The extra I trip the LeMond the extra I prefer it:
Sadly, the extra I like a motorbike the extra I’m inclined to fuss with it, and the most recent object of my fussing has been the wheels.
The wheels that got here with the bike are the so-called Rolf Prima Elan Aero, and the corporate nonetheless gives primarily the identical wheel at the moment, although with out the aero spokes. They’re nearly shockingly mild, and whereas I wouldn’t search out an ultra-light wheel myself they’re enjoyable to trip. On the similar time, ultra-light wheels are like linen pants: whereas they really feel nice and also you’re tempted to put on them on a regular basis, at the back of your thoughts you’re at all times a little bit bit nervous that somethings going to go mistaken. (With the ultra-light wheel, that may very well be a damaged spoke, and with the linen pants that may very well be a rain bathe that renders them completely clear.) For on a regular basis using you desire a wheel that’s like a pair of well-worn denims: cozy and comparatively mild, and but reassuringly strong. For that motive the wheels I actually wished to make use of on the LeMond have been these:
They’re the one factor I’ve left of the Litespeed:
They usually’re a becoming selection for the LeMond in that it’s form of the Litespeed’s successor. The one downside is that they’re Campagnolo hubs, and the Litespeed makes use of Shimano.
Campagnolo after all hasn’t provided hubs in a few years. They hit their peak in that division with the beautiful File 10-speed hub, which is why delusional folks suppose they will recover from $500 for them:
And the hubs on these wheels are the ultimate model of the File hub, which is functionally the identical, albeit in black and with all of the aesthetically pleasing stuff faraway from it.
However whereas Campagnolo not promote hubs, they do promote wheels, each below their very own title and below the Fulcrum model:
The total title of the wheel is presumably not the Sharquille O’Neal, although the bizarre character on the finish does counsel that at one level it was known as the Shart and so they modified it on the final second:
Anyway, clearly with a view to promote a number of wheels Campagnolo must make them appropriate with Shimano-splined cassettes, and fortuitously their pre-built wheels use primarily the identical hub design as these remaining File hubs, which suggests you’ll be able to simply get a Shimano freehub physique and stick it on there:
Positive, it could be jarring to see a Shimano spline sample in a Campagnolo field:
However in making the change it opens up an entire new world of cassette availability.
So I started working. For a reliable particular person, engaged on a File hub is about so simple as it will get. First I eliminated the cassette:
Then I eliminated this nut:
After which I pulled the freehub physique off the axle:
Simple!
From there all I needed to do was pop the brand new one on as a substitute:
So I wiped off the grime from the hub and lubed the pawls on the brand new freehub physique:
Then I slid the brand new freehub physique on, gave it a spin, and…it was grinding like a spoke in a rubbish disposal.
Eradicating the brand new freehub physique, I discovered that the round pawl spring was all mangled:
As I famous above, servicing File hubs is straightforward for a reliable particular person. I, nonetheless, am incompetent, and by not taking the time to fastidiously seat the pawls I most likely managed to dislodge the spring–although in my protection the spring is tiny and delicate and about as straightforward to see and work with as a pubic hair.
Anyway, I wasn’t about to be undone by a pube, so I fastidiously eliminated the spring from the previous freehub physique:
This time I inserted the freehub physique with extra care, and the operation was successful:
Fortuitously these springs are straightforward to get and as soon as I’ve a substitute I’ll put the previous Campy freehub again collectively in case I ever must revert.
