Yep,

looks like the cheap GT branded freehub body (SS casette type) is not going to make it much longer judging by the grinding noises it is making and the lateral play on it. So I have a few options as I see it:

1. Try to replace freehub body - not had any luck locating one and GT have not responded to my e-mail. Anyone have any luck getting spares for a GT branded hub or know who makes them?

2. Rebuild wheel onto nice Hope Pro2 SS hub: £120ish + spokes + rebuild (which I currently can't do - never too late to learn though?) I don't mind the noise - have hopes on my geared bike

3.  Rebuild wheel onto cheaper SS hub £50 ++ but then I would probably have a problem finding spares when that one goes. Fire Eye or DMR may be options (CRC) - any other recommendations?

4. Rebuild wheel onto Shimano LX hub £25 or so + spacers ++, won't be as strong (does this make much difference?), would not last as long as the Hope (probably?) but spares would be easy to find and are relatively cheap

 Any advice and opinions please
 

 

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ThreeSpeed ...
Sit, stand and push

I just picked up the non-single speed version of the peace 9r, mostly because I liked the rasta colors. I want to convert to a single speed ,so would love to hear about the final setup you go with. Thanks.

 +Ray

Go with a standard Shimano hub with spacers. Nearly as strong, spares easily available, very reliable, very low price (they come up 'used but good' on eBay regularly), and massively adjustable chain line.

I gut out old cassettes for spacers, which saves more money. Also, a standard 9sp wheel will be easier to sell on if you want to upgrade later.

OEM 'own branded' hubs (like your GT ones) are mostly made by Joy Industrial Co. Ltd. (sometimes 'JoyTech' branded) in Taiwan. The quality is only just adequate for a few months of use, and spares are almost impossible to get - especially for uncommon variations like SS. However, the front hub should be okay for years of faithful service. It's our mud that kills everything. A Joy hub probably lasts okay in California.

I'm just about to buy my first rear disc hub - I've been exclusively V-brake until now on all my mtb's. I'm going for the DMR Revolver (£45) with a White Industries freewheel (£60) that I already own. This is a good set-up, but does have a couple of drawbacks, namely that the sprocket's chainline will not be adjustable - except for putting perhaps up to 3mm of spacers behind the freewheel, and the WI freewheels seize up after a couple of good wettings and therefore have to be stripped and serviced regularly. So, Shimano is the top tip for good value and an easy life!

Oooh, the DMR hubs are very probably also originally sourced from Joy, but having no internal freewheel mechanism means there's nothing to go wrong. That's one advantage of thread-on freewheels.

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

Thanks devoid punk - good advice, still a little scared of the wheel building learning curve - should be fun though

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ThreeSpeed ...
Sit, stand and push

The two tricky things about wheel building, when I was being taught, seemed to be calculating spoke length and learning the initial lacing-up. The tensioning and truing is common sence, and you can get the hang of it all pretty quickly.

Get someone to show you the ropes, then have a go yourself. Building wheels is one of the most pleasurable maintenance tasks, and can give a great deal of satisfaction. I'm no great expert, but I do all my own and consider myself competent with basic wheel building - so If you need any advice, just ask.

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"Gears are like eyes or testicles. Having more than one is an unnecessary luxury." Elvis A. Presley

Did it, built my first wheel !

Went for a short ride yesterday and the wheel still seems to be true afterwards.

I followed Roger Musson's advice, more or less to the letter, as published in his e-book (see www.wheelpro.co.uk). The instructions are very clear and easy to follow. I also used the formula from the book for calculating spoke lengths and cross checked this against the on-line calculator that can be found on the same site.

The area that I am still a bit unsure about is how tight the spokes should be tensioned (I don't have any way of measuring this). Went for a similar feel to the Peace's front wheel, with the drive side spokes probably a bit tauter  and the non drive side a bit looser than the front wheel.

BTW: There seem to be some discrepencies on how to measure hubs and rims. Musson uses the spoke slot as the basis for the effective rim diameter, whereas WTB's published figure was from the nipple seat . Shimano seems to measure flange offset at the outside, Musson on the inside (both of these observations based on comparing my measurements with the published specs). In the end I stuck with all Musson measurements.

Will have to see how my handy work stands up to the usual MTB abuse, but the wheel certainly has more even spoke tension than any of the other wheels of the 6 bikes in or household. 

Build was Shimano LX hub, DT Swiss Competition DB spokes and the re-used WTB Dual Duty FR 29 rim.

Thanks for all the advice!
 

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ThreeSpeed ...
Sit, stand and push