Drilling Hub for more holes?
Moderator: robbosmans
Long time reader first time caller, I was wondering if anyone has ever taken a hub and drilled it to make more spoke holes, or is that an incredibly stupid idea? I am contemplating buying a 20-hole powertap hub off a friend for super cheap but I'm not confident that a 20 wheel would hold up well for me (cat1, 173lb) on anything but a super deep rim.
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It is a bad idea. The holes would not be evenly placed making spoke length calculations a nightmare and creating a funky unbalanced lacing pattern. With a normal sized hub, the extra holes you drilled would be too close to other holes so the spokes would pull through, ruining the hub. The larger diameter of the PT hub makes that less likely.
You are right about 20h not being enough for your size.
You are right about 20h not being enough for your size.
Take away this man's drill.
There are many issues, including precision, finishing of a spoke hole (local honing, removal of any stress risers, etc. etc.), plus why you'd want a 40-hole Powertap wheel? (I don't think Powertaps will even be accurate with extreme drillings, if I remember correctly -- they are calibrated for the spoke count the hub is drilled for.) You have a 20 spoke wheel ahead of you, or you sell the hub and get something else. And I'd agree with others above ... you need to sell the hub.
There are many issues, including precision, finishing of a spoke hole (local honing, removal of any stress risers, etc. etc.), plus why you'd want a 40-hole Powertap wheel? (I don't think Powertaps will even be accurate with extreme drillings, if I remember correctly -- they are calibrated for the spoke count the hub is drilled for.) You have a 20 spoke wheel ahead of you, or you sell the hub and get something else. And I'd agree with others above ... you need to sell the hub.