Hubs with a decent lifespan

mab bee

For the past few years I have relied on Shimano Ultegra or Dura Ace hubs on Mavic Open Pro rims as my workhorse wheels. I do about 12,000 miles per year in all weather and regularly re-grease the bearings. However, after ~12months of use the cones are worn and even with replacement ball bearings the hubs feel gritty. So for the past few years I've been replacing my wheelset each year -- the cost of replacing cones is close to the cost of a whle new hub.

I would like to purchase some handbuilt wheels based on hubs that have cartridge bearings. That way there are no cones to wear away. They must be handbuilt wheels, so that it is simple to swap the rims when they are worn.

So are there any reccommendations for suitable hubs. The only ones I've seen sofar are Hope ProIII -- but I've heard bad things about Hope hubs. Apparantly hope hubs are CNC machined from a solid Al billet, rather than forged. This means that hope hubs are more prone to fracture on the flanges (and searching for hope ghub probalmes has found several cases of this on t'internet).

So any alternatives?

Monty Dog

Harry Rowland and others recommend Ambrosio cartridge hubs, otherwise you need to double that for the likes of DT.

acorn_user

Sounds like your problems are related to sealing. Shimano cones are about as good as it gets on that front.

Maybe you should try mtb hubs. Shimanon XT hubs are not light, but they are strong, and well sealed from grime.

I would not worry about Hope hub flanges. If you have a conservative build, eg 32 spokes, three crossed, that will put very little pressure on the flanges. Radial spoking and the very high tension you need for low spoke count wheels should account for 99% of issues (and is why neither Shimano or Campag will warranty hubs that have been radially laced). Hope hubs are supposed to be well sealed too. You might also think about Goldtec hubs too.

Also consider Wheels manufacturing spare parts, as these are better value.

cooper.michael1

While i have found MTB hubs to last and last on my tourer, on the road bike the rear spacing in 130mm whereas MTB hubs are 135mm so would not fit.

acorn_user

Ach, it's only 2.5mm on each side. Spring it out. Well, maybe not if you have a carbon bike. Aluminium is usually ok. You could always respace the hubs. It would take a bit of extra work, but is not too hard.

JonEdwards

Been running Hope hubs for years and years and years on my MTB's. Never had any problems with them - only a couple have needed bearing replacements, and some have been seriously abused.

The only failures I've heard of have been the hub flanges on the old Lightweight fronts going when laced radialy (which they told you not to do in the instructions) and the occasional broken axle on the rear - usually caused by casing big jumps.

Overall, quality kit that just goes on and on. Pro III hubs come in road sizes too I believe.

hamstercp

How about Campag Record? The great thing about Record hubs is that they have a grease port - every couple of weeks they get a quick pump of grease.

My 1998 Record hubs are still running true and smooth, have never been stripped down and get used all winter. Admittedly I don't ride 12k miles a year, though.

£150 for a pair of hubs that's about 1p per mile...hardly excessive running costs anyway - maybe you are asking a bit much?