Axle help

slowcycling said:

Hello everyone,

OK, so I am totally new to this site and with cycling in general. I just picked up an old almost functioning touring bike. It has everything except a rear wheel.

A buddy of mine gave me a spare wheel he had laying around. The problem is that he does not have a axle and the LBS does not carry axles for this particular wheel. The only markings on the wheel are the size (700 x 25) and the words "nashbar sealed hub" around the hub.

Assuming nashbar will not sell me a replacement axle, does anyone know of another brand that might be compatible?

Thanks in advance,
slow

Do you know how old the wheel is? How old is the bike? Do you have any pictures of the wheel, or the number of speeds? Do the shifters say the number of speeds? Do they index (click into gear)?

garage sale GT said:

Do you know how old the wheel is? How old is the bike? Do you have any pictures of the wheel, or the number of speeds? Do the shifters say the number of speeds? Do they index (click into gear)?

The bike was made in the 80s. From what I understand it was one of earlier aluminum bikes made by Trek. While the shifters have 5 or 6 indexed speeds I do not have the casset (LBS tells me they have plenty in stock).

I assume the wheel is older, but I am not sure how old. I will try and post pics later tonight.

Thanks for the help,
slow

Here are a few pictures of the wheel

OK, that's a sealed bearing, freewheel hub. You need a freewheel, not a cassette. Probably a 6-speed freewheel.

The frame cannot be changed from 126mm rear hub width because it's aluminum. You need a rear wheel which is 126mm wide.

I don't know about the axle as I never had a bike with cartridge bearings. Nashbar has a live tech line; see if they'll still give advice. I don't think they designed and built it themselves. It is just a rebranded off-the-shelf wheel so someone may still have axles.

If worse came to worst, you could buy a $45 wheel from a variety of sources but I would try to get the axle first.

OK, so I have done some digging and I think I might have something.

I checking the bearings and found the marking 6001 rs1. According to this site: 6001 bearings have a 12 mm ID.

So, assuming I am correct does this mean that any 12mm diam bearing will fit the hub? If so, would this [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Azonic-Momentum-Axle-Inch-135/dp/B0016OL0XK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=cycling&qid=1283223487&sr=1-1"]axle[/ame] work?

My only concern is the length of the axle, would 135 be long enough? How would I check?

Also, given that this wheel is the same size as the front 700 x 25, is there ANYTHING else that could prevent this wheel from fitting?

Thanks again,
slow

Your best (?) option (as in, cheapest) may actually be to buy a new hub, unlace the rim from the current hub, and then relace the rim onto the new hub.

The bike shop can true the wheel after you lace it ...

The spokes on ONE side are shorter than the spokes on the other (non-driveside) ... keep track of which are which.