Worn R500 wheels, what replacement?

amityweb

I have a £500 Cube Peloton Compact 2013, purchased 3 years ago in Jan 2014. I know its entry level, didnt think I would do a hell of a lot of riding (first road bike hence entry level), mostly commutes and shortish rides. My rear wheel started slipping a few weeks ago. Think its the freehub. I ordered a new fh-3500 hub replacement for the parts to get the freehub body from (it was cheaper than the freehub itself). Its not come yet, but thought I would try cleaning the current freehub and seeing if it fixes it. Re-assembled it all and its still slipping but seemed different. Took it back apart and can see the "teeth?" on the hub all worn. I dont know if they were like that before and hence slipping or when I put it back on I didnt engage the freehub to the hub right and a good tightening worn them down.

Eitherway, looks like this nice soft metal is built into hub itself and looks like a big job to replace that what with new spokes and all.

So I am wondering if my best option is buy a new wheel now. And if so, does anyone recommend something I can replace it with? Firstly, there doesn't seem to be much R500's online, or they come in pairs, is there a replacement for them? But then I thought should I replace it with something better that doesn't wear down so fast (had the bike for 3 years and dont do a hell of a lot of riding mostly commutes now, but hilly).

Can anyone recommend a good course of action that doesnt break the bank?

amityweb

From research I guess the Shimano RS010 would be the equivalent of my 500/501 so if I don't get any recommendations will probably get that.

timothyw

The R501 was the direct replacement for the R500 wheelset - you can still get those in a few places:
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/shimano-p ... #pid=20525

Most of them (if not all) still have the R500 decal on the rim.

RS010 is the new equivalent, adds 11 speed support.

Ultimately they're bargain basement wheels, if you've had good results with them you might as well get another as if you spend money replacing the hub on one, sooner or later you'll need to do the rim etc.

amityweb

Thanks. Yeah I know its a bottom of the range bike, they've lasted 3 years, I have no idea if thats good or bad for these things! I guess at less than £70 a rear wheel, 3 years is OK?? I just wondered if what would be a suitable good upgrade, I mean if I can spend less than twice the price of a RS010 for a wheel that lasts twice as long or longer its a better investment than buying these every 3 years. I dont know much about wheels or even how to know what wheel the cassettes would fit onto.

amityweb

How does one tell if a wheel will fit your cassettes? I just called my bike shop to see what wheels they have and they said they have a Mavic Aksium that will fit the cassettes that was on my Shimano 501. They said the Aksium would be better than the 501. So I'm doing a bit of research online, but on Wiggle for example I cant see anything that would confirm it would fit.

How does one know if a new wheel/hub would fit the cassettes?

Thanks

craker

Look for Shimano compatibility in the description of the wheel. It's just the spline pattern that locates the cassette on the freehub; SRAM cassettes match Shimano. Otherwise it's Campagnola.

(There's also the 9/10/11 speed thing to think of).

R500/501s are absolutely dependable workhorse wheels, I'm getting towards the end of my second set with zero issues (hang on, my freehub iced up in January 2016 and wouldn't engage), you may want something lighter and faster. For the money I think they're hard to beat.

craigr

Looks like your bike is 9 speed 11-30 cassette : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cube ... prod111953
The RS010 is 9 speed compatible and looks like it comes with required spacer : http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-rs010-a ... -wheelset/

Shimano wheels for me have generally been great. Lots of miles and very few issues.

arlowood

amityweb wrote:

How does one know if a new wheel/hub would fit the cassettes?

Thanks

A quick web search shows that your Cube Peloton Compact 2013 had a 9-speed Sora groupset fitted so any modern Shimano wheelsets will accept 9,10 and 11 speed cassettes either with or without spacers.

For your 9-speed cassette on an 11-speed compatible freehub you will need to use the 1.85mm spacer supplied with the wheels to make your 9-speed cassette line up properly.

This table will help you pilot the maze of freehub/cassette compatibility (hopefully)

paul_onabike

Shimano R501 £60 a pair at Planet x if you can live with green decals (you could remove them anyway). Direct replacement for what you have at the moment. You wont find any better value for your money.