Rear or Front Tire

[RyTaBraJes]

Is it possible to use a front tire rim and convert it to a rear tire?

[Alex Ramon]

You could use a front rim on the rear, but it would involve completely rebuilding the wheel. The hubs (center of the wheel) are not interchangeable.

[nfmisso]

To add to Alex's reply.

Rims are not front or rear specific. Hubs are front or rear specific.

The number of spoke holes in the rim, must match the number of spoke holes in the rim.

Tires are also not generally front or rear specific.

[Joe_W]

There are actually rims that are rear specific, though they are seldom encountered in the wild. They have offset spoke holes to compensate for the dish needed in a rear wheel. In a rear wheel the drive side spokes are usually shorter than the non-drive side ones, so the spoke tension is substantially different. Having a rim with spoke holes that are asymmetric compensates for that.

If you have a rim and want to rebuild a wheel, take a look at Roger Musson's book http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php it is very well written and covers everything you need to know.
If you want to use the rim off of a front wheel: don't bother unless it is a really high quality one. Cheap rims are around 10 EUR, I consider them consumables.

[RyTaBraJes]

Okay, Thanks Guys! There is no bike shop in the city I live in. I'll do a google search but if anyone knows of a good online bike shop that sells rims/bike parts let me know. Thanks Again.

[cyclerUK]

(05-13-2011, 09:18 AM)RyTaBraJes Wrote:  Okay, Thanks Guys! There is no bike shop in the city I live in. I'll do a google search but if anyone knows of a good online bike shop that sells rims/bike parts let me know. Thanks Again.

It would help if you said where you lived

[RyTaBraJes]

Sure. I am in Fort McMurray, Alberta. In fairness I did say "Online" bike shop. I am trying to find some cheap wheel sets or even just the rear wheel. For the most part they are more expensive then my whole bike cost and I have a engine kit attatched to it. Another question is: Can a rim get to the point where it can't even be trued, it's just broken. Thanks Guys

[nfmisso]

I like Amazon.

Niagara Cycles might be a better choice for you, they have their own website, as well as selling through Amazon.

Cheap wheels NEED to have their spokes tensioned, wheel trued, stress relieved and repeat. Expensive wheels generally (but not always) have had that properly done. See Peter White's and Sheldon Brown's sites for more information.

A rim can be bent beyond salvage. Another failure mode is cracking.