So following on from my "Front wheel weirdness" post I have been flipping between getting a new drum hub or starting down the route of swapping over to a disc. And all the time my front wheel has been getting wobblier and wobblier as the bearings and cones wear out. The global bicycle shortage has made it impossible to find anywhere selling a Sturmey XL-FD front hub, or even a second hand one on eBay or Gumtree.
There are a few of the XL-FDD, the version with a dynamo, but a dynamo on an electric bike is just silly. I will run the lights of the main battery rather than have a dynamo. The XL-FDD is also more expensive and heavier.
The disc is going to be a complicated and slow process so to see me through for a bit while I decide if I can repair it, or modify it to fit the cartridge bearings or swap to a disc I've found a spare wheel.
None of it is quite right, the tyre is black so it doesn't match the cream rear and it is smaller than the 700B so I can't switch the tyres over, and the brake is also the smaller 70mm diameter hub.
It fits though, It is true, runs smoothly and importantly the brake works, better than the old worn out hub too, which shows just how poorly the larger worn hub was performing.
And as a bit of an experiment getting a whole wheel, albeit a bit wrong means I don't have to have a wheel built up on to a hub. Something I didn't want to spend money on if ultimately a drum hub wasn't going to give good enough braking.
I'm going to put some new shoes in the rear drum soon too. That might help me make up my mind as to whether I really need an expensive bespoke disc setup or if a properly working drum will actually be OK...
There are a few of the XL-FDD, the version with a dynamo, but a dynamo on an electric bike is just silly. I will run the lights of the main battery rather than have a dynamo. The XL-FDD is also more expensive and heavier.
The disc is going to be a complicated and slow process so to see me through for a bit while I decide if I can repair it, or modify it to fit the cartridge bearings or swap to a disc I've found a spare wheel.
None of it is quite right, the tyre is black so it doesn't match the cream rear and it is smaller than the 700B so I can't switch the tyres over, and the brake is also the smaller 70mm diameter hub.
It fits though, It is true, runs smoothly and importantly the brake works, better than the old worn out hub too, which shows just how poorly the larger worn hub was performing.
And as a bit of an experiment getting a whole wheel, albeit a bit wrong means I don't have to have a wheel built up on to a hub. Something I didn't want to spend money on if ultimately a drum hub wasn't going to give good enough braking.
I'm going to put some new shoes in the rear drum soon too. That might help me make up my mind as to whether I really need an expensive bespoke disc setup or if a properly working drum will actually be OK...
Comments
Post a Comment