Rear Hub Replacement

[Mark_J]

Hi Hubbers!
 

I recently (a few months now) fell in love with mountain biking and since I got my Norco Fluid FS3 on the hub in May, I have been taking it to the trails every weekend. 

I want to start upgrading where I can, slowly but surely and have been interested in upgrading the rear hub. I have found the below in the classifieds, it seems like it should be a direct fit (boost hub with 32 holes). Is this a decent hub, and what would your recommendations be? My bike is a large, and I guess I’m average build ( 6 foot and 82kgs). 

I’ve done some scouting of YouTube to try and see how to replace the rear hub and wanted to find out from you experts how hard this actually is, and then how much would my LBS actually charge to get it done? The deal with the spokes seems a little technical. 

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/mountain-bike-hubs/652707/corse-mtb-boost

thank you!

[jd3]

Hi Hi

I would not take on a wheel build project your self, it is rather technical and not an easy task, have to get spoke length, lace pattern and spoke tension correct or you will land up with a pretzel for a wheel, if you are gauteng based, I am happy to build the wheel for you. 

This looks like a decent hub, and so long as the axle spacing matches your frame and the spoke hole count on the hub matches your current rim you should be good to go. You also need to be sure that your current cassette will fit onto the new hub, on mountain bikes there is currently 3 different freewheel body standards, this hub looks like it has a "9 spline shimano" style free wheel body. So it can only take shimano cassettes up to 11 speed, sram cassettes up to 10 speed and 12 speed you can run a Sram NX cassette.  

 

Hope this info helps, you're more than welcome to get in touch with me if you have any more questions 

Cheers, 

Junior 

[Kom]

49 minutes ago, Mark_J said:

Hi Hubbers!
 

I recently (a few months now) fell in love with mountain biking and since I got my Norco Fluid FS3 on the hub in May, I have been taking it to the trails every weekend. 

I want to start upgrading where I can, slowly but surely and have been interested in upgrading the rear hub. I have found the below in the classifieds, it seems like it should be a direct fit (boost hub with 32 holes). Is this a decent hub, and what would your recommendations be? My bike is a large, and I guess I’m average build ( 6 foot and 82kgs). 

I’ve done some scouting of YouTube to try and see how to replace the rear hub and wanted to find out from you experts how hard this actually is, and then how much would my LBS actually charge to get it done? The deal with the spokes seems a little technical. 

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/mountain-bike-hubs/652707/corse-mtb-boost

thank you!

Wheel building is a dark art - definitely not something you want to do unless you have the time to fidget to get it right. It’s not rocket science, but very frustrating without the proper tools i.e a truing stand, a dishing tool, spoke tension tool and spoke wrench ofc.

I suspect you would pay around R500 for a bike shop to do this for you which should include tire and tubeless setup, probably a little more.

You need to be sure what your goal is:

1 - You are so passionately in love with MTB, that you want to ruin it by making it your hobby? Start buying the tools, fidget so much that you dont end up riding all that much.

2 - You just want to get on your bike and go? Start build a relationship with your LBS, there will be times your expectations aren’t met, but over time you start to maximise actual riding time, while they hassle with parts, drivetrain replacements, shock servicing etc Be prepared to visit your ATM a lot.

3 - You’re so passionately in love with MTB, that you buy/sell/upgrade equipment every season, before it needs serious maintenance, always leaving it to the next owner to run with? Become a pro trader and understand how trends work to time an upgrade path thats affordable without worrying about 1 or 2. (Ofc you will need to do a little between bush-maintenance, minor things you should understand anyway).

Item 1 will bore you of the sport, Item 2 will make you poor, Item 3 is where the wisdom lies (In any hobby IMO).

[love2fly]

Is there something that you don't like about the rear hub? My understanding is that the FS3 is fairly entry level in its purpose. If the hubs aren't maybe causing an immediate issue, I'd look at upgrading the fork first.....In my experience, in any hobby or sport, upgrading your equipment bit by bit can be fun and "stage" the cost, but it's usually more cost effective to sell the whole bike and upgrade to the platform you'd prefer ...

[justinafrika]

"Really nice loud sound"

As an aside, this bit in the ad got my attention.  I might rather have worded it “Really k*k loud sound”.  Many regard this as occurring with higher-end freehubs and low viscosity lube.  Several of us find it irritating, I’ll stick with my mid-range stealthy bits.  "...said the actress to the bishop."

Edited June 30, 2023 by justinafrika

[dasilvarsa]

If It Aint Broke Don't  Fix  It.

