wickedwheels
Old School Hero
So I finally built up the wheels I wanted for my bike--Shimano XTR M900 hubs on Mavic 717's. I used DT 14/15g spokes (3x front and rear) with alloy nipples (silver and black alternating). I mounted new Panaracer Smoke and Dart classics on it, too!
Here's the best part, though... because this has come up before:
I swapped out the the axle, bearings and freehub body on the rear hub. I had a new Shimano M950 hub laying around and was able to use all the guts. You may ask why... well, the M950 has a titanium freehub body and a titanium axle. These save over 50g over the ones on the M900 hub (according to my scale, not posted weight). Also, the M950 uses slightly better bearings. So in essence, I got the nicer M950 rear hub, but with the M900 vintage look that my bike needed. Everything fit just fine, with no issues whatsoever.
Another little tip that occurred to me during this project:
To remove a freehub body from a Shimano hub that's not built into a wheel simply install a cassette and use a chain whip for leverage when you apply the 10mm allen wrench.
Here's the best part, though... because this has come up before:
I swapped out the the axle, bearings and freehub body on the rear hub. I had a new Shimano M950 hub laying around and was able to use all the guts. You may ask why... well, the M950 has a titanium freehub body and a titanium axle. These save over 50g over the ones on the M900 hub (according to my scale, not posted weight). Also, the M950 uses slightly better bearings. So in essence, I got the nicer M950 rear hub, but with the M900 vintage look that my bike needed. Everything fit just fine, with no issues whatsoever.
Another little tip that occurred to me during this project:
To remove a freehub body from a Shimano hub that's not built into a wheel simply install a cassette and use a chain whip for leverage when you apply the 10mm allen wrench.
