Shamal Hubs - Rebuild with what else?

[milroy]

I have an old set of Shamals which need new rims and I'm trying to establish whether the hubs can be built into some other type of rim given the 18/21 G3 spoke pattern and proprietary spokes.

I'm not a wheel builder but I'd assume that the low spoke count is going to need a deeper rim to have enough stiffness – and therefore shorter spokes.

[istigatrice]

I have a sneaking suspicion any 28 hole rim would work... anyone tried this?

[fdegrove]

Hi,

Hmmm....
The hubs are as old as the wheels, nothing special by today's standards. Big balls, no separators and heavy too. Add to that that the freewheel is still 8S or 9S at best.
IOW, these where great wheels way back when. The rims were amazingly light though at around 500g each for the tubular version.

But wait, 18/21 you said? Surely it can't be the same Shamals I'm referring to. Yours are from 2008 or thereabouts, right?
If so, why not just replace the rim with new Shamal or Eurus ones?

Ciao,

[bm0p700f]

A 28 hole rim should work for the rear. I have total brain failure so I can can't think what would work on the front.

[milroy]

Thanks and sorry. Yes. By "old" I more accurately I should have said "used". They are the first gen two-way fit Shamals in titanium grey - about 3 to 4 years old. The brake track of the front rim is worn down far enough to be of concern. For instance:

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=109315

I considered using a new Campag rim, but like the case with many Campag products, while they are rebuildable, its often not worth bothering because spare parts can rarely be found at a discount while the entire components can. (By way of example I recently replaced my entire 2009 SR crank set for about the same as it would have cost me to replace the rings and chain ring bolts alone.)

Anyways, I ended up buying a brand new set of Shamals fairly cheaply. Yes it cost me marginally more than the new rim + build but in the end I get new hubs, bearing, freewheel etc etc. (also now in black which wasn’t available when I bought the originals).

So while this is potentially circular logic, I still have the old wheels in which the hubs are still serviceable. If there is a cheap way to get them running, I’d consider it.

[istigatrice]

hmm... Kinlin XR-270 or XC-270 rim (about $40) and Sapim race spokes ($1) with brass nipples ($0.18) should cost you under $200 to get and should get these wheels "serviceable" again

[milroy]

Thanks. The issue might be whether the spokes will fit the hubs which are designed for the fat aluminium spokes. I was wondering if anyone had experiance in this regard.

[istigatrice]

forgot about that... you can get straight pull CX-Ray spokes, but I'm not sure if they'll fit. If you've pulled the wheel apart already, it may be worth checking?