tjm wrote:Thanks guys, some very useful comments.
Both Spa and Mercian have websites so I can get their contact info there. I might talk to them about the refurb options.
At the moment I am leaning towards resetting the frame to 135 for a few reasons
1) I am thinking of going to a single front chainring for simplicity etc so a 7/8/9 speed rear block could be a useful improvement.
2) The newer cassette type axles have a much better bearing location than the old freewheel hubs. Given that I managed to break the old axle and this bike will be used as much (or more) off road than on tarmac (dirt tracks, canal footpaths etc) then I think extra strength would be useful. At 135 I can use a MTB hub.
3) I've trued wheels plenty of times but never built one. I fancy the challange of rebuilding the wheel. How hard can it be :wink: :lol:
tjm :
Ah, yes, the bearing locations on the current freehub-type-hubs are certainly a boon and I have never had a spindle on such a hub bend or break. However, whilst spindles on screw-on hubs are known to break from time to time, it doesn’t happen all the time, and I know and can live the risk, and for wheels on a hack/work bike, especially in winter, I still go for screw-on hubs. I have recently re-furbed the hub which most recently broke its spindle with a new spindle from Spa, (and new cups, balls and cones from Mercian) and it is currently with the wheelbuilder going into new rims.
The thing about the free-hub types is that the cassette (sprocket block) is changed when the sprockets/chain wear out, leaving the freewheel mechanism on the hub. In the winter season and other times of bad weather, you get water, salt and other indescribable crud into bearings and mechanisms, which shortens their life and ultimately destroys them.
On a screw-on hub, you renew the freewheel mechanism every time you change the block/chain, because it’s part of the block. On a freehub, unless you also change the freewheel mechanism when you change the block (which defeats part of the object and purpose of the freehub), then during winter you’re setting sail with a crud-encrusted mechanism that’s already done the lifespan of a block and chain – i.e. it’s an old mechanism. It is also expensive, because a cassette block generally costs at least as much as a freewheel block, and a freehub freewheel mechanism costs almost as much as a freewheel block. In good weather, rolling unattacked by the salt, grime, crud and other unmentionables that leap up from the road, a freehub freewheel mechanism has many miles in it – ask around, you’ll find that it will outlive several cassette blocks, but in winter, it’s open doors to nature’s anti-cycling products.
In winter (and the wet days of spring and autumn), I will stick with the screw-ons as long as they’re available.
Screw-on freewheels don't come with the number and size-range of sprockets, and so with a single chain-ring your range of gears is more limited with a screw-on, but I've done this many-a-year, and so long as you've got the low gears you need, you can get along ok with a limited top gear, especially in bad weather. If you're commuting, you're on the same route day after day, and you would select the bottom gear to your known necessity - this may be actually a bit higher than if you were gearing ip for any eventuality. It's not long since many, if not most, serious cyclists were riding single speed fixed in winter, so it's not an impossible concept.
Keep cycling Toby,
JohnW.
idea is to get the frame cold set to 132 so it will fit both. It's generally considered good practice not to cold set a frame twice, so at least it's "cake and eat it" with 132.
