Are lower priced factory wheelsets now disposable items?

mercia_man

I’m still using touring bike wheels built for me by Paul Hewitt about 20 years ago. The Campagnolo Record cup and cone hubs have little holes in the hub body through which you can grease the bearings without taking them apart. I’ve replaced the caged balls a couple of times and the rear freehub/axle assembly when it split along the cassette splines. I replaced the rims when they wore out but kept the original spokes and nipples. Cups and cones can be bought as spares if they wear out, and the wheels use standard Sapim spokes. I’ve had no spoke failures despite many miles of loaded camping touring.

Much better value than throwing away factory wheels every couple of years.

thecycleclinic

bonzo_banana said:

I think it should be mentioned that many people are still on their original wheels who have used their bikes for 40 years or more and many 10s of thousands of miles. Classic old European and US made road bikes etc. I bought a very cheap bike as a commuting bike it was something like £60 and of basic quality many years ago and was very heavy at the time and rode that for many thousands of miles commuting and still good. I'm guessing all these bikes had steel hubs. There is nothing necessarily short life about cheap wheels in my opinion however I totally accept where a cheap wheel is also trying to be a light wheel there are issues, aluminium hubs etc, maybe lighter bearings.

There our videos on youtube of a man who has toured much of Asia for 10s of thousands of miles on a cheap Carrera Virtuoso road bike that cost £240 I think and the bike is well loaded up and has been ridden on many nightmare roads with terrible surfaces and I think when he listed what he had to replace there was no mention of wheels although tyres may have been replaced more than once and there may have been a spoke replacement or two.

So even today there are low priced bikes offering great durability and lifespan. There is no defence in my opinion for a wheel that has bearing issues so early.

Years of use do not indicated miles of use. A wheel that been in use for 50 years has not been in continuous use for 40 years. If it had beaked track wear would have got it by now. Also cheap hubs if serviced can last. Old wheels had freewheel which are serviceable and replaceable so theres no expensive freehub or unserviceable ratchet to break (due to lack of parts). Take a modern £25 rear wheel with freewheel threads. If you stress relive it and even out tensions e.t.c (or rebuild it) then the spokes will last. If the hubs are serviced regularly, a good persistant grease used and the balls replaced by good ones then the hubs last fairly well. The fact is most people who have cheap cup and cone hubs dont ever maintain them so after a 2000 miles the hubs is wrecked.

That show the person who toured round asia on a cheap bike did.it.that way because spares would be plentiful. How many rear wheels did he go through? More than one I would guess.

The hub shell material is irrelevant to the longevity of the bearing system. I ha e explained why older hub can last well and the same is true of modern cheap wheels. It's the modern cheap racing style wheels that have longevity issues. Not al of them. Most are o.k but in any population there are bad apples and those are the ones you hear about.