What did you do to your bike today? (v2)

[sinkoman]

Threw a new tire on, and in the process discovered that my axle is bent slightly!

I wasn't too bothered though, but when I bolted everything back up, I discovered that the hub was binding slightly. The ride into work today seemed to loosen things up a bit (yay bearings!), but I think it's just time to change out this hub. It's been 5 years and a tone of problems already, so i'm over it (great hub though).

Trying to decide now between a Primo Remix and the Animal Javelin.

In the process of fiddling with my wheel, I also discovered that my shadow chain has stretched so much that I can pop a whole 'nother link out! It's either that, or I didn't slam it properly when I first threw it on, but i'm 99% sure I did.

Still trying to decide if I should even bother taking the link out, or just leaving the back end long. I run 4 pegs, so not clipping my heel on the peg anymore is kinda nice, and my frame is a little on the short size anyways (20.5"), so I don't think the longer rear end will really make for a radically different feeling bike.

Anybody have any advice on hubs? Also, has anybody heard of a chain stretching by as much as an entire (half) link!?!?!

[mrjimyjohn]

If you have a lot of chain (big gearing) It's entirely possible for a chain to stretch that much.

What hub were you previously riding? If you grind a lot you'll probably like a Ratchet. If you aren't such a hack but you still want a good big axle try an Odyssey Antigram.

Primo Remix is shit IMO because it uses tiny fucking bearings, but apparently not all that many people hate it. Animal Javelin is nice if you want to go male, (for whatever reason, lol) I have a few friends riding them with no problems so far.

[sinkoman]

If you have a lot of chain (big gearing) It's entirely possible for a chain to stretch that much.

What hub were you previously riding? If you grind a lot you'll probably like a Ratchet. If you aren't such a hack but you still want a good big axle try an Odyssey Antigram.

Primo Remix is shit IMO because it uses tiny fucking bearings, but apparently not all that many people hate it. Animal Javelin is nice if you want to go male, (for whatever reason, lol) I have a few friends riding them with no problems so far.

Only running 25/9, but maybe the stress from the smaller gearing is what caused the thing to stretch so much.

Now I gotta do epic battle with my bicycle OCD to determine if I actually want to take that extra link out!

The hub that's fucking up on me is a Primo Mix. I think it's a great hub, but i'm being 100% honest when I say that this thing has been nothing but problems since I got it. I've had all sorts of nasty issues with the cone nuts not staying put. They typically tighten themselves down when I bolt my wheel back up, which causes the hub to stop moving in either direction, so any back  wheel fiddling becomes a nightmare. On multiple occasions they cranked down so hard that the spacer between the driver and hub shell bearings flattened itself out into an egg shape, rendering the entire hub useless until it was filed into an at least slightly circular shape, and some random washers were added to get the spacing back.

My choices are based mostly on what the LBS has in stock. They've got a Ratchet too, but i've heard a bunch of local hearsay about them blowing up, so i'm wary...

[mrjimyjohn]

I assume by blowing up you're talking about the bearings? In which case I find that very hard to believe, as all the Gsport hubs have much bigger bearings than anything else on the market...

[sinkoman]

I assume by blowing up you're talking about the bearings? In which case I find that very hard to believe, as all the Gsport hubs have much bigger bearings than anything else on the market...

Well, to be honest, i'm not too sure exactly how it went bad. Like I said, it's all hearsay (IE "Yeah brah, I hear X Y and Z all broke theirs bla bla bla!!!") , so it's probably not fair for me to really slam the hub at all. I'm sure they're great, it might have just been one of the earlier ones (which I heard had problems).

I think i'm gonna go with the Javelin though, since I can get that + the guard (or the female axle kit) for close to the same price as just a ratchet. That, and they just look super slick too!

[CMB]

Picked up my Tree Moto bars from the shop today and couldn't be happier. Trimmed them up and threw on my Push stem and my gum Vans grips I had. She's running super smooth!

[Brooklynrider]

Only running 25/9, but maybe the stress from the smaller gearing is what caused the thing to stretch so much.

Now I gotta do epic battle with my bicycle OCD to determine if I actually want to take that extra link out!

