What Would You Do...?

[Torslanda]

I have a hub repair to do. Shimano Deore M615 and the freehub has failed, wobbling like a wobbly thing. While trying to track down a freehub, which seems to be back ordered everywhere, I found a complete rear hub for around the same price and pulled the trigger.

This leaves me with a small dilemma. Do I:

a} Strip the new hub for the bits I want?

or

ii] Dismantle the wheel and swap out the hub?

I think the answer is probably inside the non-drive side bearing, which feels quite rough.

What do we reckon?

[Brucey]

If you are quick at building wheels it takes almost as long to do one thing as the other.

Other factors include

- If the wheel build is a bit crap you can make it better
- on the other hand if the hub needs to be stripped to set it up properly anyway (i.e. with real grease instead of joke stuff, and no play in the new freewheel bearings... ), maybe there isn't a good saving in time.

At least if you strip the new hub you can attach an old brake disc and get some purchase on it to undo the freehub bolt....

cheers

[P Walsh]

If you don't really dislike assembling a wheel, do that, and store anything re-usable off the old hub. But do it on a day when you feel like doing it so that there is a bit of pleasure to be had from it.

[Ham]

What would I do? Take it in to John's Bikes, of course.

[Torslanda]

Why didn't I think of that? D'OH!!!1!

[Polar Bear]

Is the customer a good customer?   

What would you do on your own bike?

The only problem with a rebuild imo would be hidden issues that might reveal themselves with the rim and spokes.   

Perhaps ask the customer if you can rebuild the wheel as a freehub is not available and warn them that if anything else turns up that you'll need to charge to cover this. 

[rogerzilla]

Rebuilding a wheel means a lot of cleaning up and preferably new spoke nipples.  If the NDS is ok, I'd avoid the rebuild.

[Torslanda]

Thanks all, 'tis done.

In the end I went with the hub swap as the wheel needed truing and a couple of new spokes anyway. Put some actual grease in the bearings for extra insurance. All in a day's work...