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Wheel rebuilds expensive??

577 views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  zon 
#1 ·
I have been thinking to change my non-disc-compatible front hub to a disc-compatible hub. The thing is, i've heard here that wheel rebuilds are not cheap at all and are even more expensive than a cheap disc-compatible wheel. This made me doubt if getting disc brakes is worth it.
So..I just phoned some LBS's a while ago to ask how much thay charged for a wheel rebuild. To the first shop guy I asked: "How much do you charge for building a wheel with a new hub?" and he told me: "40 pesos (about 3.5 bucks)". I hung up and I thought that the guy must have been confused or something, so I called another store. I asked: "How much do you charge for changing a hub on a wheel?" and the guy answered: " we are not doing that right now but we charge 60 pesos (5.5 bucks)". Please help me, I am very confused Am I missing something? Are the shop guys missing something? :confused:
 
#2 ·
From the sounds of it....

they may be talking just putting the new hub on with the same spokes etc., which will likely not be possible as the flanges on the disc hubs will be different than those that are on your current hub. What you need to do is be more specific with what you ask. Tell them that you have a new hub that you want to lace to your rim and that you will need all new spokes and nipples as well as having them do the work. Then see what they say. I think that they may be misunderstanding what you are asking them to do.

Good Dirt
 
#4 ·
I'd think that would be a simple labor charge based on the reuse of spokes/nipples/rim. You know your local labor market better than I do...sounds cheap to me but it's all relative.
I'd think a quality shop would have warned you there's probably going to be more involved, such as new spokes/nipples/rim etc being a distinct possibility depending on exactly what you needed; maybe they just don't want to go into detail on the phone. After all, you didn't mention a change in hub (and dimensions particularly change with a switch from non-disc to disc) just to show how much you know about asking for a specific quotation for such a service.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I am going to phone them later, ask them with more detail and see what they say.
If the price is reasonable I might change the front hub. Can you guys recommend me a decent hub for all around riding for about 45 or so bucks?
Thanks a lot for solving my doubt. :)
 
#6 ·
545cu4ch said:
I am going to phone them later, ask them with more detail and see what they say.
If the price is reasonable I might change the front hub. Can you guys recommend me a decent hub for all around riding for about 45 or so bucks?
Thanks a lot for solving my doubt. :)
All around good hub at ~45 would be Shimano XT. Just be sure to use blue locktight on the drive side axle nuts as the have a tendency to loosen. Also clean and greese them right out of the box. Make sure you dont overtighten the axle when you put it back together. There should be a very slight amount of play when checked with the wheel off the bike.

Here's a couple of good deals on XT huibs.

http://store.airbomb.com/ItemDesc.asp?IC=HU8435

http://store.airbomb.com/ItemDesc.asp?IC=HU8438
 
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