Kurt wrote:
Think about it. What loads does the front hubshell between the bearings actually have to bear? I'm thinking not a lot. The axle should actually be doing all the work, the hubshell just needs to keep the dirt out and the flanges indexed to each other, and there are already the spokes and rim to help.
I wonder if one could completely saw out the center of the hubshell and have it still work fine?
Kurt Sperry Bellingham WA USA
Kurt,
There is at least one load at play on a front hub, and at least two in the rear. Front and rear hub shells are subject to a compressive force from the tension of the oblique spokes pulling the flange toward the center. Evidently this is not enough to cause columnar failure of the barrel, even on this slotted example, but there is no way the center could be cut out entirely. In the case of a rear hub there is also a torsional stress. I recall a mechanic at Yellow Jersey in Madison, WI who laced a radial-both-sides rear, just for giggles, and sure enough the shell twisted. Now, with even one side tangental, I think the strain is greatly reduced and distributed up to the rim across to the other flange, rather that across the barrel, but there's still some torsion on the barrel.
Braking force at the rim probably also has an effect, at least in an asymmetrical (rear) wheel... in theory.
Tom Dalton Bethlehem, Pennsylvaia, USA
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