Which Hubs?

John.

Following on from another thread I've worked out what size hubs I need, now I've been looking into what's available & can't decide which to buy! They'll be used in a tubeless set-up with Mavic XM 819 rims.

Chris King ISO (Approx. £520 for wheelset)

Pros:
- If the headsets are anything to go by the quality should be top-notch
- I wouldn't get "the itch" to upgrade, like I may with the others
- Bling! [/tart]
Cons:
- Cost!
- Not sure about the need for maintenance?

Hope Pro II (Approx. £300 for wheelset)

Pros:
- Easy to replace bearings
- Tough
- Fairly good value
Cons:
- Noise! (personal thing, but it's slightly annoying to me)
- Need regular maintenance

Shimano XTR (Approx. £300 for wheelset)

Pros:
- Light
- Should need little/ no maintenance
Cons:
- Not sure how tough they are as they're marketed as XC hubs
- Can't just replace a cartridge if the bearings go

Pro IIs are the default option, but I thought I should explore all the possibilities before ordering. Anyone used the above? Any comments/ opinions on them appreciated.

tmg

Kings Rear are noisy too, prob not as noisy as the hopes

I have kings on XM719 rear and xc717 front, really nice hubs and as u mentioned above nothing better so no temptation to upgrade

FSR_XC

John. wrote:

- I wouldn't get "the itch" to upgrade, like I may with the others

Well, if you can afford it . . . . .

Prints

if you can afford the chris king on the rear get it
it has more clutch points so your pedal stroke engages the hub as soon as you start to push. So there is no movement that isnt used to propell you
extra advantage for doing any technical freeride or street as bunnyhop kicks etc are improved substantially.

dunker

with the king rear i've read some people have to adjust them quite alot? hehe look at that 2 votes each not gonna be easy!

also might want to consider the new xt775 hubs with alot more engagement points, 36? hav'nt counted mine yet they have a nice ratchetey clicky noise not over the top loud either

John.

Thanks for the opinions so far.

@ the votes. I guess they’re all going to be good & it’s probably not that easy to split them.

I didn’t consider the XTs TBH, I just assumed the hubs above would be better.

Where have you read about the CKs needing adjusting a lot?

dunker

it when i was looking for a new rear last year (ended up with dt240s xm719 crc build) read quite a few articles that after the spokes get tentioned? the hubs needed adjusting to stop play i think, some said it happened quite often too but a very easy and quick adjustment to do but i just wanted a fit and forget hub.

recently got a new xt775 xm719 set merlin build and the quality of the build to my very amatuerish feel is better than crc's. as the new xt775 hubs has more engagement points this year i'm wondering if that means this years xtr hubs has the same? might be worth looking in to?

Amos

I've recently had the same dilemma, with not knowing whether to go for ProII, XTR or CK.

I went for CK

supersonic

CK and XTR use angular bearings - these need preloading and therefore occasionly need readjusting. Hope use radial cartridges, that do not need preloading. The theory is angular bearings take side loads better.

There is a massive price difference here! But if you want the best, and have the money ;-)

cjw

How about DT Swiss 240s? Nice hubs as well and Merlin can do a good build with the Mavic rims.

strodey

- Noise! (personal thing, but it's slightly annoying to me)

The best noise in the world! you'll learn to love it

rob cole

Hope Pro II (Approx. £300 for wheelset)

Pros:
- Easy to replace bearings
- Tough
- Fairly good value
Cons:
- Noise! (personal thing, but it's slightly annoying to me)
- Need regular maintenance

regular maintenance? 3 years on never touched the first set of hubs, and 2 years on with the other set...never even looked at them, both sets run 100%

not sure what people are doing (jetwashing?) to their Pro2 to require maintenance....

supersonic

The freehubs need pulling apart occasionly - every 3 months accordng to Hope. This part of a shimano hub doesnt ie 'cartridge' freehub.

Anonymous

The XTR Hubs arent amazingly strong as theyre designed for race conditions, not longevity. Go for an XT. I run one and its practically silent compared to the Hopes. The xt also has easy to replace bearings, just need 2 cone spanners, or you might be able to get away with regular spanners.

Spud Son

Pro11 every time ! Fit them, forget'em & ride !

norco forever

love my pro 2's cased them pretty hard and still running perfectly