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Wormtown rear hub

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
Just took my Geekhouse Wormtown out of the box and am excited to build it up while I recover from having my collarbone plated and screwed. Have cranks, seat, seat post, clamp, headset, BB, fork, bars but no rear wheel. I didn't think about this when buying the bike in a post-surgical haze. What type of rear hub do these bikes use? What rear wheel would you recommend for a 225 lb rider getting back into things easily after six months off of a bike? I'll be keeping the hub, but wouldn't mind a lighter rim/spoke combination because I won't be doing anything wild. I can't wreck too hard before I have the plates taken out next year.
 

aaronrocker

Monkey
Aug 7, 2008
477
0
Washington State
why has it been six months, i broke my collar bone and have had it plated and seven screws on memorial day this year and have been on a bike for about three weeks riding street
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
It's actually been a four year ordeal.

First procedure was to put the bone back inside of me (complex fracture)

Second was to rebuild the soft tissue and re-attach the biceps tendon

Third (most recent) was to re-section and plate the clavicle so that it's the correct length and alignment so I can have normal shoulder function.

It's been a real pain. Trust me, I was jealous when Lance Armstrong broke his collar bone and was back on the bike in eight days.
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
Now, what hub/rear wheel should I get???

I am planning on running an RS Pike U-Turn that I have. Will this be a good fork for the bike when cranked down to the lowest travel setting? I still have time off the bike, and am considering other forks, or sending the Pike in to Push or for other tuning...etc.
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
You need a 135mm spaced hub w/ a 14mm axle. Eastern makes an affordable one. I am using a Nashbar hub w/ 10mm axles, chain tugs and step-down hat washers, but it isn't ideal. Go w/ a 14mm hub. I just modified mine not long ago and had it PC'ed. I made it more trail/4x. Here's pics:

http://www.cornermind.com/2009/04/bicycle-refurishing.html

http://www.cornermind.com/2009/04/bike-refurbishing-pt2.html
Really impressive work! I have been thinking about knocking off the v-brake mounts since I opened the box.
 

escapeartist

Turbo Monkey
Mar 21, 2004
1,759
0
W-S. NC
I'm not sure that all the Wormtown's have 14mm axles. I know some do, but I'm pretty sure a decent amount of them have regular 10mm ones. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Sweet frames either way though. Where'd you get yours?
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
I'll take a caliper to the dropouts, but they don't look like 10mm. I got mine on eBay. Looks new, but might have belonged to a RM member. Like many frames, there is a lot of paint/PC on the dropouts and brake mounts. I may have to scout local shops for some facing tools to get everything smoothed out.
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
I called Marty at Geekhouse about dropout reducers yesterday, and he offered to send me a set that allow one to run a 10x135 hub on the Geekhouse, FOR FREE! That's great customer service, and really generous considering I bought the bike on eBay.
 

cornfed

Monkey
Jul 30, 2007
199
0
That' cool! Marty is a very cool dude.

I am currently using this set-up. I didn't go into further detail, but it is less than ideal to use the step-down hat washers to adapt a 10mm axle to 14mm drops. The inner contact point, or cone nuts as some call them, are very small on many hubs. They are designed for 10mm drops and most have very little contact surface to accomodate a 14mm drop. What happens is when you tighten the axle nuts, the cones can spread, or even damage the dropouts making it impossible to tighten the wheel sufficiently. Make sure you have plenty of surface area contacting the inside of the dropout before you tighten the axle.
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
If I don't use the reducers, what are the hub/wheel possibilities?

I started the build today. So far:

XT cranks
Juicy 5 rear brake (needs hose)
CK headset
Thomson stem
Thomson seatpost
Protaper 2" rise bars
Intense lock-ons
RS Pike
Mavic X317 rim on generic 20mm hub
Easton Cully pedals

Still need:

Rear wheel!!! Help!
Chainring
Cog
Chain
Tires
Saddle (will try to find an SLR Ti)
 

stgil888

Monkey
Jun 16, 2004
484
0
Malibu, CA
Haven't received the reducers yet. This isn't working out quickly.

Good news is I'll be able to ride soon, x-rays of my clavicle didn't show any complications.