Hope Pro II vs. Superstar Tesla Hubs?

Giraffoto

This is for a future project. I've searched and found a couple of people who say they'd prefer the Tesla to the Hope, can anyone say exactly why? Is the shell tougher, are the bearings better/stronger/more reliable, is the freehub quieter, is the take-up quicker? Is either hub lighter than the other?

thelonegroover

As far as I know, anything will be quieter than Hope hubs. Not sure about the other things.

warpcow

On paper it's lighter (by a few grams), has more POE (and is probably quieter), and the bearings are probably about the same. At the price though I'd be tempted to pay the premium for Hope's customer service. I've been willing to accept some thing from Superstar because the parts are so cheap. I'm not sure I'd be so willing to forgive when they start pricing themselves amongst the bigger players.

benpinnick

The main difference (in fact the only real difference you'll ever notice) is that the Tesla has a 60*2 point ratchet, giving a 3 degree pickup, while the hope has a 24 point ratchet, so a 15 degree pickup. The faster pickup is nice, but its not the be all and end all for sure. Otherwise my Tesla (I've had once since release) has been flawless; seems well built and well sealed, runs smooth, resists regular abuse and poor (read no) maintenance, but then so has every hope hub I've ever owned...

Giraffoto

warpcow wrote:

has more POE

Excuse my ignorance, what is or are POE?

benpinnick

Points of enagagement, i.e. the number of teeth in the freehub, which controls how far the freehub must turn before it picks up and you start driving the rear wheel.

cat_with_no_tail

I'd not say the Tesla is quieter than a hope. Completely different sound though. The hope clicks, but the Tesla and the Trizoid buzz (again, this is a result of the faster pickup). Worth noting though that if the sound bothers you, both hubs can be packed out with grease to hush them up.

As said above, I'd not be overly concerned about durability on either a Hope, or a Superstar hub. The weight is pretty much identical, they can both be had in a range of colours. IME, both companies offer very good customer service/returns procedures. The main differences come in the shape of
i. Faster engagement on the Superstars
ii. Much cheaper price on the Superstars
iii. Much cheaper spares on the Superstars (handy if you need to swap dropout sizes, or replace the alloy freehub for a steel one for example).

benpinnick

The Tesla sounds like a horny Cricket...

mrmonkfinger

warpcow wrote:

the bearings are probably about the same.

Anyone know what bearings the Tesla's come with? Manufacturer, I mean.

I have some nice Novatecs on a roadie that have IKO bearings, which are fairly good, but I'm not 100% sure the Tesla is manufactured by Novatec.

IIRC Hope use INA.

benpinnick

Teslas run SKF bearings

mrmonkfinger

benpinnick wrote:

Teslas run SKF bearings

Cheers dude

Can't beat SKFs - Teslas sound like a cracking deal.

solitone

Cat With No Tail wrote:

I'd not say the Tesla is quieter than a hope. Completely different sound though. The hope clicks, but the Tesla and the Trizoid buzz (again, this is a result of the faster pickup). Worth noting though that if the sound bothers you, both hubs can be packed out with grease to hush them up.

Where would I grease it?

I can't bother a hub sounding like a horny cricket.. :evil: The noise issue is the only thing keeping me from buying the Tesla at the moment..

ddraver

^In the freehub, between the pawls and the teeth....

I ve not had them for a long time yet, but I couldnt really tell the difference (apart from Pickup) between my old Hope Wheels and my new Superstar (superleggera) hubs if I'm honest.

MDobs

Slightly off topic, but has any one used the Switch EVO and Tesla hubs, and how much difference have people noticed between them?

Looking at the Stans superdeal and it's £110 cheaper than the equivalent custom Tesla build.

paulneenan76

ddraver wrote:

^In the freehub, between the pawls and the teeth....

I ve not had them for a long time yet, but I couldnt really tell the difference (apart from Pickup) between my old Hope Wheels and my new Superstar (superleggera) hubs if I'm honest.

After less than 4 months and a few hundred miles, the bearings in my Superleggera's died (im pushing superstar for compensation) and the new (higherquality)bearings packed out with grease - unfortunately the buzz from the engagement (which I loved) has all but gone

Overall my superstar wheel set has been great.

cat_with_no_tail

paulneenan76 wrote:

ddraver wrote:

^In the freehub, between the pawls and the teeth....

I ve not had them for a long time yet, but I couldnt really tell the difference (apart from Pickup) between my old Hope Wheels and my new Superstar (superleggera) hubs if I'm honest.

