Trashed RS80 wheels but hubs are good ... what to do

[headwind816]

Short story, the wheels sustained damage and both rims have hops. I am pondering stripping them down and using the hubs for a different build, but I am not sure what kind of build.

Me - road racer who does quit; prefers climbing to sprinting but enjoys a good attack; 175 lbs, muscular who tosses the bike around (built for tri's but I do not like water).

If you had these hubs, what would you do with them?

Cheers.

[system787]

I would probably order some chinese carbon rims and lace them to the hubs. Are they threaded on both ends, or is it a regular straight pull?

[headwind816]

I am 99% positive the hubs use regular straight pull spokes. I too was thinking of ordering cc rims, but I wanted to tap the experience of the forum in order to gather all possibilities. I am not opposed to alloy clincher rims, but the choices look limited at best.

[jmorgan]

I have this same issue with the front wheel. It really does not make much sense to build around the hubs unless money is the main issue. The hubs are heavy compared to cheap BHS hubs and have low spoke counts which are harder to find rims for and will be prone to more issues later.

If you just want a cheap set of wheels that will have some weight to them, Kinlin xr300 rims have a 16 spoke rim. Weight would be around 1650-1700g though.

[headwind816]

Money is always an issue especially now. What issues do you reference? I have had multiple low spoke count wheels (e.g., 7850 SL) for years without issues.

[jmorgan]

You are just more likely to bend a 16 spoke wheel, you did it once, I have done it and so have others. If you break a spoke you might be walking home. For an additional ~$130 you can get a set of BHS hubs which would be lighter and you could run 20/24 spoke wheels and have more reliability. Seems like a no brainier, spend a little more, get a more reliable wheel and a lighter wheel. I don't see the upside in reusing the RS80 hubs other then save a few dollars.

[headwind816]

Got it. Perhaps I will use the wheels to practice wheel building ... cannot break what is already broken

[istigatrice]

I reckon the bearings in the Shimano hubs are far superior to the BHS hubs. Cartridge bearings only seem to spin smooth for a % of their lifetime, cup and cone bearings seem to spin smooth for their whole lifetime.

The flange spacings are also much better to allow for the low spoke count. Stiffness/Strength is not just a function of spoke count. I'd much rather use the Shimano hubs than the BHS hubs, nothing against the BHS hubs though, great weight for the money. If you're trying to get the lightest wheel for the money, BHS hubs on 20mm tubular rims all the way, but if weight isn't a concern, I see nothing wrong with the shimano hubs and some slightly deeper/stiffer rims

[tigoose]

i'm in the same boat. looking at either velocity deep v or ambrosio fcs28 as replacement rims.