[buddhak]

Hi all,

I just read the Jeff Jones article in Dirt Rag this month and I was pretty intrigued by the 135mm wide front fork option he is offering. This seems to me like a logical and relatively practical way to strengthen at least the front wheel of a 29er. Not only that, but having a 135mm front hub makes the front and rear wheels swappable, a la Pugsley. Anyhow, I got really juiced up fantasizing about 135mm front hubs after I read that article. Anybody else feel the same? I wonder if Vicious Cycles (contracted to make the custom wide body forks) and other custom fork makers will start offering these forks to other 29er riding customers?

Thinking out loud...

 

[Miker J]

I'd love to see a wider front hub and would be one of the first in line to get one once a legit front suspension fork was available.

 

[29Inches]

Long over due

I'd love to see a wider front hub and would be one of the first in line to get one once a legit front suspension fork was available.

with disc brakes hubs became narrower. It is time to make them wider.

 

[pimpbot]

I gotta say....

with disc brakes hubs became narrower. It is time to make them wider.

Is the standard 100mm front hub really a problem? I have been in many a high speed wreck, and have never tacoed a front wheel... and I'm 200 pounds and ride skinny XC rims. I guess my only 29er wheels (non road bike) are pretty heavy duty, so that may be a factor here.

I'm just thinking... is this another solution in search of a problem... like OS bars and the Land Rider Autoshift bike?

I can see the value in cases like the Pugs where the front tire is too chubby to fit through the dropouts, or for adventure racing where is is good to have a spare freehub handy.

 

[buddhak]

I'm just thinking... is this another solution in search of a problem... like OS bars and the Land Rider Autoshift bike?

Good point. I don't know how much of difference it would make in wheel strength to go from a 100mm to a 135mm hub up front. It just appeals to me logically, that in order to preserve strength when moving to a larger diameter wheel, you should also widen the hub spacing proportionally. This SHOULD help side load strength and taco-prevention. What's the downside, though? If you ride rigid, there isn't much of one. Who would turn down the option for a more durable wheel? It will be interesting to see whether or not this latest Jones innovation goes the way of Hbar. In the meantime, I am ready to sign up for this.

 

[bighit]

for his application it is the thing to do. on the back of my pug its the only thing you can do. as a pugahollic its a pain in the but.

 

[Cloxxki]

100mm was designed for road bikes. HArd use asks for wider flange spacing, and the disc isn't helping.

While they're at it establishing 135mm as a front standard, please also make it standard to put dual disc mounts in it

 

[buddhak]

While they're at it establishing 135mm as a front standard, please also make it standard to put dual disc mounts in it

I don't get it...but then again I use v-brakes. You mean to run dual disc brakes up front?:eekster:

 

[Englehardt]

The 135mm wheel is awesome! I have put a good 1000 miles on my fat front Wolfhound now. I can tell the wide hub makes the wheel much stiffer. I never really noticed front wheel flex until I went back to 100mm spacing.

 

[Pottser]

I think this is a interesting development too. I know Charlie Cunningham pioneered wide front hubs, something like 120 mm or so. His main reasons were precise steering, stronger front wheel and better vertical compliance due to wider stance of spokes. I don't see any negatives besides choice of fronthubs. I would choose front hubs instead of a rearhub on the front. I read that Paul makes 135 front hubs.

 

[Guest]

Is the standard 100mm front hub really a problem? I have been in many a high speed wreck, and have never tacoed a front wheel... and I'm 200 pounds and ride skinny XC rims. I guess my only 29er wheels (non road bike) are pretty heavy duty, so that may be a factor here.

I'm just thinking... is this another solution in search of a problem... like OS bars and the Land Rider Autoshift bike?

I can see the value in cases like the Pugs where the front tire is too chubby to fit through the dropouts, or for adventure racing where is is good to have a spare freehub handy.

for some the current hub width is fine. however there are people out there that have taco'd a front wheel on a 29er and wish that they could have the wider flange spacing. having options would be a good thing i would think.

funny thing to note on OS bars. i am not a fan of them either, but when building my last bike i was faced with a dilemma, the stem length/rise that i wanted is not something that Thompson makes. by going to an OS bar i was able to get the stem that i wanted. the setup wasn't really what i had envisioned, but i was glad the option was available.

 

[Drevil]

Not only that, but having a 135mm front hub makes the front and rear wheels swappable, a la Pugsley.

With the Paul 135mm front-specific hub, the disc rotor sits 4mm further out (towards the edge) than a rear hub's rotor position.

 

[el-cid]

When we built up the wheels for my rigid SS we used a Ritchey Skraxle front hub and a Paul WORD rear hub and Mavic MA3 rims front and rear and the spoke lengths front and rear, drive and non-drive sides all wound up the same length. Moral? It's not impossible to build up a very stout front wheel with a 100mm hub. My wheels have been as close to bombproof as I can expect with roadie rims and a rigid setup.

 

[buddhak]

With the Paul 135mm front-specific hub, the disc rotor sits 4mm further out (towards the edge) than a rear hub's rotor position.

That and you can't mount a freewheel on it.