Another wheel day (long story).
I received wheels built with silver Open Pro from a customer.
Starting with the front wheel.
HB-7400 32H hub, stainless steel #15 plain 6/6 Italian lacing.
The spoke head has a star mark stamped on it,
so it's supposed to be stainless steel (product name, not generic term)... (more on this later).
Anyway, I'm disassembling it, so it doesn't matter,
but the spoke length is on the short side while still within the acceptable range.
Disassembled.
Since the rim will be reused, I released the tension before cutting the spokes.
I'll do a hub overhaul.
The grease had lost its color and turned into an emulsified mess.
The HB-7400 dust cap has a sliding grease port,
and when it's not dirty you can't see it, but
the part inside the dust cap is white delrin (probably).
↑ Grease port
I slid it open to check.
When using 7400-series hubs, you need to watch out for this not being left open.
Next, the rear wheel. The rim is the same as the front.
FH-7403 32H, #15 plain 6/6 Italian lacing.
The spokes are:
Non-freewheel side has an H stamp, so they're Starbright
and stick to a magnet.
The freewheel side is supposed to be stainless,
but it also sticks to the magnet.
This sloppy quality control is exactly why I absolutely hate current star spokes,
though some people say they've improved recently.
I don't care. It scares me to buy them.
If I stock Starbright and it sticks to a magnet,
will they really replace it free of charge?
Also, how they stick to a magnet is different from old Starbright.
I can only assume the material or manufacturing process, or both, have changed.
Actually, the alleged stainless on the front wheel also stuck to a magnet.
↑ Freewheel side spoke too long
↑ Non-freewheel side is also long, but probably the same length spokes were used on both sides.
What's puzzling is that the front wheel spoke length should be roughly the same
as the non-freewheel side length, so if they had enough spokes
to use them universally on all sides, you'd think
the front would be right, freewheel side short, non-freewheel side right.
The short freewheel side is of course NG, but this much protrusion is worse.
Disassembled.
The definitive proof that this is an FH-7403 for 8-speed
and not an FH-7400 for 7-speed is:
First, this left end. The measured over-locknut dimension of this rear hub
is 129.6mm, almost exactly 130mm. But during this hub's era,
rear end spacing was transitioning from 126mm to 130mm,
so the left end has this shape to fit snugly into a 126mm end,
spreading it slightly.
Second is the dust cap.
The FH-7400 also has a sliding grease port,
but the part inside is black plastic, so
even when closed, the hole appears black.
White holes appeared starting with the FH-7402.
Moreover, the FH-7402 has grease port caps on both sides,
while the FH-7403 has a plain cap on the freewheel side
and only the non-freewheel side has a grease port.
Going back in time, the freewheel side looks like this.
The grease is hardened and dirty,
but the bearings showed no damage.
I cleaned and regreased them, but these won't be used this time.
I set the ball adjustment on the loose side,
so I expect some play to develop during wheel building.
What I'm using is the Record hub I received from the customer.
During this period, besides 32H there were also 28H and 36H, but this one is 32H.
The hub shell looking so clean is no accident—
the customer polished it.Polishing compound got stuck in the flange holes.
Built.
Front wheel is CX-RAY 6/6 Italian lacing,
rear wheel is semi-comp 4/6 lacing.
I'll do the spoke threading later.
Actually there's one more pair today
I received a wheel set built with Formula Chrono 20 from a customer.
Record hub 32H, Champion #15 plain non-freewheel-side radial lacing.
I'm not going to comment on the whole Campagnolo "radial lacing prohibited" thing.
I've seen flanges torn from radial lacing, but not on this hub.
In my opinion, the spoke hole position makes tearing pretty much impossible.
↑ The spokes being slightly short, and
the front wheel with radial lacing being no better centered than this—
those things I do have opinions about.
The customer also requested a hub overhaul.
Grease on the outside of the seal, and
grease packed solid inside the hub like butter served in restaurants—
without confirmation, I suspect the factory filled the grease
through the center grease port in the hub shell.
There's no way applying grease from outside could result in this state.
Cleaned.
Later hubs don't have grease ports,
nor are the hub shell inner diameter and hub shaft outer diameter tight fits.
