Back in the day, when we rode 5 or 6-speed freewheels, we would change freewheels to suit the terrain. A flat criterium meant fitting a "straight block", 13-14-15-16-17-18. On a mountain ride we'd fit a wide range freewheel, maybe 14-32. We serious riders also had a couple of in between freewheels, or even loose cogs to build our own custom freewheels.
These days we have 9 or 10 or 11-speed cassettes that cover such a wide range that a single cassette will probably do for everything short of touring in the mountains. But wouldn't it be neat to have exactly the right cassette for every ride, or at least one for the flats and one for the mountains, and be able to switch them in a few seconds. Here's a video that shows you how to do just that with a VO hub:
Fun with Freehub bodies from Velo Orange on Vimeo.
All you need is a spare freehub body and another cassette. You can even switch cassettes between a 130mm spaced hub and a 135mm spaced one. Or pull the cassette off to replace a broken spoke.
09 December, 2011
Fun with Freehub Bodies
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11 comments:
The text and video almost beg for someone to ask yet again for a shorter body to use with 6 or 7 cogs.
Especially using 9 speed cog/spacer thicknesses, it would allow an almost dishless wheel.
FYI, These bodies are an exact-fit for Powertap hubs. I noticed they were identical when I had both hubs apard at the same time.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ciS8l5iyUIo/TuJKMxImO8I/AAAAAAAAecA/jYWddvo0T-I/s144/IMG_3943.JPG
Nice. I'd love for somebody to post a link to a video of the hub - I'd like to hear how loud these are when coasting. I like me a very quiet hub!
I'd LOVE to see this with a disc provision
Jim,
They're nearly silent when oiled. Not super loud when dry. We don't really have sound recording stuff, but we're glad to hear you're interested in a video - we'll try to put one together sometime.
Alec,
Thanks for the response -
Does this apply to both the Hi-Low hubset and the Grand Cru hubs?
I should have mentioned that I'm primarily interested in the Hi-Lows but ratchety/buzzy hubs really bug me!
Oh, and when you say near silent - are we talking Shimano silent? My 9 speed Ultegras are awesomely quiet.
Best,
Jim
The body in the hi-low and touring hubs is basically the sane, only differs In material. Ratchet is the same in both.
Yeah, pretty much like ultegra. I suspect it has more to do with lubrication than anything - some good oil quiets the ticking. I have a 105 wheel that's very quiet, but that was only after I rebuilt it with a healthy spoonfull of Phil oil...
I was instructed to lubricate the freehub with phil oil. Would that be tenacious oil or the thinner biolube?
Tenacious oil works well.
I have a multispeed freewheel and tenacious oil gummed it up and the pawls started getting stuck so I used a thinner oil. Am I to assume that tenacious oil will work cuz the springs in the veloorange hub are stronger and wont stick under the thick phil oil?
What is the spoke length to build a 26in wheel with a veloorange 135mm touring hub?
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