Chrisp72

Hello all!

Here's my dilemma... I have an old 8 speed Dura Ace hub that I was hoping to trade for a 36 hole hub. I had a taker but he or she has backed out. I'm trying to source an equal level hub that's in good shape that I can mount a seven speed cassette onto. I am now thinking that I should just use the Dura Ace hub and build up a great wheel and use that.

I'm in no rush as I'm sitting at home most days under a stay at home order in my province. I've had a lot of feedback in other threads about riding 36 hole wheels (lots of people love them) but I've only heard a little about the benefits of a 32 hole wheel for touring.

If I were to build the rear using the 32 hole Dura Ace hub I would try to use DT Alpin III spokes and Velocity Dyads with brass nipples. I think this wheel should be strong enough for loaded touring and I would get it built up by a Toronto bike shop that would give me a guarantee and stand behind their work.

It's going to take a while to acquire everything as I attempt to purchase other items for a small tour while getting the wheel components.

What are people's experiences with 32 hole wheels on touring bikes?

staehpj1

Most folks will say to get a 36 spoke wheel and for loaded touring you really can't go wrong getting the extra spokes. That said a well built hand built 32 spoke wheel is probably adequate. How much you plan to carry is a major factor in the choice. If you don't have anything but a hub so far I wouldn't get too locked in, You can usually find used or even new old stock hubs pretty cheaply on ebay.

Brian25

There are potentially a lot of factors here. If you wrote in and said you are a 4'- 10" (short) 85 pound woman touring with 20 pounds of gear, I would say don't worry about it, go for it.
I have done a few tours on 32 spoke front wheels. The rear wheel is far more likely to break spokes. I do not know how much touring you plan to do or your weight/ gear weight. How do you feel about sitting on the side of the road, unloading your gear, removing the cassette, installing the new spoke and truing the wheel back up and then repacking the bike. I really prefer to not have to go through that. (I am perfectly capable as I was a bike store owner/ mechanic for over 12 years.) If you can go 36 spoke in the rear, I would highly recommend it. Just like I see no advantage to have internal cable routing on a bike that has huge air catching bags attached to it I do not see having 4 less spokes in a rear wheel being any sort of advantage either. Also, If yo want to throw all this money into an expensive Dura Ace level hub to use on a 7 speed bike how about using a less expensive hub and spend the saved money on a drive train with more gears?

elcruxio

The advantage I see in using 32 spokes is better availability of parts. Most rims and hubs are made with 32 spoke drillings whereas 36h hubs and rims are in fact relatively uncommon. Shimano has them in most model ranges but whether they are in stock is a different issue.

It also depends on the rim size. I wouldn't like touring with 32 spokes with a 28 inch wheel but with 27,5 inches 32 spokes would already be acceptable and 26 inch wheel is actually more durable with 32 spokes than a 28 inch wheel is with 36.

Tourist in MSN

As noted above, depends on how much weight you put on the bike. Sounds like it is a 130mm spaced hub, if your frame is steel you can probably run a 135mm hub in your frame with no problem, and if so you could use a Deore steel axle hub which would not have that nice shiny look but would be quite strong. I like a nice looking touring bike as much as the next person does, but when it comes to components like hubs and wheels, I put structural integrity first, and nobody is going to see your hub when you have panniers on the bike.

You probably would have to use a disc brake hub if you used a new hub, but you certainly could use a disc hub in a rim brake bike, in which case you would have a wheel that would work in any bike you bought in the future.

I am running a 16 year old 135mm hub inside my rando bike (steel frame), that frame is spaced at 130mm. And I am running a 126mm hub inside my vintage Italian Columbus tubing racing bike that is spaced at 120mm. It just takes a bit more effort to get the wheel into the frame.

Three years ago I built up a 36H touring wheel with a XT M756A hub and Dyad rim. That is a disc hub that is spaced at 135mm. That hub was at a good price. I like the older design Shimano steel axle freehub hubs that used quarter inch ball bearings, have them on four of my bikes.

staehpj1

That may be generally true, I don't know, but... When I wore out a rim mid tour and wanted to find a replacement for a 32 hole mavic open pro, I was looking for any rim that would lace on with the same spokes for ease of replacement mid tour. This was on my 1990 Cannondale Crit bike that I perversely like to tour on. An open pro would have been my first choice and an open sport my second, but I would have taken anything that fit since the rim was ready to fail completely pretty soon. I called every bike shop within 100 miles and found nothing. I eventually settled for a built up 36 spoke wheel that a shop had in stock. I forget what components it has, but it was a lower end but not too bad wheel. Some time I'd like to build up another wheel with the original hub and an open pro rim or find a nice used one in good shape, but I may never get around to it.

I expected the rim to last for the tour. I figured there was a small chance it just might need replacement on the tour, but it never occurred to me that it might be difficult to find a replacement.

Chrisp72

I'm roughly 210lbs and 6 foot tall. I think I'll exercise a bit of patience and hold out for a 36 hole rear wheel. It's good to know that a 135mm rear hub will potentially work and that should streamline the sourcing part. I'm sure we could discuss which seals on Shimano hubs are better...road or mountain...but I suspect the mountain would win out.

