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Where to find 24-hole 26 inch rim?


Nuffy

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I need to replace a cracked 26 inch Fulcrum Red Metal 3 rim. It’s got 24 holes, 16 on the drive side and 8 on the non-drive side. Apparently the Fulcrum guys in SA don’t have any 26ers anymore. Any suggestions for where else I might be able to find a compatible rim? I’m not fussy about brands, but something of comparable quality would be nice. It would be a shame to have to get a whole new wheel and replace a decent hub.

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Chain reaction cycles probably your best bet

 

Thanks. The only option I found there is £320.99. By the time that lands with me it’ll be close to the value of the whole bike.

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Probably easier and cheaper to find a completely new wheel then tbh

 

That’s what I’m beginning to think.

 

 

A friend of mine found one recently at CWC. "Old stock in the back".

 

Thanks. I’ve sent them an enquiry.

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Bin it.  Not only do you need a 26" 24 hole rim but the drilling needs to be two to one.  That is two holes need to be angled to the drive side for every one to the brake side.  Rather build from scratch with a hub that is supported locally and a 32 hole rim which is less likely to crack.

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Thanks all. CWC said they didn’t have, and the only one I found on ebay is in Canada, and the cost and hassle of trying to get that here is not worth it. Fulcrum in Europe said it’s a very old model that sold out years ago and was only available as a complete wheel anyway. And as David Marshall points out, even if I found one from another brand, without the same 2:1 spoke ratio it’s not really going to work.

 

My plan now is to take the rim from the front wheel and build it onto the rear hub, and replace the complete front wheel with a second-hand one. It feels like the best option for cost versus reward.

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The guy is in ZIM, he has enough other crap to worry about so lets see what we can do to help!

 

 

Bin it.  Not only do you need a 26" 24 hole rim but the drilling needs to be two to one.  That is two holes need to be angled to the drive side for every one to the brake side.  Rather build from scratch with a hub that is supported locally and a 32 hole rim which is less likely to crack.

how about a 32hole rim to the 24hole hub?

 

can't work?

i'd agree with you, but 

Sheldon RIP has an article on it.

 

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/mismatch/index.htm

 

WARNING

trig required (or MATLAB).

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The guy is in ZIM, he has enough other crap to worry about so lets see what we can do to help!

 

:lol: Ha! Thanks Shebeen. In the interests of transparency, I run a small bike shop, so I do have various resources and contacts at my disposal. If it was my own bike I might be tempted to try some creative wheel building, but since it’s for a customer I’d rather not risk it. I’ve explained all the options I could think of to the customer, and he is happy with the second-hand wheel I’ve offered him for the front.

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The reason that those rims are not available is because the design was poor to start with. 24 spokes on a MTB is too few.  Then to have the brake side spokes in a radial pattern is simply not justifiable.  Two to one drilling is a marketing breakthrough that is seriously overrated.  The disadvantages outweigh the supposed benefits. 

 

Anybody thinking of using a hub with a different number of holes to the rim - try it once just to prove to yourself that the result is not worth the effort. 

 

I am a wheel builder not an engineer.  I keep busy enough building reliable wheels and not having to waste time on re engineering poor designs that the manufacturers and agents are not prepared to support.  If a wheel has a patented spoke, nipple or pattern steer clear of it. 

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The reason that those rims are not available is because the design was poor to start with. 24 spokes on a MTB is too few.  Then to have the brake side spokes in a radial pattern is simply not justifiable.  Two to one drilling is a marketing breakthrough that is seriously overrated.  The disadvantages outweigh the supposed benefits. 

 

Anybody thinking of using a hub with a different number of holes to the rim - try it once just to prove to yourself that the result is not worth the effort. 

 

I am a wheel builder not an engineer.  I keep busy enough building reliable wheels and not having to waste time on re engineering poor designs that the manufacturers and agents are not prepared to support.  If a wheel has a patented spoke, nipple or pattern steer clear of it. 

 

Thanks David. I largely agree with you. There has to be a very good reason for me to choose anything other than 32 regular J-bend spokes in a three-cross pattern. I’ve also had headaches trying to source certain Mavic spokes in the past. I’m glad their newer wheels I’ve worked on use less exotic components.

 

I still think I’d like to try a mismatched wheel build someday, but certainly not for any practical reasons – I’d just enjoy the challenge.

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Building on mismatched sounds logical but you need something like a cad program to calculate spoke lengths.  Even if you take something that sounds simple - like a 32 hole hub on a 16 hole rim you still have a major problem.  That is because the holes on either side of the hub flanges are drilled with an offset.  If you drop a spoke vertically through a hole in one flange it will fall mid way between two holes on the opposite side flange.  Now with a mismatched hub because every second hole is empty the spacing is no longer midway between two spokes.  When you twist the hub to lace the third and fourth sets of spokes you find that your spoke lengths are seriously out.  You can get around this with some heavy engineering calculations to give you four different spoke lengths for the wheel or do what most builders do and leave one side radial.  The latter is not an option in my book.

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Although it is a poor design you could use a 32hole rim and skip every second spoke on the non drive side. But I would rather get a new wheel

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