campagnolo experts help please

[thecycleclinic]

I have a set of chorus hubs pre 2007 on an alloy axle in need of a new freehub. Well FH-RE415 + new axle should be the parts I need so thats what I have. However the new freehub is very odd, the outer bearing is not in the same place as on the original free hub, it is buried inside the body itself. So while the axle and freehub body fit, once every is fitted there is play in the freehub body as the DS lock nut has nothing to butt up against. So is there a longer DS locknut that I need with this kit? The distibutor say there is nothing wrong with the part but the problem I have will not go away just by hoping.

here is a pic of the FH-RE415 and please help in getting my hubs running smooth again. My other option is to replace the outer bearing in the orginal freehub which is the worst one.

[Brucey]

that looks all wrong to me; that freewheel body either has

a) only one bearing in it (in which case you would surely have noticed) or

b) two bearings but no spacer inside.

either way it needs sorting out. If b) it may prove difficult to take the thing apart, because there will be little or no clearance between the bearings , so difficult to get a drift on the back of the outer bearing. IIRC the inner bearing is retained with a clip, so can't be boshed out without removing the clip, which you can't get at unless you either remove the outer bearing or drill a hole or two in the body (above the clip) so that the clip can be dislodged.

Given the amount these parts cost, I would feel incredibly disappointed to get something like that. Given the cost and relative ease of fitting new bearings, I'd have done that from the outset.

cheers

[thecycleclinic]

I agree it looks like the spacer is missing which rather odd. I will have to send it back and get a replacement. I have found getting the inner bearing out is rather difficult as the retaining ring is bit difficult to remove and when you do it is bend beyond reuse.

[Brucey]

IIRC you can change the campag snap ring (if it is one without ears) for a standard one that does have ears. That way next time you can use circlip pliers which makes the job a piece of cake.

cheers

[Valbrona]

1/ The real Campag experts (not me, by the way) are on these boards and not Weight Weenies.

2/ That freehub is plain defective - it is missing its outermost cartridge bearing.

3/ You are going about replacing your freehub all wrong - you can't get the older pattern freehubs anymore. You buy a contemporary Record hub and you take out all of the internals, including the freehub, and you fit them into your hubshell. Or, you replace existing cartridge bearings in your freehub body.

[Mick F]

+1 to that!

That's what I did. By buying a new hub, you get a bargain of spare parts. Surf the 'net and find a good deal on a new Record hub, strip it down completely and all you'll have left is the bare shell ......... and a box of spare parts.

Use the new axle with the new freewheel assembly - the newer stuff is different to the older stuff but fits in the old shell fine. The cups and cones and all the seals and fittings are identical to the old too.

I still have my bare shell and keep meaning to make a system to take out the drive ring. When that comes out, the shell will be put in the recycling bin.

[Brucey]

.....I still have my bare shell and keep meaning to make a system to take out the drive ring. When that comes out, the shell will be put in the recycling bin.

of course you know full well that the day you do that, your hub flange will crack, don't you...?

cheers

[Mick F]

If it cracks, I'd need a new one but I doubt I can buy one for all the tea in China. Mine is 36h shiny bling Chorus.

The only Record hubs you can buy now only boring black and (only) 28h.

[thecycleclinic]

actually this freehub is meant to be the correct replacement so I wanted to try it. I will send it back and get a replacement. I thought there was something fishy with it and I will when I get chance replace the bearings in the original freehub but that will take a few extra minutes which I do not have.

[pliptrot]

Aah, remember the days when the LBS would tell you Shimano was OK but they kept changing their designs too often - and Campag made superior stuff the same way continually so understanding spare parts requirements was a doddle? It says much that the only hub offering from Campag now is Record and only in 28h. The confidence trick that is "factory" wheels appears to have worked. I'm not old enough to be a curmudgeon, but I do think Vicenza no longer hear "the voice of the customer."

[Mick F]

I think they do.
They are selling to the mass market, and spare parts are a thing of the past in these modular-replace-the-whole-unit days. Have you tried buying a single sprocket?

Campag make a wide selection of hubs, but they are all in factory wheels. The Record hubs are possibly the last dying separate hubs, and I reckon they don't make them any more ..... the ones on sale will be shelf items and when they're gone, they're gone.

Pista stuff will continue for the time being, including the Record 1" threaded headset.

Only IMHO.

[Brucey]

is it not the case that the same freewheel body is used in some campag and fulcrum wheels, so spare parts will continue to be available? I thought that was the case but have not verified it with my own eyes.

cheers

[foxyrider]

If it cracks, I'd need a new one but I doubt I can buy one for all the tea in China. Mine is 36h shiny bling Chorus.

The only Record hubs you can buy now only boring black and (only) 28h.

Not true - i have a pair of 32's but yes they are black

[Mick F]

The only ones available now are 28h.
You may be able to find others of course, but you'll have to hunt. I bought my Chorus hubs (front 32h rear 36h) from Mercian because they were the only people I could find who had one of each because Chorus hubs had long-since finished. I could have bought Centaur, but by then they weren't in cup and cone.

A few years later, I was able to find an old front Centaur in cup and cone, so I bought it, stripped it down to save the cups, cones, balls and seals, then sold the residue. Nice cheap way of buying bearings!

There are three sorts of freewheel assemblies:
One for the cartridge bearing hubs - noisy and clicky. Xenon, Mirage, later Centaur.
One for the cup and cone hubs - nice and quiet. Early Centaur, Chorus and Early Record.
The third type is for the later Record. It's basically the same as the second type but won't go on the axle, so you need a new axle as well, but the second type is difficult to find now I understand. That is why I bought a whole new Record for the internals.

Before all that, you had early hubs in 8sp. Different again.

[MartinC]

32 hole Record Hubs are in the 2014 Campagnolo catalogue and in R J Chicken's catalogue.