Sunshine rear hub with 135 mm OLD
 

From a base model Raleigh 10 speed pulled from a dumpster I acquired a pair of these high flange Sunshine hubs. The thing puzzling me is that the over lock distance on the rear measures 135 mm. While certainly not original to the bike I removed them from how could this be? Given the axle length and use of a single large spacer I’m left to assume it left the factory like this, was it a model intended for a tandem? It has 36 holes.

Its no real concern I’m more intrigued by it than anything. I’ll likely cut the axle down and respace it or save it for a newer bike.


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eae415ab5.jpeg

Very likely modified by some previous owner trying to use it in a frame with a larger dropout spacing, possibly to accommodate a wider freewheel. I would be wary of the stresses placed by a narrow freewheel hub on such a long axle.

yeah, that sucker's gonna bend like that

I'm suprised by the OLD, given the apparent age. Had this been a tandem hub, I would have expected 40H or 48H and 130mm or 140mm OLD. 135mm OLD did become a standard for ATBs and Grand Touring models but typically with freehubs.

139 mm slotted QR axle seems pretty long for a hollow axle of this age but I am most convinced it’s a factory spec by the 18 mm drive side spacer as there would be no way to reconfigure it to a shorter length without using another part, it also matches the outside diameter and finish of the left side spacer. I would excpect that if it were something someone put together for a newer machine it would have a stack of multiple spacers. The other thing that makes me think this unlikely is that it was built into a 27” wheel.

More pictures as it appears I had left out the left side spacer in the first post, I removed the axle to inspect the bearings. The axle is not bent and an even in its dumpster fresh as found condition the bearings felt smooth as butter. I will certainly be building this into a wheel for something, the long axle would make this a good candidate for a zero dish wheel.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4353ac25.jpeg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1fa7dcd8d.jpeg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...baeefec5b.jpeg

I'm thinking that the production years for 135mm frame spacing and/or 8s freewheels does not overlap the production years of this particular hub shell (roughly 1978-1981)

And 27" rims do not much overlap the 135mm era of hybrids/mtbs, nor would they coexist (especially with that hubshell).

Tandems having freewheels usually use a solid axle (would never be set up from the factory with an 8s, QR freewheel axle).

I'm thinking the spacers are custom-made parts, or selected from an assortment of aftermarket spacers.
My own large assortment of such spacers could likely produce that exact pair of spacers, or too similar to discern.

That wheel sure is an odd-ball!

EDIT:
If you remove the 7mm spacer from the non-drive side, it's already down to 128mm, and the drive-side locknut looks to be much thicker than most period locknuts.
So I'm guessing that this could have been a 126mm hub.

I find the very same hubs (with "rectangular" cutouts) on my Pro-Tour that I pulled from the trash nearly two years ago, though some previous owner had replaced the stock wheels entirely (most likely because of Centurion's problematic stainless spokes from that late-1970's era).
They were spaced 120mm, but I fitted a 6s freewheel and modded the frame and axle spacing to it's current 124mm.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2eccd50eab.jpg

I think I have one of those in the bin. I'll dig it out and measure it.

I makes me happy to know I am not the only one interested in a dumpster bicycle hub having an unexpected OLD.

And to think I’ve been building bicycles for twenty plus years now and hardly ever participated in Internet forums on the topic?

Turns out I only have a front Sunshine high flange. But the low flange I have measures 124+. Thanks for bringing this up, and reminding me I want to.build those into wheels.

It's a wonderful way to learn.

Is it really a foregone conclusion that the axle will bend or break just because of the longer axle stub on the freewheel side? Many modern bikes have 135mm OLD rear spacing with freewheel hubs (entry level hybrids like Trek FX, Specialized Sirrus, etc.) and it doesn't seem to be a widespread issue. My daughter has the WSD version of the Raleigh Cadent with a 135mm OLD rear wheel with freewheel and I've ridden it quite a lot (clyde here) without problems.

It occurs to me that if the axle were replaced by the owner, and a too-long axle was sourced, that adding spacing to both sides might allow one to use the too-long axle without cutting it. Not everyone has a hacksaw and/or bench grinder at hand to shorten an axle.
A lot of bikes get worked on these days by homeless people, who may have some tools, but not enough for every job that needs doing (such as replacing a broken axle).

That 18mm drive-side spacer would not be an unusual feature of a 7s freewheel hub, and you're right, Trek and others still sell 7s freewheel-equipped bikes having 135 frame spacing.

Department-store MTBs have even been sold having modern, Chinese 8s freewheels, but certainly never with 27" rims or with a hub this old.

I don't believe this hub was produced with an 8s freewheel in mind, mainly because of it's vintage and because of it being laced to a 27" wheel.