Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Wheel Interchangeability


Confusius: "Hi, I need to buy a tire and some gears."

Ken: "Ok. Road bike, Hybrid, or Mountain? How many speeds?"

Confusius: "Road bike. I'm not sure how many, my rear wheel was stolen."

Ken: "Ah, I see. Well the number of speeds on your shifter determines what cassette or freewheel you will need. (foreseeing trouble) Wait a sec. . . . do you already have rear wheel?"

Confusius: "No, but I have an extra front wheel."

Ken: "???"

Ken: "You know you can't put a front wheel on the rear, right? They aren't interchangeable."

Confusius: "Why not?"

Ken: "Uh. . . totally different. Different spacing, different hub shell, different axle."

Confusius: "They look the same."

Ken: "Actually they do not. The rear hub is wider and has either threading or a spline to allow you to mount the cassette or freewheel. Otherwise you'd have no way to bolt the gears on there(lamens terms)."

Confusius: "Oh. Ok, back to the drawing board." (he leaves)

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