The hub that's fucking up on me is a Primo Mix. I think it's a great hub, but i'm being 100% honest when I say that this thing has been nothing but problems since I got it. I've had all sorts of nasty issues with the cone nuts not staying put. They typically tighten themselves down when I bolt my wheel back up, which causes the hub to stop moving in either direction, so any back  wheel fiddling becomes a nightmare. On multiple occasions they cranked down so hard that the spacer between the driver and hub shell bearings flattened itself out into an egg shape, rendering the entire hub useless until it was filed into an at least slightly circular shape, and some random washers were added to get the spacing back.

My choices are based mostly on what the LBS has in stock. They've got a Ratchet too, but i've heard a bunch of local hearsay about them blowing up, so i'm wary...

I've had pretty much every single problem you mentioned about the primo mix.     The trick is to tighten the non-drive side first, then take an adjustable wrench and adjust the drive side locknut to your liking. After that, just tighten down the drive side and voila. It's a bit tricky to get it perfect but once you get it down, its simple. I've tried out so many hubs already and the primo mix is by far the best feeling. I'd recommend to just replace a few parts (should cost about 40 to replace all the hardware and axle) and stick with the mix. As long as you don't mess around with it, it's the best hub out there in my opinion.

[DontcallmeKenneth]

Well I purchased a better front wheel than my stock single wall pinned bullshit. After all the talk about bigger bars I ended up buying sand bars and I got an animal sprocket also. I had planned on buying a complete federal Ty morrow but plans didn't go though like I wanted them to so I sold my chrome shivs and got some morning 2.1s again like my first Benny had. Next on the list is rim and hub to match my front and possibly a jumpoff remix.

[montymitch]

I'd check out your dropouts. If you're having all these problems with your hub, Chances are good that your drops are messed, in which case it's not going to matter what hub you go with.
And if your chain is that stretched its going to wear out your new driver real quick.

[sinkoman]

I've had pretty much every single problem you mentioned about the primo mix.     The trick is to tighten the non-drive side first, then take an adjustable wrench and adjust the drive side locknut to your liking. After that, just tighten down the drive side and voila. It's a bit tricky to get it perfect but once you get it down, its simple. I've tried out so many hubs already and the primo mix is by far the best feeling. I'd recommend to just replace a few parts (should cost about 40 to replace all the hardware and axle) and stick with the mix. As long as you don't mess around with it, it's the best hub out there in my opinion.

I made a thread not too long ago where I was having problems lacing up a fresh Ribcage to this same hub, and I was getting some bad tight/loose spots because the hub flanges are bent. There are actually stress fractures on the inside of the flanges. On top of that, it's been slipping A LOT lately.

I probably could just swap the axle and cones, get a new driver, and keep running this hub, but i'm over it already. I've been wanting a new hub ever since this one started giving me problems 3 or so years ago, so I think now's the time to do it.

(I actually just got back from the shop with the hub !!!)

I'd check out your dropouts. If you're having all these problems with your hub, Chances are good that your drops are messed, in which case it's not going to matter what hub you go with.
And if your chain is that stretched its going to wear out your new driver real quick.

It's definitely not the dropouts. This hub has been giving me all of the problems I mentioned for the past 3-4 frames (can't remember if I had issues on the first one I ran this wheel in), one of which was a Sunday, so i'm almost positive it isn't the drops.

You're probably right about the chain, but I think i'll take my chances... I think the 4130 driver will be able to hold its own against whatever grade steel the chain is for however long till I change it.

This sprocket's got a pretty bad hop in it too, which is probably what caused the chain to stretch so fast. I've got a brand spanking new Tree sprocket at the house though, so now that i've got a fresh driver, i'll probably throw that Tree in there with a new chain relatively shortly. I'd been avoiding the new sprocket since the driver's pretty badly worn too, and I wanted to just redo the whole drivetrain at once.

[PabstBlueRibbon]

ordered up bars and a helmet from empire

[Sasha]

My friend would take a half link out of his Shadow chain due to stretch on a seemingly regular basis, which I really didn't understand.

Maybe it only happened twice but still. Weird. Fuck those chains.

[thirks]

shadow chains are turd

[TheMerged]

Hooked up the Chrome Kit. Had a toploader for a few years ago but never been stoked on the way they look. Picked up a pair of 9.2 WeThePeople Wham Bars and went down to a front load for effectively the same rise. Super stoked on how it turned out. Also after about 6 years of running a full set of pegs I decided to take em off. With 4 pegs being so saturated right now, thought it would be fun to switch it up. Loving it so far!

Full bike check coming soon.

[montymitch]

Starting paint removal.