2005 Trek Top Fuel 110 - Repair and Restomod
- Thread starter Mikey08
- Start date
Mikey08
Kona Fan
Bit of a rant....
This wheel upgrade is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. Mainly due to the cost which has been way more than I think it should be. The initial outlay on the second hand hubs wasnt too bad but the rims (EUR 232.60) with the added import duty (£64) were far from cheap. Spokes were suprisingly costly if choosing the lighter ones such as DT aerolites (£2.50 each) so I ended up compromising and going for Sapim race (£1.20 each) which will still give me a substantially lighter wheelset than my old mavics.
My hubs both need new end caps as the fronts a looking a bit ropey and the rears are for 12mm through axle. The freehub body is a little worse for wear and id like to upgrade the ratchet ring to the 54 tooth. Whats crazy is how much all these little parts cost....
DT Swiss Front end caps £35 - £40
DT Swiss Rear end caps £35 - £40
DT Swiss freehub body £50 - £70
DT RWS 135 x 10mm skewer £50
DT Swiss 54t ratchet ring £80!
Total £ 250!!
Fortunately Ive found all the above on Ali Express for way less. These parts may be fake but they'll do the same job
Then theres tape and sealant....
I wanted to build them myself but the cost of a wheel stand was ridiculous, there were cheaper options on Ali Express but I cant trust them. So I looked around for a shop or mechanic to do the final tensioning and the prices were just silly. One place said theyd only do the full build so id have to disassemble and take the bare components to built at a cost of £150 per wheel!!! The assembly was super easy due to the strainght pull hubs and I worked out my lengths using the DT calculator and verified in Spokecalc.io, they were spot on. Eventually I found a local guy who quoted me £60 - £100 but when I took him the wheels he tried upping the price to £150. I didnt accept that so he "£100 then" by this point I was so fed up with the whole situation I agreed. Hes done a good job to be fair.
This project is supposed to a fun distraction from my mental health issues but its been a pain in the arse honestly. If anyones thinking about doing a big custom project like this dont. Just a buy a decent mid range modern bike and be done with it. For the money ive spent on this I could have got a pretty good modern mtb.
Sorry for the negativity guys I just needed to get things off my chest.
This wheel upgrade is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. Mainly due to the cost which has been way more than I think it should be. The initial outlay on the second hand hubs wasnt too bad but the rims (EUR 232.60) with the added import duty (£64) were far from cheap. Spokes were suprisingly costly if choosing the lighter ones such as DT aerolites (£2.50 each) so I ended up compromising and going for Sapim race (£1.20 each) which will still give me a substantially lighter wheelset than my old mavics.
My hubs both need new end caps as the fronts a looking a bit ropey and the rears are for 12mm through axle. The freehub body is a little worse for wear and id like to upgrade the ratchet ring to the 54 tooth. Whats crazy is how much all these little parts cost....
DT Swiss Front end caps £35 - £40
DT Swiss Rear end caps £35 - £40
DT Swiss freehub body £50 - £70
DT RWS 135 x 10mm skewer £50
DT Swiss 54t ratchet ring £80!
Total £ 250!!
Fortunately Ive found all the above on Ali Express for way less. These parts may be fake but they'll do the same job
Then theres tape and sealant....
I wanted to build them myself but the cost of a wheel stand was ridiculous, there were cheaper options on Ali Express but I cant trust them. So I looked around for a shop or mechanic to do the final tensioning and the prices were just silly. One place said theyd only do the full build so id have to disassemble and take the bare components to built at a cost of £150 per wheel!!! The assembly was super easy due to the strainght pull hubs and I worked out my lengths using the DT calculator and verified in Spokecalc.io, they were spot on. Eventually I found a local guy who quoted me £60 - £100 but when I took him the wheels he tried upping the price to £150. I didnt accept that so he "£100 then" by this point I was so fed up with the whole situation I agreed. Hes done a good job to be fair.
This project is supposed to a fun distraction from my mental health issues but its been a pain in the arse honestly. If anyones thinking about doing a big custom project like this dont. Just a buy a decent mid range modern bike and be done with it. For the money ive spent on this I could have got a pretty good modern mtb.
Sorry for the negativity guys I just needed to get things off my chest.
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