Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Wheel Building Shall Commence!

I have said several times that I was ready to move on from the debacle with that Phil Wood & Co rear hub for the Snow Dog. Well, the first, really big hurdle was getting my wheel back, which happened a while ago. The next big hurdle was waiting for the matched pairs of Salsa hubs to become available. Guess what......

New Hubs for the Snow Dog
Here they are! I just got these Tuesday, so now I need to score some spokes, and then a wheel building session will take place. Can't wait!

There are several reasons I am excited. Obviously, this rear hub will be much better than the old, crunching, popping, snapping one.

The Snow Dog will be right, for once! And.......I get to build some wheels. I take a good bit of pleasure in that fact. It will be fun to get this together. Building wheels is very enjoyable for me, but maybe I am an oddball that way. (No wait! Don't comment on that! Ha!)

The old hub will be taken care of, one way or the other. I tell ya, I think it is possessed. I was riding it to work Tuesday, and it was doing its normal "snap-pop" deal after every coast, when it suddenly started in to popping on every pedal stroke. Weird! I coasted, started pedaling again, and.......silencio!

For six blocks or so, it was perfect, but then, "snap-pop" came back again, and it even freewheeled a half revolution today, which it hadn't done yet since I got it back. I tell ya. Ya just gotta laugh at this point. It is sooooo ridiculous.

Heck, I won't hardly know what to think if I get a rear wheel that belongs to me in this thing that actually works as it should!

7 comments:

Doug G said...

Yep the hub is haunted. Can't believe they just didn't give you a new one?!

Guitar Ted said...

@Doug Idaho: Well,that's another thing. They said that they did give me a new hub, laced up in the old rim. I don't know though....

It would seem unlikely given that out of the hubs I am aware of, my hub is the only one, (or two?), that have had this issue.

Maybe it is another "lemon" hub, but if so, all the more reason to avoid Phil Wood & Co. free hub cassette style hubs in the future.

Idionycteris said...

Wow. Either they lied or gave you a second defective hub. No Phil Wood hubs in my future.

victor said...

You could turn that hub into a fixie, with a cog like this:
http://bikehugger.com/post/view/fixed-gear-new-gen-the-6-bolt

Hook said...

I'm baffled and saddened by your hub story. I'm glad you've got a replacement set so you can put the haunted hub to rest.
I've wondered about building a Mukluk using Sturmey Archer's wide three-speed hub. What do you think? Would a fatbike make a good 3-speed (or even single speed?)

Guitar Ted said...

@Hook: That would make two of us that are baffled and saddened. ;>)

Well, I think some guys are running that Sturmey hub. The problem I see is that the mechanism for the SA 3spd hubs have never been known to be very happy with high, sudden torque loading. Also, they are not known to be all that sealed against the elements, so it would seem to be a poor choice for snow riding, or wetter terrain, most likely.

I know the Alfine 11 and Rohloff stuff is better sealed and works great, but alas! Not 170mm spaced. It would seem a Pugs or 907 frame would be the go to frame for the IGH set ups.

Velocodger said...

I still have my 1977 copy of "Building Bicycle Wheels" by Robert Wright, with the pen and ink illustrations by Karen Lusebrink. It is the perfect accompaniment to a pursuit as anachronistic as building a wheel. Enjoy!