16 spoke hubs and rims?

explosifpete
explosifpete Posts: 1,327
edited July 2012 in Workshop
I'm looking to buy a 16 hole rim and rear hub.
I've seen that halo sell the rims but can find a 16h rear hub, anyone know of any?

Comments

  • schweiz
    schweiz Posts: 1,644
    None in stock but it may hlp in your search....

    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/HUT ... h-rear-hub

    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/HUG ... -x-one-hub

    Or Royce...

    http://www.genisysconsulting.co.uk/royce-uk/hubs.htm

    Or use a 32 hole hub and use every other hole? (or spoke, spoke, miss 2, spoke spoke etc.)
  • thanks but these are way out of my price range
  • schweiz
    schweiz Posts: 1,644
    To be honest I'll think you'll struggle to find a cheap 16 spoke rear.

    Why 16 holes for a rear? Unless you're really light < 65kg I'd think they'd be quite flexy. Also the spoke tension you'd need on the drive side would be very high and may be too high for the rim. Many lightweight wheelsets use 20 hole rear and 16 hole front.

    If you want to go 16 hole rear on a budget then get a 32 hole hub.
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    Why not a 20 or 24 hole? The weight difference would be insignificant, you could build a much stiffer and more durable wheel and your choice of affordable hubs would be much greater.

    Plenty of hubs to choose from here
    More problems but still living....
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Use a 32 hole hub and miss every second spoke hole. Doubt you'll find many 16 hole hubs, particulary at low price.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • I'd avoid a 16h rear wheel all together. IIRC i've got a 16h front and 24 rear on my caad.
  • I know its not a good idea but I need a 16 hole hub
  • marcusjb
    marcusjb Posts: 2,412
    I know its not a good idea but I need a 16 hole hub

    I know it's not a good idea and I'll die a horrible death as my 16-spoke wheel collapses beneath me - but I'll do it anyway!

    I'm 60kg and I'm not sure I'd like 16 spokes on my rear wheel at all. Front maybe. That said, the lowest number of spokes on any of my wheels is 28 (Brompton) and the most is 48 (tandem).
  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    Why on Earth do you *need* a 16 spoke rear wheel? It's a daft idea, as put best by the late great Sheldon Brown:
    How Many Spokes?
    Up until the early 1980s, virtually all adult bikes had 72 spokes.
    32 front/40 rear was the standard for British bikes, 36 front and rear for other countries. The exception was super-fancy special purpose racing wheels, which might have 32 spokes front and rear.

    The Great Spoke Scam: In the early '80s a clever marketeer hit upon the idea of using only 32 spokes in wheels for production bikes. Because of the association of 32 spoke wheels with exotic, high-performance bikes, the manufacturers were able to cut corners and save money while presenting it as an "upgrade!" The resulting wheels were noticeably weaker than comparable 36 spoke wheels, but held up well enough for most customers.

    Since then, this practice has been carried to an extreme, with 28-, 24-, even 16-spoke wheels being offered, and presented as it they were somehow an "upgrade."

    Actually, such wheels normally are not an upgrade in practice. When the spokes are farther apart on the rim, it is necessary to use a heavier rim to compensate, so there isn't usually even a weight benefit from these newer wheels!

    This type of wheel requires unusually high spoke tension, since the load is carried by fewer spokes. If a spoke does break, the wheel generally becomes instantly unridable. The hub may break too; see John Allen's article.

    If you want highest performance, it is generally best to have more spokes in the rear wheel than the front. For instance, 28/36 is better than 32/32. People very rarely have trouble with front wheels:

    Front wheels are symmetrically dished.
    Front wheels carry less weight.
    Front wheels don't have to deal with torsional loads (unless there's a hub brake).
    If you have the same number of spokes front and rear, either the front wheel is heavier than it needs to be, or the rear wheel is weaker than it should be.
    Bike lover and part-time cyclist.
  • I weigh 130kg and enjoy dirt jumping so a 16 hole wheels is got to be the best thing.
  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    I see your logic - fewer holes in the rim = stronger rim :wink:
    Bike lover and part-time cyclist.
  • On a serious not I have a pair of 16 spoke deep section carbon wheels with a powertap hub in them and I wanted to take the tap out to build in to a training wheel and put a standard hub in the carbon wheels
  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    Ah, OK, that makes a bit more sense. I assume the PT is actually 32h? A deep carbon rim is very strong, so is more likely to tolerate a low spoke count. If you're planning on lacing the PT to a 16h aluminium rim, I'd make sure it's a bloody beefy one!
    Bike lover and part-time cyclist.
  • HI All, there is a mavic cosmic 16 hole rim on ebay, which poses the question are planet X the only people who do 16hole hubs, where do mavic get their hubs from? any light on my question would be a great help
  • racingcondor
    racingcondor Posts: 1,434
    I think you're stuck with every other hole on a 32 (if you must). I'd imagine you'll have all sorts of break rub though even if the wheel is rideable long term.

    A Google search suggests that the old DA 7700 hub came in a 16 hole as have a couple of Campy hubs (from factory builds). I'm sure there are a couple more from very low spoke count factory builts but I suspect you'll spend a lot of time stalking eBay for them and you'll probably find they're set up for straight pull spokes which will also be a mare to find in the right lengths.

    Have you got the cash to buy a 24 hole carbon rim to build a set of 16/24 with a spare front rim? It would make a lot more sense and you could just go to Planet X for a cheap hub.
  • pmurp141
    pmurp141 Posts: 2
    are you still looking for a 16 spoke hub, i have 1 off a shimano sweet 16 tandem, smooth and bullet proof, cracked the rim over the weekend and will sell the hub at reasonable price
    paul