dust....
Posted: 5 May 2019, 3:50pm
I happened to be in an LBS this week when a young lad came in needing his (modern) road bike fettled prior to a planned 2000km trip including several alpine climbs. The cartridge bearing rear hub needed TLC (not for the first time), the transmission was worn (so a new chain and sprocket was required) and a few other small jobs were also agreed.
However the rims were also worn; it was a factory wheelset of some kind with odd rim drillings and rims that couldn't easily be sourced at a reasonable cost. Together with the rear hub problems the conclusion was 'new wheelset required'. The cost of an equivalent wheelset would have been between £200 and £300.
However if the wheelset had been different, what might the repair options have been?
a) factory wheelset, but with rims that you can buy, but needing new hub bearings and spokes, fitted by LBS; rims 2x £50, spokes ~£50, Build cost 2 x £25, hub bearings ~£40 fitted. Cost ~£240.
b) DIY repair of above ~£70 less. i.e. £170
c)DIY repair of above, but re-use old spokes ~£120 less. ie £120
d) cup and cone rear hub, 32/36 spoke wheelset, standard (posh-ish) rims, fitted by LBS. Hub rebuilt with new parts (or replaced outright) £30, rims 2x£50, spokes ~£35, build cost 2 x £25, total cost £215
e) DIY repair of above ~£50 less i.e. £165
f) DIY repair of above using old spokes £130
g) DIY repair as above but using commoditised rims costing about £20 each instead of £50 each cost ~ £70
h) DIY repair without hub replacement (hub is overhauled and adjusted instead) cost ~£40
So you can see that your 'wheelset running/repair costs' can vary by a factor of approximately x6 depending on what kit you choose to use and how you go about having the repair done. The strategy has implications for wheelset performance/ serviceability too. If you want the nth degree of performance then maybe a set of 32/36 spoke wheels isn't quite the right thing, but tbh the real (rather than imagined) performance differences are tiny; there are plenty of other things that make a much bigger difference than that. If you are going to have a wheelset problem half-way up an alp then you are surely better off with a set of conventional 32/36 spoke wheels or something.
The costs above also need to be compared with just buying an off the peg 'training wheelset' such as the base model shimano one. This is (from a repairability standpoint) only a little better than any other factory wheelset, but it has the great advantage that it only costs about £100. Only options g) and h) above are comparable/cheaper.
I'm firmly in the 'option h)' camp, unless the wheelset is actually used for racing, in which case it is unlikely ever to do enough miles to wear out. I can't remember the last time I let a hub get so bad it needed to be replaced; keeping them well lubed and adjusted means that they are effectively likely to last indefinitely.
cheers
However the rims were also worn; it was a factory wheelset of some kind with odd rim drillings and rims that couldn't easily be sourced at a reasonable cost. Together with the rear hub problems the conclusion was 'new wheelset required'. The cost of an equivalent wheelset would have been between £200 and £300.
However if the wheelset had been different, what might the repair options have been?
a) factory wheelset, but with rims that you can buy, but needing new hub bearings and spokes, fitted by LBS; rims 2x £50, spokes ~£50, Build cost 2 x £25, hub bearings ~£40 fitted. Cost ~£240.
b) DIY repair of above ~£70 less. i.e. £170
c)DIY repair of above, but re-use old spokes ~£120 less. ie £120
d) cup and cone rear hub, 32/36 spoke wheelset, standard (posh-ish) rims, fitted by LBS. Hub rebuilt with new parts (or replaced outright) £30, rims 2x£50, spokes ~£35, build cost 2 x £25, total cost £215
e) DIY repair of above ~£50 less i.e. £165
f) DIY repair of above using old spokes £130
g) DIY repair as above but using commoditised rims costing about £20 each instead of £50 each cost ~ £70
h) DIY repair without hub replacement (hub is overhauled and adjusted instead) cost ~£40
So you can see that your 'wheelset running/repair costs' can vary by a factor of approximately x6 depending on what kit you choose to use and how you go about having the repair done. The strategy has implications for wheelset performance/ serviceability too. If you want the nth degree of performance then maybe a set of 32/36 spoke wheels isn't quite the right thing, but tbh the real (rather than imagined) performance differences are tiny; there are plenty of other things that make a much bigger difference than that. If you are going to have a wheelset problem half-way up an alp then you are surely better off with a set of conventional 32/36 spoke wheels or something.
The costs above also need to be compared with just buying an off the peg 'training wheelset' such as the base model shimano one. This is (from a repairability standpoint) only a little better than any other factory wheelset, but it has the great advantage that it only costs about £100. Only options g) and h) above are comparable/cheaper.
I'm firmly in the 'option h)' camp, unless the wheelset is actually used for racing, in which case it is unlikely ever to do enough miles to wear out. I can't remember the last time I let a hub get so bad it needed to be replaced; keeping them well lubed and adjusted means that they are effectively likely to last indefinitely.
cheers
