130 or 135-mm hubs on a Ramb?

[Will]

Hi all. I'm building up a 64-cm Rambouillet frame, and with 132.5-mm
drop-out spacing, I'm wondering if there are any compelling reasons to
go with a 130-mm road vs. a 135-mm MTB hub. I'm particularly curious
if one width sits better and/or slides in and out of the drops more
naturally. I expect the 130-mm hub has slightly less dish, hence more
strength, but I wonder if it's even measurable. What are you
randonneurs and other long-distance folks using given the choice?

Will M
NYC

[Bill Connell]

A 130mm wheel will be a little easier to get in and out of the
dropouts. A 135mm wheel will be stronger, but if you're fairly easy on
equipment, it might not be an issue. I have a 65cm Redwood with the
stock 130mm 105 hub /Araya rim wheels, and i've only had to touch up
the truing once in 3 years, including a season of cyclocross racing on
it. If you're touring, a 135mm rear might make sense, otherwise you'll
probably be fine with a 130mm road hub. If you're using a 9 or
10-speed rear, an offset rim will help reduce dish quite a bit and
make a stronger wheel..

--
Bill Connell
St. Paul, MN

[BrianMcG]

You have it backwards, the 135mm will have less dish and be stroner
than the 130mm.

[clyde canter]

I'm shopping for a new wheelset for my Rambouillet as well.  I am leaning heavily towards using the Deore Lx hubs laced to Velocity Synergy O/Cs. I think RBW used to list these wheels on their old web catalog as touring wheels. I have a set of re spaced 7 speed Ultegra wheels that are close to 135mm spacing and they are not too difficult to get in and out of the dropouts, but I can see where 130mm hubs would be a tad easier. The main reason I am considering the MTB hubs over the road hubs is price...a Deore even at the XT lever is less than 60 bucks for a rear whereas an Ultegra is over 100. The miser in me is speaking very loudly sayin that a stronger wheel for less cash is the best way to go. Am I missing something?
Are  the Ultegra hubs better than Deore or is it just the fact that more bikes being sold are MTB over road and there are more produced in 135mm width? 
Clyde

[Eric Daume]

When I built the rear wheel up for my Romulus, I decided to go with a 135mm hub (Shimano LX), rather than a 130mm hub (Tiagra). They were about the same price and weight, but I figured the mountain bike hub would have better seals.

Eric

 

On 9/22/07, Will <william....@gmail.com> wrote:

[Bruce]

Mavic Open Pro wheels on Ultegra hubs are avail pre made in the marketplace. These are really tough and long lasting. I have many miles on them over coarse surfaces on one of the bikes. They are attractively priced when purchased pre-made.

The complete bike Ram (this is the minority as most were sold as frame sets only) came with a nice Arraya wheel on 105 hubs. These have done well for me on the 2,000 miles of vigorous riding done so far. (Vigorous as in rough and rural roads, not speed. Although the bike rolls downhill very quickly) 

Both of these wheel sets are considerably less than a boutique set up and will provide good service.


XT seems to be the MTB equivilent to Ultegra in the Shimano line. LX is more like 105, I think.

clyde canter <clyde....@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm shopping for a new wheelset for my Rambouillet as well.  I am leaning heavily towards using the Deore Lx

Are  the Ultegra hubs better than Deore or is it just the fact that more bikes being sold are MTB over road and there are more produced in 135mm width? 
Clyde

> strength, but I wonder if it's even measurable. What are you
> randonneurs and other long-distance folks using given the choice?
>
> Will M
> NYC

You have it backwards, the 135mm will have less dish and be stroner
than the 130mm.

---

Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows.
Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

[David Faller]

I don't know that anyone here has ever damaged a 130 hub and said, "Gee, if only I had used a 135..."

 

The fact is, a 130 will slide nicely into the 132.5 dropouts, whereas the 135 will theoretically require you to slightly manhandle the frame to wedge the hub into the dropouts.  Not difficult to do, and there's no huge risk involved, but if ease of removal and replacement is a higher priority, then the 130 just makes more sense.  In terms of strength, I suppose an MTB hub might offer you more peace of mind when bombing down a fire road; however, for all other types of riding it probably just doesn't matter.

 

Guessing from your frame size, I'd say you are a larger rider, so weight distribution might be a more pressing factor in your decision making.  As far as dish goes, you may want to consider the offset rims offered by Velocity; that will probably make more difference in the long run that the hub width.  And if you are, indeed heavier than average, as opposed to just really tall, then stick with 36 spokes and 3 or 4 cross pattern.

 

Dave

Redding, CA

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[Tim McNamara]

<soapbox>I've never thought that spacing the frame to an in-between
size like 132.5 mm is a good idea. It just insures that no wheels
fit properly and may have some potential to increase the risk of
cracking a dropout</soapbox>. That said I think it'd be easier to
deal with a 135 mm wheel because it's easier to pull the dropouts
apart than it is to squish them together.

I have a 135 mm Phil 7 sp freewheel hub on my A/R; it barely has any
dish and has been the most reliable multi-gear wheel I have had in 20
years. It went for 11 years never needing to be trued (I weighed
200-225 pounds in that time frame) until the Sun CR-16 rim (polished
aluminum, no sockets or eyelets) cracked earlier this summer. I
rebuilt it with a CR-18 (same spokes) and this to has thus far been
very stable. You might not want to use a 7 speed system, but even
for 8/9/10 speed wheels the extra 5 mm reduces dish and that's a good
thing.

[Will]

Thanks, guys, for the thoughts. And for the correction too. Of course,
135mm = less dish, more strength (and thus the reason tandems have 140
or 145-mm spacing).

I'm light for my height (170 lbs) and touring capacity is not needed.
But daily training rides around the streets of NYC--pot holes,
pavement irregularities, manhole covers, curbs and steel plates--
require frequent bunny-hops. It seems a little extra strength plus the
interchangeability with my present touring bike make the 135 mm a
better choice.

Thanks again.

P.S. Regarding Tim's "soapbox" comment, agreed. Grant should read "The
Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less" (B. Schwartz, HarperCollins
Publishers, 2004 :-)

[James Warren]

Will,
I normally use 130's on the Ram, but that 132.5 spacing is brilliant. I
took the Ram on a S72O, and for that I mounted some beefier wheels with
135 spacing. No problem. It was great.

And I didn't feel like I was wrestling with the frame to get the 135
wheels in. For 130, you have to squeeze the dropouts a tiny bit. For
135, you have to open them a tiny bit. Both work, which is why 132.5 is
so good.

So it sounds like you can get a really good wheel without worrying
about what the spacing is.

-Jim