Can you safely convert a 126/130 hub to 135?

191 views
Skip to first unread message

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 27, 2020, 1:22:52 PM7/27/20
to RBW Owners Bunch
I believe the answer is yes but I want to make sure.  Also, what needs to be done in addition to spacers!

Thanks

Garth

unread,
Jul 27, 2020, 4:58:54 PM7/27/20
to RBW Owners Bunch


  It's funny you brought that up Joel as I was going to relate my experience with my '83 Stumpjumper. Of course it came with a 126mm Specialized rear hub, but my original freewheel needed replaced so I decided to cold set the rear to 135mm and replace the original solid axle with a longer solid version with equal amount spacers added to each side. This gave me the space for the 13-28 Sachs 6sp FW. Worked just as it should of course. I wouldn't recommend a QR axle.

  I never thought twice about using bolt-on axles and all since that's what the Stumpjumper came with. Carry a suitable wrench in the tool bag of course. I don't ever recall getting a flat tire on that bike in all those years though !

  I believe I used the 10x1 174 solid axle. Wheels Mfg. has all the necessary parts. https://wheelsmfg.com/products/hub-parts.html

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 27, 2020, 5:07:18 PM7/27/20
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Garth, my Bleriot wheels were built up with a Superbe Pro rear hub, what could that have been, 126mm?  I measured spacers on the left side and it seems to be 5mm, so what am I not seeing? The bike was set up with a QR and I have never had a problem, it was all done in 2006 or so. I just want to wrap my head around this and of course the man that built up my tires is either retired or not with us, he was somewhat older than I am and I will be 69 is knocking at my door. I just want to make sure I get it right for the new Atlantis frame that I have a feeling is shipping sooner than I thought as Riv has a notice on their site to use email as they are all working to ship out a lot of frames.

Thanks Garth,

Joel

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/pEwGF4S1Xz0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/97a195b2-19a6-451e-94f3-75e00eae036do%40googlegroups.com.

Garth

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 4:42:52 AM7/28/20
to RBW Owners Bunch

    Joel, yes you have a spacer between the lock nut and cone on the left, but also on the right, under where the FW is placed. To lengthen the inside width of the assembly from lock nut to lock nut equidistantly, you need the longer axle(in this case solid), an extra 4.5mm of spacers added to both sides, and the bolt-on nuts. The spacer(s) need not be one solid unit, you can mix and match.  

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 8:56:13 AM7/28/20
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com

Thanks again Garth, I thought it had to be centered.  

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/pEwGF4S1Xz0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
--
~IMPORTANT~ Note to all~~ EMAIL ETIQUETTE
If you forward this email, please highlight and delete the forwarding history, which includes my email address and maybe others. It is a courtesy to me and others who may not wish to have their email addresses sent all over the world. Erasing the history helps prevent Spammers from obtaining addresses, prevents viruses from being propagated, and limits the proliferation of spam. Also, please use the “BCC” area instead of “TO” and “CC” when forwarding to several people at once.
~~Thank you~~

RichS

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 10:12:55 AM7/28/20
to RBW Owners Bunch
Joel: thank you for raising this topic. I have a 126 Campy rear hub that I’ve considered using in 130 spaced dropouts.

Garth: thank you for relating your experience and providing the Wheels Mfg. reference.

Best,
Rich in ATL

☆ Paul ☆

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 10:35:50 AM7/28/20
to RBW Owners Bunch
Joel:

I just converted an old White Industries MI5 hub from 130 to 135 so it'd fit on my Atlantis. White gave me a little end cap that I screwed in on the non-drive side. It took about 3 minutes!

Then I had to relish my wheels (or else it wasn't centered)!

☆ Paul ☆

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 10:37:03 AM7/28/20
to RBW Owners Bunch
PS: I mean "re-dish" my wheels, not "relish". Relishing my wheels would have been awkward in that the pickles and whatnot would have got stuck in the drivetrain. 

Garth

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 10:37:04 AM7/28/20
to RBW Owners Bunch

    Yes Joel, it's self-centering in that you're adding equal amount of space on both sides. If all of this had required a re-dish I'd have never done it as that is not something I'd EVER do to an already well built wheel.

   I'm assuming you are using a similar freewheel in width to the one that was there, yes ? A 7-speed ?  I'm mentioning this as nowadays with the E-bike craze I see 8,9 and 10 speed FW's all of which I'm assuming would be wider than the 7, hence there may not be enough room to clear the dropout on an assembly like this. I've never seen those mega FW's in person though to measure so I can't say for sure.

Garth

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 10:45:46 AM7/28/20
to RBW Owners Bunch

  You're welcome Rich, Wheels Mfg. is a terrific source for all sorts of small parts, they're usually the main provider for bike shops too. 



On Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 10:12:55 AM UTC-4, RichS wrote:
Joel: thank you for raising this topic. I have a 126 Campy rear hub that I’ve considered using in 130 spaced dropouts. Isn't that cool that they sell Campy 10x26 axles ?  Their axles are heat treated so they ought to be stronger than the originals. I still have a couple sets of Campy hubs that I tended to break, but that was when I weighed more and rode high pressure 25mm tires too.

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 10:53:40 AM7/28/20
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
I use 6 speeds.  I may have one 7 speed in my stash but have not been tempted to use it.  I have old (NOS) Suntour in a drawer.  I also have 1 Sachs also a 6 speed.  13-26 on the 6 speeds.  

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/pEwGF4S1Xz0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 11:05:05 AM7/28/20
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Thanks Rich.  I really am fighting doing to a freehub.  


--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/pEwGF4S1Xz0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 11:05:06 AM7/28/20
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Paul, sounds great.  I never see these hubs come up on eBay.  

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/pEwGF4S1Xz0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 11:05:31 AM7/28/20
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com

But I do see them on the Riv site.  

Garth

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 1:10:34 PM7/28/20
to RBW Owners Bunch

I know what you mean about the freehub thing, as just last year I finally decided to own rear wheel with a Deore freehub. I was and am still using Sachs 7-speed freewheels and Phil hubs. I have plenty of FW's but I wanted to try the 12-36 9-speed cassette. How is it ? Brand new they lacked much grease and were badly overtightened, but a good bunch of grease in there and proper adjustment it works perfectly, and it's quiet, just like my Sachs hubs. What I dislike of most freehubs is the noise that almost all but the Shimano and I believe the Velocity ATB hubs exhibit. Putting cards in the spokes was alright for about 1 minute as a kid, then off they went. Sheesh what was I thinking ?!! Maybe those kids that thought the noise was cool grew up and are designing the freehubs of today .... hah !  How about a "stealth" version, if you're so smart !

Here's some trivia for all us kids from back in the day .... and science fiction for all the rest !  There's a Bombastic surprise in there somewhere, when I saw it I did a double take .... "Hey I have one of those !"

Joel Stern

unread,
Jul 28, 2020, 1:28:31 PM7/28/20
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
I only did the card in the spokes one but that orange bike has a seat like my first bike, a Columbia fat tire by today's standards, or I guess we could call that a Newsboy bike, I did deliver papers on it for a friend from time to time.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/pEwGF4S1Xz0/unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/90c2fc0d-7303-411e-9dc0-c03713e4270eo%40googlegroups.com.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages