A customer dropped off front and rear wheels that appear to be intended for use on a time trial bike.
The front wheel is a Corima 47mm high rim wheel,
the "47mm."
Tubular tires are already mounted,
and since it uses internal nipples, I can't true it.
If the hub bearings are bad, replace them,
and if not bad, they want me to grease them anyway.
I didn't really feel it was necessary
(adding grease just makes rotation heavier),
but I applied something that wouldn't affect rotation too much.
I was planning to just check the hub bearings on the front wheel,
but
the Panaracer Agilist tubular tire
doesn't appear to be properly mounted.
It came off pretty easily.
There are rim cement marks on the rim side, but
near the valve hole, no rim cement was applied at all.
Some people do this with rim tape too,
it's a life hack (laugh) for making tires easier to remove.
Certainly, around where the valve passes through,
the tire won't slide sideways off the rim,
but it will move loosely at one point.
I sometimes do something similar where I prioritize easy removal—applying cement only to the rim (not the tire) on the rear wheel—
but that's completely different from not applying cement or tape in a certain section at all.
The label directly below the valve shows the maker name (Panaracer),
with no rim cement attached.
On the opposite side is the model name label (Agilist),
and from that side, the tire wasn't properly mounted.
Since there's no rim cement on the entire tire base,
it's just one coat applied only to the rim (avoiding the valve hole area).
The tire mounting history on this wheel is probably no more than three times.
The customer is not the original owner of these wheels.
And after acquiring these front and rear wheels,
because the current condition seemed untrustworthy, they sent them to me before use.
I thought, "If the tire were properly mounted, I wouldn't need to remove it just to check.
But if I'm removing it anyway, I should true it."
There was enough lateral runout to justify that, so I trued it.
The image above is after the work, but there was no center offset originally.
The tire shows almost no signs of use,
and even has the sprue from the injection mold still on it—
not just no center line.
The tread pattern is a center slick with crosshatch siping on the sides,
and since there are two "彡" marks in the siping,
the general rotation direction of the tire would be
→→→toward the right side of the image→→→,
but
the manufacturer's specified direction is the opposite,
so I follow that.
After this, I applied rim cement to the rim side—just one coat, but quite thick.
I also applied rim cement to the tire side.
Next, the rear wheel.
It's a lightweight disc wheel.
The freebody is a DT Star Ratchet type for Campagnolo,
but the customer wants it changed to Shimano 11-speed (12-speed compatible too).
The freebody isn't in the customer's possession,
so I ordered it through the shop.
The customer had already noticed,
but the valve is quite tilted.
The force stretching the tire after inserting the valve
wasn't equal left and right.
The reason I'm being cautious is that the serial number
is completely visible.
This tire also came off easily.
The rim cement has turned dark brown and hardened completely,
so several years have passed,
but since the tire is an Agilist, it shouldn't be that old.
Like the front wheel, near the valve hole,
no rim cement was applied,
but the extent is ridiculous.
When I used my usual center gauge,
it registered the rim as extremely offset to the left,
but
this is because the gauge contacts the lens-shaped bulge of the disc section,
and the bulge differs left and right.
So I used a Park Tool center gauge,
which has slightly lower measurement precision
but can measure only on the outermost edge of the rim,
↑and got these results.
Naturally, disc wheels and batten wheels cannot be trued or centered.
DT calls the freebody + right dropout end kit a "Rotor Kit,"
and the right end width differs completely between
Shimano 10-speed (still current as the 11-speed standard for MTB), Shimano 11-speed, and Campagnolo.
When changing the rotor kit from Shimano 10-speed to 11-speed,
the hub's over-locknut dimension increases only on the right end,
so the lateral rim position shifts left compared to before.
When Shimano components moved from 7900 to 9000 series,
many non-Shimano 10-speed complete wheels converted to 11-speed (→
This rear wheel uses a Campagnolo-spec freebody,
but the customer is not the original owner,
so they don't have the Shimano 11-speed freebody.
However, I suspect the original spec of this rear wheel
was a Shimano freebody.
Before I write my reasoning...
Recently, since many right ends are thru-axle types,
they're sold separately rather than as rotor kits—
the rotor (freebody part) and right end
as separate components.
Reason 1: The bamboo-shoot spring orientation on the freebody was wrong.
If this freebody had been original,
this couldn't have happened.
The hub body side orientation was correct.
The correct orientation is "the side facing the ratchet parts has the smaller diameter."
Reason 2: The Star Ratchet's proprietary grease
was completely absent.
The image above is after I reapplied it,
but the original ratchet parts had no trace of proprietary grease.
Lower-grade ratchet parts have no lightening,
but mid-range and above have U-shaped cross-section lightening.
The proprietary grease remains pink in those lightened hollow spaces,
but there was none, and even if the grease was dirty,
you can identify it by its characteristic gray color, which wasn't there either.
The only way this happens is if the freebody was changed,
cleaned with parts cleaner to remove the grease,
and then no proprietary grease was reapplied.
Therefore, this couldn't originally have been a Campagnolo-spec freebody.
After swapping to the Shimano 11-speed rotor kit,
I checked with the center gauge again.
The rim still trends left-offset,
and the amount of offset appears even greater.
There's runout too, so depending on the section,
it might look like the offset decreased, but
it looks about the same at best.
The Shimano 10-speed right dropout end is the shortest,
so using that would move the rim relatively rightward.
Even with that end, the over-locknut dimension is of course above 130mm.
After swapping to Shimano 11-speed rotor kit,
it's around 132mm, which is the bare minimum for fitting
130mm-spec frames.
Most frame makers don't accept any amount below 130mm
but allow up to 132mm on the plus side.
Tni Evolution Lite hubs change left-right spacers with freebody changes,
so the freewheel offset varies,
but actually the over-locknut dimension stays constant at around 131mm.
Rear hubs exceeding 130mm are actually fairly common.
If only the right end were Shimano 10-speed,
the rim would move closer to the wheel center,
but with a Campagnolo freebody,
the right end face would be nearly flush with the sprocket lockring,
causing the rear wheel not to rotate, so
I have no choice but to accept the current condition.
Well, there are workarounds with machining,
The reason I didn't use a rotor kit with Shimano 11-speed freebody + Shimano 10-speed right end
is because it would become "wheel-specific derailleur adjustment,"
but someone with a TT frame and a lightweight disc wheel—
would they really swap rear wheels around?
If not, wouldn't "wheel-specific shift position" be okay?
I thought that, but since the customer needs it this coming weekend for a duathlon,
I figured someone with a triathlon bike would use non-disc rear wheels sometimes,
so I went with the manufacturer's standard rotor kit configuration.
While I'm at it, I'll note that the DT Star Ratchet hub's
low gear engagement position—the sprocket lateral position—is
quite unconventional, further out than Shimano's standard.
However, DT hand-built wheels and wheels made by companies like
Rovelaki, Bontrager, and GIANT who have DT manufacture their hubs
work together fine, so for certain individuals it's not a problem.
Pairing with Fulcrum or Mavic gets a bit complicated.
From 10-speed to 11-speed, and 11-speed to 12-speed,
shift adjustment becomes increasingly sensitive.
Shimano electronic component shift adjustment position settings follow
2n+1 steps (initial position plus/minus n steps)
where at 9070 series 11-speed this is n=12 for 25 steps
(initial position with ±12 steps each).
If this step count stayed the same but sprocket count increased,
the adjustment range per step would become coarser.
So current 12-speed components allow n=18 for 37-step adjustment.
The 6770 (10-speed) is oddly n=15 for 31 steps,
allowing finer adjustment than the later 9070 due to fewer sprockets,
but don't worry about it.
Also, R9150 (11-speed) is n=16 for 32 steps (not 33)
which is more than 9070.
Since there are two factors—sprocket count and adjustment step count—
I can't say definitively, but when swapping from
a DT hub rear wheel to most non-DT rear wheels,
Shimano electronic components may require
adjustment around 3 steps.
I installed this rear wheel on my personal frame.
I thought about securing it with a quick release
if it was a loose fit, but the over-locknut dimension's plus tolerance is so large
it fits snugly on the frame.
In the image above, the freebody is on the left end,
so I've installed the rear wheel backwards from normal.
Looking around the BB area,
I can see the rim is offset downward (in the image)
relative to the gap between the left and right chainstays.
The center gauge showed the rim shifted left,
so this aligns.
I'll now reinstall the wheel flipped the other way,
but factors like the left and right chainstay shapes
potentially being different or frame runout aren't relevant.
If the wheel center is correct,
flipping and reinstalling the wheel
(or rather, with the flip already done),
the visual result should be the same.
I installed it with the wheel's left end
aligned to the frame's left end.
The rim position has moved more to the left (upward in the image)
compared to before.
I lack the rigor of shooting from the same angle
(I should have aligned the valve hole position)
but even with a more tapered chainstay shape,
there's enough clearance that the tubular tire won't rub.
I remounted the tire so the valve sits straight.
There are examples of lightweight rear wheels with DT freewheel
that achieve near-perfect centering (→
The front wheel is a Corima 47mm high rim wheel,
the "47mm."
Tubular tires are already mounted,
and since it uses internal nipples, I can't true it.
If the hub bearings are bad, replace them,
and if not bad, they want me to grease them anyway.
I didn't really feel it was necessary
(adding grease just makes rotation heavier),
but I applied something that wouldn't affect rotation too much.
I was planning to just check the hub bearings on the front wheel,
but
the Panaracer Agilist tubular tire
doesn't appear to be properly mounted.
It came off pretty easily.
There are rim cement marks on the rim side, but
near the valve hole, no rim cement was applied at all.
Some people do this with rim tape too,
it's a life hack (laugh) for making tires easier to remove.
Certainly, around where the valve passes through,
the tire won't slide sideways off the rim,
but it will move loosely at one point.
I sometimes do something similar where I prioritize easy removal—applying cement only to the rim (not the tire) on the rear wheel—
but that's completely different from not applying cement or tape in a certain section at all.
The label directly below the valve shows the maker name (Panaracer),
with no rim cement attached.
On the opposite side is the model name label (Agilist),
and from that side, the tire wasn't properly mounted.
Since there's no rim cement on the entire tire base,
it's just one coat applied only to the rim (avoiding the valve hole area).
The tire mounting history on this wheel is probably no more than three times.
The customer is not the original owner of these wheels.
And after acquiring these front and rear wheels,
I thought, "If the tire were properly mounted, I wouldn't need to remove it just to check.
But if I'm removing it anyway, I should true it."
There was enough lateral runout to justify that, so I trued it.
The image above is after the work, but there was no center offset originally.
The tire shows almost no signs of use,
and even has the sprue from the injection mold still on it—
not just no center line.
The tread pattern is a center slick with crosshatch siping on the sides,
and since there are two "彡" marks in the siping,
the general rotation direction of the tire would be
→→→toward the right side of the image→→→,
but
the manufacturer's specified direction is the opposite,
so I follow that.
After this, I applied rim cement to the rim side—just one coat, but quite thick.
I also applied rim cement to the tire side.
Next, the rear wheel.
It's a lightweight disc wheel.
The freebody is a DT Star Ratchet type for Campagnolo,
but the customer wants it changed to Shimano 11-speed (12-speed compatible too).
The freebody isn't in the customer's possession,
so I ordered it through the shop.
The customer had already noticed,
but the valve is quite tilted.
The force stretching the tire after inserting the valve
wasn't equal left and right.
The reason I'm being cautious is that the serial number
is completely visible.
This tire also came off easily.
The rim cement has turned dark brown and hardened completely,
so several years have passed,
but since the tire is an Agilist, it shouldn't be that old.
Like the front wheel, near the valve hole,
no rim cement was applied,
but the extent is ridiculous.
When I used my usual center gauge,
it registered the rim as extremely offset to the left,
but
this is because the gauge contacts the lens-shaped bulge of the disc section,
and the bulge differs left and right.
So I used a Park Tool center gauge,
which has slightly lower measurement precision
but can measure only on the outermost edge of the rim,
↑and got these results.
Naturally, disc wheels and batten wheels cannot be trued or centered.
DT calls the freebody + right dropout end kit a "Rotor Kit,"
and the right end width differs completely between
Shimano 10-speed (still current as the 11-speed standard for MTB), Shimano 11-speed, and Campagnolo.
When changing the rotor kit from Shimano 10-speed to 11-speed,
the hub's over-locknut dimension increases only on the right end,
so the lateral rim position shifts left compared to before.
When Shimano components moved from 7900 to 9000 series,
many non-Shimano 10-speed complete wheels converted to 11-speed (→
This rear wheel uses a Campagnolo-spec freebody,
but the customer is not the original owner,
so they don't have the Shimano 11-speed freebody.
However, I suspect the original spec of this rear wheel
was a Shimano freebody.
Before I write my reasoning...
Recently, since many right ends are thru-axle types,
they're sold separately rather than as rotor kits—
the rotor (freebody part) and right end
as separate components.
Reason 1: The bamboo-shoot spring orientation on the freebody was wrong.
If this freebody had been original,
this couldn't have happened.
The hub body side orientation was correct.
The correct orientation is "the side facing the ratchet parts has the smaller diameter."
Reason 2: The Star Ratchet's proprietary grease
was completely absent.
The image above is after I reapplied it,
but the original ratchet parts had no trace of proprietary grease.
Lower-grade ratchet parts have no lightening,
but mid-range and above have U-shaped cross-section lightening.
The proprietary grease remains pink in those lightened hollow spaces,
but there was none, and even if the grease was dirty,
you can identify it by its characteristic gray color, which wasn't there either.
The only way this happens is if the freebody was changed,
cleaned with parts cleaner to remove the grease,
and then no proprietary grease was reapplied.
Therefore, this couldn't originally have been a Campagnolo-spec freebody.
After swapping to the Shimano 11-speed rotor kit,
I checked with the center gauge again.
The rim still trends left-offset,
and the amount of offset appears even greater.
There's runout too, so depending on the section,
it might look like the offset decreased, but
it looks about the same at best.
The Shimano 10-speed right dropout end is the shortest,
so using that would move the rim relatively rightward.
Even with that end, the over-locknut dimension is of course above 130mm.
After swapping to Shimano 11-speed rotor kit,
it's around 132mm, which is the bare minimum for fitting
130mm-spec frames.
Most frame makers don't accept any amount below 130mm
but allow up to 132mm on the plus side.
Tni Evolution Lite hubs change left-right spacers with freebody changes,
so the freewheel offset varies,
but actually the over-locknut dimension stays constant at around 131mm.
Rear hubs exceeding 130mm are actually fairly common.
If only the right end were Shimano 10-speed,
the rim would move closer to the wheel center,
but with a Campagnolo freebody,
the right end face would be nearly flush with the sprocket lockring,
causing the rear wheel not to rotate, so
I have no choice but to accept the current condition.
The reason I didn't use a rotor kit with Shimano 11-speed freebody + Shimano 10-speed right end
is because it would become "wheel-specific derailleur adjustment,"
but someone with a TT frame and a lightweight disc wheel—
would they really swap rear wheels around?
If not, wouldn't "wheel-specific shift position" be okay?
I thought that, but since the customer needs it this coming weekend for a duathlon,
I figured someone with a triathlon bike would use non-disc rear wheels sometimes,
so I went with the manufacturer's standard rotor kit configuration.
While I'm at it, I'll note that the DT Star Ratchet hub's
low gear engagement position—the sprocket lateral position—is
quite unconventional, further out than Shimano's standard.
However, DT hand-built wheels and wheels made by companies like
Rovelaki, Bontrager, and GIANT who have DT manufacture their hubs
work together fine, so for certain individuals it's not a problem.
Pairing with Fulcrum or Mavic gets a bit complicated.
From 10-speed to 11-speed, and 11-speed to 12-speed,
shift adjustment becomes increasingly sensitive.
Shimano electronic component shift adjustment position settings follow
2n+1 steps (initial position plus/minus n steps)
where at 9070 series 11-speed this is n=12 for 25 steps
(initial position with ±12 steps each).
If this step count stayed the same but sprocket count increased,
the adjustment range per step would become coarser.
So current 12-speed components allow n=18 for 37-step adjustment.
The 6770 (10-speed) is oddly n=15 for 31 steps,
allowing finer adjustment than the later 9070 due to fewer sprockets,
but don't worry about it.
Also, R9150 (11-speed) is n=16 for 32 steps (not 33)
which is more than 9070.
Since there are two factors—sprocket count and adjustment step count—
I can't say definitively, but when swapping from
a DT hub rear wheel to most non-DT rear wheels,
Shimano electronic components may require
adjustment around 3 steps.
I installed this rear wheel on my personal frame.
I thought about securing it with a quick release
if it was a loose fit, but the over-locknut dimension's plus tolerance is so large
it fits snugly on the frame.
In the image above, the freebody is on the left end,
so I've installed the rear wheel backwards from normal.
Looking around the BB area,
I can see the rim is offset downward (in the image)
relative to the gap between the left and right chainstays.
The center gauge showed the rim shifted left,
so this aligns.
I'll now reinstall the wheel flipped the other way,
but factors like the left and right chainstay shapes
potentially being different or frame runout aren't relevant.
If the wheel center is correct,
flipping and reinstalling the wheel
(or rather, with the flip already done),
the visual result should be the same.
I installed it with the wheel's left end
aligned to the frame's left end.
The rim position has moved more to the left (upward in the image)
compared to before.
I lack the rigor of shooting from the same angle
(I should have aligned the valve hole position)
but even with a more tapered chainstay shape,
there's enough clearance that the tubular tire won't rub.
I remounted the tire so the valve sits straight.
There are examples of lightweight rear wheels with DT freewheel
that achieve near-perfect centering (→
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