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The big trap of old bikes
The cones are -always- pitted.
I'm about a dozen wheel sets deep at this point. Off used bikes, bought separately, scavenged. ALL of them have had atleast 1 pitted cone. Pitted cups are common.
I don't find overhauling hubs hard at this point. Cone spanners, grease, bulk ball bearings, kerosene to clean, all very cheap. They're simple things too. Once you have your head around how they work, and have some systems in place to keep things labeled and clean, it's easy.
Replacing cones shouldn't be hard, but actually, they're hard to find, and getting the exact right cone, almost impossible. So i'm often making the hub sealing system pretty damn ineffective. And cones aren't that cheap either. Basically, it's only possible if you have a local shop that's interested in helping match and sell replacement cones for cheap old wheels, which is actually pretty rare. I have this kind of but i feel like i'm imposing on them every time. It's really hit and miss.
Buying cheap used wheels to replace them isn't a solution either. You just end up with another set of pitted cones. Sellers outright lie about having smooth bearings or 'just needing some oil'. The idea a person selling bicycle wheels is qualified to hold the axle in their hand, spin it, and comment on smoothness, is absurd. They aren't.
So basically, all these great old bikes, they're only really viable as beaters (in which pitted cones with fresh grease is alright kinda) or you're taking a several hundred dollar hit to upgrade them AND probably messing up the aesthetics doing it. It kind of still even makes sense because even new bikes come with shitty wheels, but i feel like this is a massive trap that we don't often cover.
What do you guys think about this?