On complete wheels,
grease guards prevent grease from flowing into the hub shell.
Initially those were plastic rings, but
they later became rings with a membrane that's pressed in with the one-piece.
Next, the rear wheel. Rim is the same as front.
Record hub 32H, Champion #15 plain 4/0 lacing.
The front wheel was fairly well tensioned, but the rear was a bit slack,
especially the non-freewheel side being quite limp.
Spoke length is less than the nipple slot depth, so it's out of the question.
Even if tensioned, it's questionable whether it would reach the nipple slot, so it's short no matter what.
It shifts opposite the direction it would shift with age,
so the centering error was from the start.
Unlike the front hub (with factory grease), this had Dura-Ace grease.
Since grease had leaked past the ball adjustment nut,
it must have been filled through the grease port.
To apply grease to this retainer,
you wouldn't need to pack this much grease inside,
and I don't think applying it from the outside could result in this state.
Cleaned.
It had a Shimano freewheel body that fits the unbutted old shaft,
but the customer wants to switch to a Campagnolo freewheel body.
Going back in time, before hub cleaning.
This unbutted shaft is FH-RE201,
and the compatible Campagnolo freewheel body with round splines
(the same one that came on the Record hub from earlier)
is FH-RE415.
Of these, FH-RE201 is not listed in the price chart, so it's discontinued.
This isn't an issue since the new shaft is backward compatible with the old one.
FH-RE415 is available, but oddly it comes bundled with freewheel body + hub shaft,
and costs around 17,000 yen at list price.
FH-RE415 should be just the freewheel body part number,
yet it's somehow become a part number for the FH-RE201 bundled set.
So FH-RE201 old shaft is technically not discontinued, just
no longer sold separately.
Given that, it makes more sense in terms of delivery and cost
to go with the new shaft + current Campagnolo freewheel body with triangular splines,
so that's what I decided to do this time.
Built.
Front wheel is Record hub 32H, CX-RAY 6/6 Italian lacing, but
both front and rear rims are not Formula Chrono 20 but
Mavic's so-called "red label" GP4.
Rear
I received wheels built with silver Open Pro from a customer.
Starting with the front wheel.
HB-7400 32H hub, stainless steel #15 plain 6/6 Italian lacing.
The spoke head has a star mark stamped on it,
so it's supposed to be stainless steel (product name, not generic term)... (more on this later).
Anyway, I'm disassembling it, so it doesn't matter,
but the spoke length is on the short side while still within the acceptable range.
Disassembled.
Since the rim will be reused, I released the tension before cutting the spokes.
I'll do a hub overhaul.
The grease had lost its color and turned into an emulsified mess.
The HB-7400 dust cap has a sliding grease port,
and when it's not dirty you can't see it, but
the part inside the dust cap is white delrin (probably).
↑ Grease port
I slid it open to check.
When using 7400-series hubs, you need to watch out for this not being left open.
Next, the rear wheel. The rim is the same as the front.
FH-7403 32H, #15 plain 6/6 Italian lacing.
The spokes are:
Non-freewheel side has an H stamp, so they're Starbright
and stick to a magnet.
The freewheel side is supposed to be stainless,
but it also sticks to the magnet.
This sloppy quality control is exactly why I absolutely hate current star spokes,
though some people say they've improved recently.
I don't care. It scares me to buy them.
If I stock Starbright and it sticks to a magnet,
will they really replace it free of charge?
Also, how they stick to a magnet is different from old Starbright.
I can only assume the material or manufacturing process, or both, have changed.
Actually, the alleged stainless on the front wheel also stuck to a magnet.
↑ Freewheel side spoke too long
↑ Non-freewheel side is also long, but probably the same length spokes were used on both sides.
What's puzzling is that the front wheel spoke length should be roughly the same
as the non-freewheel side length, so if they had enough spokes
to use them universally on all sides, you'd think
the front would be right, freewheel side short, non-freewheel side right.
The short freewheel side is of course NG, but this much protrusion is worse.
Disassembled.
