Hubs - noisey/quiet, choices, pros & cons

Rich_H

Hi

I have been researching hub options and wondered if people could contribute to this thread to build a 'source of truth' (ish) to help other newbies like me.

E.g.
{hub name}, {noisey or silent}, {pro's}, {cons}

"blah" Hub - Noisey - reliable, fits standard 6 bolt discs, easy to get spares for, can be adapted to suit QR, 15mm, 20mm - Expensive compared to "blah" that are similar

Thanks!

Chunkers1980

On the noise.

Pros for some people are cons for others.

Somepeople like the noise of a Hope/Mavic as it aids them hearing how fast they are going while freewheeling and warns walkers ect that they are coming. Others couldn't care less about these 'benefits' and prefer a quite ride and see the noise as a real con.

peter_booker2003

I love the noise of my Pro 2. Makes me sound like i'm a good rider when i freewheel past people

njee20

Pretty subjective on reliability too, there'll be plenty of folk who say "x hub is really reliable" and others who will say it's rubbish. Not to mention the cup and cone vs cartridge debate.

Hubs I've been impressed with:
- DT240
- A2Z
- Shimano XT and XTR Centrelock
- Dura Ace

Hubs I've been underwhelmed by:
- Hope Pro 2
- Chris King
- Tune King/Kong Superscharf

cooldad

Impressed - Shimano Mountain Exage. Going on 25 years old and still going strong. Bit of a bugger finding them new though.

styxd

Shimano are very quiet. Require more looking after though (i you dont then you fuck your hubs rather than just the bearings). If the free hub fails then you need a whole new unit.

Hope Bulb and XC are both solid and reliable. They used a different type of pawl spring to the Pro2 which is why they arent as loud.

My Pro2s have been alrite, pretty loud though. Not used them much.

Hope Pro3s have been awesome. Dunno whether they're that much different to the Pro2, but they're very loud, bearings are lasting well and so is the freehub seal. Only used them on the road bike though.

mrmonkfinger

Rich_H wrote:

Hi

So you want recommendations?

For what budget?

Rich_H

Thanks guys.

As a newbie I was generally interested in gathering information, as in:
- which hubs click, which dont
- which hubs people consider "good" and which "bad" (understanding that this could be subjective as well as factual)
- which hubs have particular pros and cons. For example, they might be easy to adjust between QR/15/20, or they might only take certain types of discs

As to *my* requirements....
I am 14 stone
I ride a 2012 Giant Trance X4 and am planning to upgrade to RS Reba 120mm, 15mm
I ride Ashton Court/Leigh Woods/Forest of Dean trails (both man made and 'natural') - prefer the nasty slippery, rooty, rocky horrible stuff, not into jumping or large drop-offs or 'speedy downhill' stuff
Am a pretty poor (technique) rider, but getting better.......slowly.
Budget for wheels - I'd like to spend around £200, I could wait and spend £300
I'd really prefer silent hubs, really really prefer them (but a convincing argument could 'sway' me)
I'd like to re-use my existing discs to save money.

The Giant Trance X0 has Deore XT M788 wheels, so knowing little that would seem 'good' to me (happy to be corrected). Have also considered Superstars Crest/Flow/Arch (thanks to hel on my other thread) but still feel a little out of my depth when it comes to making a choice.

All advice welcomed!

Rich.

mrmonkfinger

So you want a complete wheelset? Superstars are good.


DT swiss hubs use a ratchet not pawls, they get good reviews, merlin do these as a full build for £200:

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/w ... heels.html

Rich_H

Would those DT's fit the Giants rear? I think its a 135 QR rear, and the DTs are 142. It would save me £30 over the Stans/Superstars "Crest" wheels which I have also been considering, I assume they are similar in terms of spec?

lawman

Imo those dts are not in the same league as the superstars, the DT hubs are good, but the rims are just average and not as good as stans, they are made of very soft aluminium and dent very easily, I have 2 sets of crests on AM style bikes, so abit outside of their xc origins and they have been spot on. superstars all the way or pro2's if you can afford them.

mrmonkfinger

lawman wrote:

but the rims are just average and not as good as stans, they are made of very soft aluminium and dent very easily

I stand corrected.

Plus, if the rear wheel is the wrong axle standard, they're out.