rebuilding wheel/hub Is it practical ?

Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Bike Wall
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
KZ1000

KZ1000

Joined
Jun 3, 2008
Messages
1,103
Reaction score
49
Location
Massachusetts
Rating - 100%
7   0   0
Excuse me if I sound clueless, I am new to bike building and am building a 1950's 26" bike for my 12 year old, it has coaster brake now with 1.75 wheels, I have several 3 speed 1 3/8" wheels, Naturally he wants wider tires, and a 3 speed. My questions are;
1) Is there a 3 speed coaster brake available (26") or,
2) is it practical to take the 3 speed hub from the 1 3/8" wheel and re-spoke it to the 1.75 wheel
3) what tire sizes can I run on the 1.75 wheels
4) I also have several 2.125 wheels, is that a better option, are the spoke counts the same on most wheels, or am I fishing for something that aint there.

Hope these are not stupid questions, Rick
 
no questions are stupid :mrgreen:
you can take a 3 speed of your choice and lace it into the 26x1.75's(as long as the hubs and hoops are the same spoke count e.g. 28 into 28 hole wheel or 36 into 36 hole wheel.........)as for the wheels(26x1.75's)they will take a 26x2.215 tire without any problems(the new schwinns come with the thinner wheels but have balloons on them) now are you looking for a hub w/o a cable shifter? or does it matter?(you could probably find a cheap 3 speed at a thrift store)
hope any of this helps...
 
Sensor pretty much nailed it. Also consider you will need a coaster brake for most older frames unless you are able to run rim brakes.
 
Thank you, I guess I am on the right track. What I have are several cable run 3 speeds, Freewheeling, Can I have coaster brakes with a 3 speed ? Where are those found (newer bikes, brands, etc.), Rick
 
yes you can get 3 speed coasters........my wife insisted on having her old wheels off her huffy mtb on her typhoon......
its a shimano 3cc only thing about it is its hard to find shift cables because its a solid wire mot braided....... but huffys of 90's vintage should hold a 3 speed coaster or 2(maybe someone else has another brand they know of........)
 
Check on Niagara Cycles for the hubs and entire wheels. I don't know how the quality runs on the non-name-brand stuff, though. You'll also see parts like this on Ebay. I've got a 3-speed bike that I bought for $15, but it's a free-wheel hub. Still, that may be the cheapest way to get a hub like that.

Rims and hubs come with different numbers of spokes, that's just something you have to check. Typically 36, but sometimes different. I don't know how spoke hole sizes vary. Spoke lengths vary as well, depending on the hub, the rim, and the style of lacing.

I bought an Indian bike completely disassembled, and laced the wheels up myself. I used an old fork clamped in a vice for a truing stand. It's not hard to do if you don't want perfection. (If you do, take it to a wheelbuilder!). Just takes a few hours of your time. With deraileur gear systems, the rear wheel has to be laced off-center, and that would complicate things, but on a single speed or 3 speed, it's simpler.
 
Multi speed, coaster brake hubs were (and are still) made by a number of companies.

Shimano Nexus, sturmey archer, sram and SACHS are the most common ones I've seen advertised in the USA.

The Shimano Nexus are a great, hi quality piece of gear and are available in 3, 4, 5, 7 and now 8 speed models, all with a choice of no brake, coaster brake or roller (drum) brake.

Over here, buying complete Electra bikes off ebay is the cheapest way to get hubs ........ and you score cool tires, seats, handle bars, fenders as a bonus ............. and cutting the frames up is somehow satisfying.

I just scored a Electra Hawaii girls bike for $200 and it is worth way more than that in bits + I'm sure there is a 20 inch stretched beach cruiser frame hidding in that 26 inch girls frame ....... I just got to find it :lol:

In the US you may have other brands that are better for parting out.

A quick US ebay search found multiple listings like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/26-RIM-SET-SHIM...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

By Australian standards that is a cheap way to get a pair of wheels, already done.

And if you REALLY want to put a "smile on the dial" of your youngen ........ try one of these babies:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-Nexus-S...ryZ58099QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or

http://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-Nexus-7...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

Clearly, non of these options are "cheap", but if it is a daily use bike and you want your kid to have the coolest .... bike any of his friends have ever seen .......... go for it.
 
Thank you all for the information, I keep learning more from this site. Wow, is this hobby addictive, Rick
 
KZ1000 said:
Wow, is this hobby addictive, Rick
Click to expand...

Well ............... um......... maybe :roll:

Last Sept I bought a second hand cheapy 20 in at a auto swap meet because my 10 year old had commented he would like one.

Fast foward eight months, and from where I am sitting in the kitchen, without moving, I can SEE six 20 inch cruiser, a 20 inch chopper, five BMX and a 24 inch beach cruiser.

Forunately my shed is only about a quarter full of more bikes .......... but it is 50 x 33 :oops:

Then there is the "fernery"........ which seems to have more bikes than ferns.

Addictive ................ NO WAY :mrgreen:
 
Here is what I picked up for projects in the last 6 months or so. I live in a very small town away from any cities, They are coming in faster now than I can fix them, I get set to start 1 and a better one shows up, I have to learn to say NO, Rick























 
I can get an endless supply of cheap racer or MTB stuff.

Anything with a cool frame is VERY hard to find in anything other than 20 inch

New parts like Cruiser seats, bars, fenders, tires etc are also hard to find.

So buying 2-3 year old "cruisers" on ebay and then importing a frame from the US seems the best plan.

So what I'm getting too ....... is....... Got any frames :wink:
 

Latest posts

Back
Top