New American Classic hub seems rough?

Hi,

I got a new set of LEW Palermo wheels with American Classic Hubs.
When I was checking out the wheels I noticed the rear hub seemed a
little rough, so I did a rudimentary experiment. I took my rear Rolf
Sestriere, and spun it until it stopped. It took 45s. I then took
the
LEW and spun it until it stopped. It took only 30s. I then tried to
make the LEW spin for 45s by spinning it harder. I couldn't make it
go
that long.

I've also noticed that the friction generated when the cassette body
is
engaged is much higher on the American Classic hub than on the Rolf,
which
I believe is a Hugi hub. i.e., if all other things were equal and you
were coasting on a flat road, the American Classic hub would stop you
sooner
than the Rolf hub.

Like I said, the American Classic hub is supposedly brand new, and it
definitely looks the part. The Rolf hub, by contrast, is several
years old.
So my questions then are does any of this matter? And if so, how do I
tell for sure if something is wrong?

Thanks,

Eric Lambi

Does it turn smooth, or does it feel like it's got square bearings or grit
in it? It sounds like it's just stiff from being new.

Eric Lambi wrote:

Hi,

I got a new set of LEW Palermo wheels with American Classic Hubs.
When I was checking out the wheels I noticed the rear hub seemed a
little rough, so I did a rudimentary experiment. I took my rear Rolf
Sestriere, and spun it until it stopped. It took 45s. I then took
the
LEW and spun it until it stopped. It took only 30s. I then tried to
make the LEW spin for 45s by spinning it harder. I couldn't make it
go
that long.

I've also noticed that the friction generated when the cassette body
is
engaged is much higher on the American Classic hub than on the Rolf,
which
I believe is a Hugi hub. i.e., if all other things were equal and you
were coasting on a flat road, the American Classic hub would stop you
sooner
than the Rolf hub.

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(Eric Lambi) wrote

... the American Classic hub would stop you
sooner than the Rolf hub.
Maybe it would, but nothing you have described would establish that to be the
case. Do a roll down test and let us know the results. I'll bet it isn't as
clear as you are assuming.

So my questions then are does any of this matter? And if so, how do I
tell for sure if something is wrong?

Add as much weight as possible (tire, tube, etc) to the LEW (or take it away
from the the Rolf) and repeat your "experiment" to see how valueless it is in
determining the drag of the wheel. The "spin time" of a wheel is very heavily
(no pun intended) dependent on the rotating mass of the wheel. I'm pretty sure
I could take any old Schwinn Varsity with steel rims and heavy 27" tires and
make a wheel spin a minute or two. It wouldn't mean that it has better
bearings.

DR

eric- Thanks for the responses. Sounds like there is no problem . . . I'm
always paranoid when I buy stuff off eBay. BRBR

As you should.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"