The definitive proof that this is an FH-7403 for 8-speed
and not an FH-7400 for 7-speed is:
First, this left end. The measured over-locknut dimension of this rear hub
is 129.6mm, almost exactly 130mm. But during this hub's era,
rear end spacing was transitioning from 126mm to 130mm,
so the left end has this shape to fit snugly into a 126mm end,
spreading it slightly.
Second is the dust cap.
The FH-7400 also has a sliding grease port,
but the part inside is black plastic, so
even when closed, the hole appears black.
White holes appeared starting with the FH-7402.
Moreover, the FH-7402 has grease port caps on both sides,
while the FH-7403 has a plain cap on the freewheel side
and only the non-freewheel side has a grease port.
Going back in time, the freewheel side looks like this.
The grease is hardened and dirty,
but the bearings showed no damage.
I cleaned and regreased them, but these won't be used this time.
I set the ball adjustment on the loose side,
so I expect some play to develop during wheel building.
What I'm using is the Record hub I received from the customer.
During this period, besides 32H there were also 28H and 36H, but this one is 32H.
The hub shell looking so clean is no accident—
the customer polished it.
Built.
Front wheel is CX-RAY 6/6 Italian lacing,
rear wheel is semi-comp 4/6 lacing.
I'll do the spoke threading later.
Actually there's one more pair today
I received a wheel set built with Formula Chrono 20 from a customer.
Record hub 32H, Champion #15 plain non-freewheel-side radial lacing.
I'm not going to comment on the whole Campagnolo "radial lacing prohibited" thing.
I've seen flanges torn from radial lacing, but not on this hub.
In my opinion, the spoke hole position makes tearing pretty much impossible.
↑ The spokes being slightly short, and
the front wheel with radial lacing being no better centered than this—
those things I do have opinions about.
The customer also requested a hub overhaul.
Grease on the outside of the seal, and
grease packed solid inside the hub like butter served in restaurants—
without confirmation, I suspect the factory filled the grease
through the center grease port in the hub shell.
There's no way applying grease from outside could result in this state.
Cleaned.
Later hubs don't have grease ports,
nor are the hub shell inner diameter and hub shaft outer diameter tight fits.
On complete wheels,
grease guards prevent grease from flowing into the hub shell.
Initially those were plastic rings, but
they later became rings with a membrane that's pressed in with the one-piece.
Next, the rear wheel. Rim is the same as front.
Record hub 32H, Champion #15 plain 4/0 lacing.
The front wheel was fairly well tensioned, but the rear was a bit slack,
especially the non-freewheel side being quite limp.
Spoke length is less than the nipple slot depth, so it's out of the question.
Even if tensioned, it's questionable whether it would reach the nipple slot, so it's short no matter what.
It shifts opposite the direction it would shift with age,
so the centering error was from the start.
Unlike the front hub (with factory grease), this had Dura-Ace grease.
Since grease had leaked past the ball adjustment nut,
it must have been filled through the grease port.
To apply grease to this retainer,
you wouldn't need to pack this much grease inside,
and I don't think applying it from the outside could result in this state.
Cleaned.
It had a Shimano freewheel body that fits the unbutted old shaft,
but the customer wants to switch to a Campagnolo freewheel body.
Going back in time, before hub cleaning.
This unbutted shaft is FH-RE201,
and the compatible Campagnolo freewheel body with round splines
(the same one that came on the Record hub from earlier)
is FH-RE415.
Of these, FH-RE201 is not listed in the price chart, so it's discontinued.
This isn't an issue since the new shaft is backward compatible with the old one.
FH-RE415 is available, but oddly it comes bundled with freewheel body + hub shaft,
and costs around 17,000 yen at list price.
FH-RE415 should be just the freewheel body part number,
yet it's somehow become a part number for the FH-RE201 bundled set.
So FH-RE201 old shaft is technically not discontinued, just
no longer sold separately.
Given that, it makes more sense in terms of delivery and cost
to go with the new shaft + current Campagnolo freewheel body with triangular splines,
so that's what I decided to do this time.
Built.
Front wheel is Record hub 32H, CX-RAY 6/6 Italian lacing, but
both front and rear rims are not Formula Chrono 20 but
Mavic's so-called "red label" GP4.
Rear
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