[Mook]

Some just love being loud 😏

[thebob]

A complete wheel upgrade would be a better way to spend your money IMO. The Fluid comes with a rather heavy and basic wheelset. A lighter, well-built wheelset will fundamentally change the way the bike rides in a good way. But also consider throwing money at a "base" model bike is a money pit and you won't get much of your investment back when you sell. Having said that, @nick_the_wheelbuilder would be a great guy to have a chat with for some good advice in this regard

[David Marshall]

My 2c.

When you build a wheel the most important consideration is spoke quality and spoke length.

Next would be the rim choice and lastly the hub.  As long as the hub has a straight axle, good bearings and strong enough flanges it will do the job and outlast the rim.

When it comes to replacing a hub check that the spokes are double butted and in good nick.  Then make sure that the rim is in good condition.  You can then replace the hub with (preferably) the identical hub or one with the same dimensions (unlikely). Otherwise you will need new spokes.

So in short you will have the cost of a wheelbuild (R600), spokes and nipples (32 for R850) and the cost of the hub.  You need a really good rim to justify this on a used wheel!

Unless the rim is exceptional I would suggest selling the wheel and starting from scratch.

[117]

Dont let anyone stop you from doing an upgrade that makes you warm and fuzzy inside. If it works for you , then do it. 

Just do your due diligence on the rebuild as there are wheel builders then there are wheel builders, and, you might even find a complete set for the same price as rebuilds...look around, there are 2 local suppliers which are very good (Lyne and Rapide)

 As for loud hubs, they're magic. There's nothing better than the sound of an angry swarm of bee's bearing down on a lazy and/or slow single track rider to assist them in giving you track to pass 🤘

Welcome to the Norco family too!

 

 

 

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

I'll also weigh in here.
Replacing the hub on an otherwise functional wheel isn't worth the time and expense, especially, as Dave points out above, if the original rim isn't anything special.

If I were you I'd either ride the original wheels until they die and NEED replacement, or remove them and keep them as a spare set, and upgrade the whole wheel set.

Doing it this way will allow you to replace the original wheels when you sell the bike, and move your good, special, light, strong and sexy hand-built wheels to your new bike in a year or 3.

In terms of performance, hubs are less important than the rims. In other words, better rims make more of a difference to your riding than the hubs.

The original wheels on your bike are neither light nor very durable, so a wheel set upgrade is the best thing you can do. (II have a pile of cracked WTB STi29 rims in my "broken" pile)

Expect to pay anything between R10-15k for a decent set of hand-built wheels with good alloy rims and decent sealed-bearing hubs.

My favourite would be Hope hubs on Stan's Arch Mk4 rims, for your bike.

[Mark_J]

5 hours ago, nick_the_wheelbuilder said:

I'll also weigh in here.
Replacing the hub on an otherwise functional wheel isn't worth the time and expense, especially, as Dave points out above, if the original rim isn't anything special.

If I were you I'd either ride the original wheels until they die and NEED replacement, or remove them and keep them as a spare set, and upgrade the whole wheel set.

Doing it this way will allow you to replace the original wheels when you sell the bike, and move your good, special, light, strong and sexy hand-built wheels to your new bike in a year or 3.

In terms of performance, hubs are less important than the rims. In other words, better rims make more of a difference to your riding than the hubs.

The original wheels on your bike are neither light nor very durable, so a wheel set upgrade is the best thing you can do. (II have a pile of cracked WTB STi29 rims in my "broken" pile)

Expect to pay anything between R10-15k for a decent set of hand-built wheels with good alloy rims and decent sealed-bearing hubs.

My favourite would be Hope hubs on Stan's Arch Mk4 rims, for your bike.

So upon further investigation I see I have Stans Flow D rims. The previous owner must’ve switched the out. How are these?

[Mark_J]

Thank you all for the great advice, gonna keep as is for now and look to replace the full wheel when I need to. Thanks again!

[thebob]

The wheels on your bike are not bad, just really heavy with a very low engagement hub. Once you've sampled a higher end wheelset with a better rear hub, you won't go back

Edited June 30, 2023 by thebob

[Jewbacca]

Is CORSE still in business?

I haven't seen anything new from them in a really long time. 

I'd be weary of a discontinued hub. Any replacement parts will be difficult to come by

[nick_the_wheelbuilder]

On 6/30/2023 at 5:13 PM, Mark_J said:

So upon further investigation I see I have Stans Flow D rims. The previous owner must’ve switched the out. How are these?

These rims aren't terrible, they're from the Stan's "budget" line - read: heavy.