As for upgrading the drivetrain on my old Kuwahara Caravan...Not just yet. I think the 12 to 28 cogset on the back should be good once mated to a 24 or 26 tooth granny up front and all the components on the bike are in good shape. I don't want to switch out the gearing for the sake of getting something new when the old equipment should do.

I'll see what I can find in a 36 hole rear wheel and hopefully use the Dura Ace hubs as trade.

pdlamb

You may come across a shop with rims and/or hubs in stock. Murphy's Law says they'll be the wrong size or drilling for your needs.

Once you decide to hit mail order (or is that web order now?), you'll be able to find about any rim or hub you need.

robow

Very wise choice in my opinion. Also, lesser experienced touring cyclists tend to carry more "stuff" in my experience and/or tend to carry items that are less expensive but heavier. Either way, you'll never regret having 4 more spokes while touring. If you have 130 rear spacing then you can likely find a solid 105 hub that won't cost you a bunch and yet will give you years of riding with proper maintenance.

Tourist in MSN

Regarding finding a new rim in a store if you need a replacement, several years ago I would have assumed that 36H rims would have been most common if you are looking for a touring strength rim. But, now that new bikes rarely have a 36H wheel, I am beginning to think that 32 will be a more common replacement rim.

Nobody has ever accused me of being a lightweight packer, I want 36 spokes in the rear. I would take 40 if hubs and rims were more common. It might be harder to replace a 36, but I am banking on it being less likely to need replacement so I will stick with 36 for the rear.

A lot of shops these days are hesitant to carry inventory that they might not sell within a few months so you might need to wait for an overnight shipment for just about anything you need. Hopefully a weekend does not make your wait longer.

Chrisp72

The hunt for a new wheel has begun. I ordered a Deore 135mm 36 hole hub. It's being mailed from Montreal.

As I was hunting for wheels on Pinkbike there appeared just recently a set of disc Phil Wood hubs mated to Velocity Dyad rims. The person posting is down in the States and is only asking $250. I thought about getting the wheels but didn't want to fork over any more for replacement rims for my use. It's a great offer and someone here should snap it up.

Russ Roth

I'm running 32h dyads with similar spokes, I probably weigh as much as you and your bags and the wheel hasn't needed any adjustment now in its second year. I've used the bike on entry level MTB trails and last year loaded it for a few hundred miles with a trailer and bags. Things are moving away from more spokes as the quality of spokes has improved and the strength of rims has really gone up. How old is your Kuwahara? You mention 7sp which would be 127mm, stretching to 135mm even on a steel bike is something I really wouldn't want to do. If I was worried about strength and sticking with 7 speed I would consider getting an axle for a 130mm road hub and adding 3mm to the non-drive side only, it won't completely make the difference but by moving the rim over the difference it will help to balance spoke tension and make a stronger build.

Chrisp72

Russ Roth...I have a 10 speed 105 hub on there now. I can ride the bike but want to get something beefier on there for loaded touring. Plus, sourcing parts now is a good way to pass the time. I now have a Deore mountain hub thats 135mm in the mail. It should scratch the rear wheel itch.

Tourist in MSN

To run your seven speed cassette on that hub you might need a spacer, I have not tried to put a seven speed cassette on an eight speed hub, so i am not sure the details, someone else here should know what you need.

BCDrums

Adequate and acceptable don't fill me with confidence. I crossed the country on an unsupported tour with 36h wheels. No problems, while my fellow tourists were poppin' spokes and re-truing every night. I had a new wheelset built last summer for general road riding, and used 36h. I don't care about the extra grams, and they haven't budged from true.

You're a substantial guy, I think you made a prudent choice with 36h. As to availability of parts on the tour; if you need a new rim or hub, you already have a major disaster, just buy the best wheel you can find and move along until you can get arrange for better. But a parts failure is less likely with a strong wheel, short of accident.

veganbikes

I would probably go with a White Industries M15 for a road touring bike. I think Dura Ace is fantastic but it is lightweight road racing equipment and not really well designed for touring. I have a set of White Industries T11 hubs on my road bike and they are fantastic and I have a set of CLD hubs I plan on using on another bike and a lot of bikes in the future will probably also use their hubs because they are excellent quality and the people are just super nice. However Phil Wood is another great choice and also MUSA.

In terms of cassette I would just pop a spacer on the back if I am indexed and if I am friction than I would just go 9 speed (and still probably need a spacer of a different size)

My touring wheels are 32h with Paul hubs (back when Paul could make a cassette hub before i9 stopped making free hubs for them) and have been pretty stout but were also built by Bill Mould who is a master wheel builder.

SquishyBiker

I'm 110kg and toured on respoked 32 spoke wheels ... we overpacked badly, I ran 90psi in the rear tire on gravel too, but I never had any spoke issues on the wheels.
Maybe look to better quality spokes rather than more of them...

cyccommute 

The 32 spoke hub with Alpine III would probably have worked. The thicker head on the spoke does add a lot of strength. That said, I would suggest using the Alpine III for your build with the 36 spoke wheels as well. It’s cheap insurance.

I’m not sure what you are looking for in rims but don’t worry too much about rim strength. Rims really don’t add too much to the strength of the wheel. The spokes do all the heavy lifting and the rim gets all the glory...undeservingly.