Wheel Hub Quality and Top Speed

GoldenMotor.com

Kioshk

Active Member
Oct 21, 2012
1,152
10
38
Connecticut
So, I've been quite content to cruise around at about 25 MPH on my 66cc/29er. I had been topping-out at about 27 MPH (as indicated by a local elementary school's speed-gun-sign). I recently had an issue with my rear freewheel hub; its cup wore out and collapsed. I had to go through the tedious, filthy process of unspoking the defective hub an installing a new one. While awaiting a new hub in the mail, a client of mine who happens to be an avid mountain-biker gladly offered me his "spare" 29er wheels. He said he no longer needed them, and would like to see them put to good use. Well, he ended up giving me TWO 29er WHEELSETS. They're Crank Brothers Cobalt 2, and ONE wheel is worth more than my motorized-bike...no exaggeration. I protested that they were too expensive to accept, but he persisted that he didn't need them, was happy with my work for him, and insisted I take them no-strings-attached. I must say that the wheels are almost TOO fancy looking...no, they ARE too fancy looking for my bike and my personal style, but I DID swap out my front wheel with the new one to try it out. I immediately noticed a much smoother ride, and my top-speed increased by 2 MPH, which surprised me. These wheels use roller-bearings instead of the standard cup/cone bearings you'll find. I did actually find ceramic roller-bearings which fit within my destroyed hub's cup diameter, and was intending on retrofitting them as an experiment. I digress...the new rear wheel has a proprietary 24-spoke arrangement which does not lend itself to rag-jointing. In any case, I never intended to use a rag-joint as it may damage the spokes. Instead, I am in the process of finessing an extra 44T sprocket on to the wheel's disk-brake support. I'll post about that little project later once it's installed. In any case, this weekend I finally had the opportunity to install the new STANDARD hub which was only $10, and turns out to be of superior quality to my Walmart Special's original equipment. I found that the combination of the new front wheel and the new rear hub has dramatically improved my bike's performance. I am now topping out at 33 MPH and cruising at 29 MPH. I feel silly that only NOW am I realizing this type of performance increase. Don't be like me: access your performance increase options NOW!
 

bluegoatwoods

Active Member
Jul 29, 2012
1,581
6
38
Central Illinois
Interesting.

One wouldn't think that even crummy bearings, properly greased and adjusted, would make such a difference.

But, of course, a bearing's job is to make a whole lot of friction 'disappear'. And there could well be large differences in how close they get to that goal.
 

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
Great example of the possible gains from reducing friction.
I tend to keep my hub bearings well maintained for this very reason.
I learned it back in my BMX days when fractions of a second mattered and ounces removed were our gods.
While I would not buy roller bearings for my bike, they are very nice if you have the means.