After less than 4 months and a few hundred miles, the bearings in my Superleggera's died (im pushing superstar for compensation) and the new (higherquality)bearings packed out with grease - unfortunately the buzz from the engagement (which I loved) has all but gone

Overall my superstar wheel set has been great.

It can happen. Also depends what weather you've been riding in. Not sure why you think SS should compensate you.

As for your new bearings. They should be full of grease anyway. This wont have any effect on the noise the hubs make though. It's the engagement of the pawls that makes the noise, not the bearings. Sounds like you've got grease outside the bearings on the pawls. This will probably wash out over time anyway.

ddraver

No different from my Hopes tbh Paul - I think it's kind of accepted that unless you buy absurdly expensive hubs then you re better off putting 20 squids aside to buy some proper bearings when the OEM ones wear out...

solitone

ddraver wrote:

^In the freehub, between the pawls and the teeth....

Cat With No Tail wrote:

It's the engagement of the pawls that makes the noise, not the bearings.

If I understand it right, you can access the freehub and grease the pawls and teeth?

I ask as I've never done this yet.

And doesn't grease make dust stick to the freehub?

mrmonkfinger

solitone wrote:

And doesn't grease make dust stick to the freehub?

you realise the pawls are on the inside of the hub, right?

solitone

mrmonkfinger wrote:

solitone wrote:

And doesn't grease make dust stick to the freehub?

you realise the pawls are on the inside of the hub, right?

Yes, but doesn't some dust enter inside the freehub? Is the freehub completely sealed?

ride_whenever

I personally like the halo supadrive hubs, i'd imagine it's a similar sound.

Thewaylander

I'd not touch hope hubs on my life...

My house mate went through 4 seperate hubs (front and rear) in less than a year and a half, where the flanges cracked and i'ev seen many many do this, there customer service was good but it needed to be the way they fell apart.

paulneenan76

Quote - It can happen. Also depends what weather you've been riding in. Not sure why you think SS should compensate you.

Well maybe my inexperience is showin here but I' expected a sealed bearing unit to last a little bit longer really. I didn't misuse the hubs, power hose or use abrasive cleaning products, so was a little bit suprised both front and back bearings failed! I've sent them back for inspection but expect a verdict of misuse of a wear and year item.

Quote - As for your new bearings. They should be full of grease anyway. This wont have any effect on the noise the hubs make though. It's the engagement of the pawls that makes the noise, not the bearings. Sounds like you've got grease outside the bearings on the pawls. This will probably wash out over time anyway.[/quote]

Ok so I can expect the engagement noise to return at some point in the future. And the LBS swapped them out so they must have got grease on the pawls. Is that damaging in any way?

Thanks

cat_with_no_tail

paulneenan76 wrote:

Ok so I can expect the engagement noise to return at some point in the future. And the LBS swapped them out so they must have got grease on the pawls. Is that damaging in any way?

Thanks

Not at all, it was probably deliberate. If anything, it'll probably help to further weatherproof the new bearings (acts as a barrier and slows water ingress).

Don't get me wrong on my other commentv btw. I don't know you, I have no idea how, where, or when you ride. Which is why I said what I said. The wear could be completely unreasonable, or it could not. If you've done, say 500 miles hard riding in 4 months right through winter, with mud, grit etc, I'd personally say it wasn't completely unreasonable to need new bearings. That's just my opinion though, bearings are a disposable item after all. It'd be a different story if it was all trail centre red riding in summer.

Learn to fit them yourself (it really is very very easy with the SS hubs) and you'll save yourself a fortune in workshop fees in future too

ddraver

solitone wrote:

mrmonkfinger wrote:

solitone wrote:

And doesn't grease make dust stick to the freehub?

you realise the pawls are on the inside of the hub, right?

Yes, but doesn't some dust enter inside the freehub? Is the freehub completely sealed?

It's sealed from dirt and water ingress yes, it's not vacuum sealed!

concorde

Bit off topic but why is it that more expensive bikes seem to make more noise than cheap ones? SOme cheap bieks don't even make a noise when free wheeling? Surely quieter is better?

paulneenan76

Learn to fit them yourself (it really is very very easy with the SS hubs) and you'll save yourself a fortune in workshop fees in future too [/quote]

Thanks, I didn't think you were attacking me, more like make me question the last few months of riding, and lets face it, the weather has been crap, so it's not implausible that the bearings were poor before leaving the factory but we'll see what they come back with - its yat disappointing.

And yes, I should most definitely learn to do them myself, as whilst I got a good deal and no fitting charge from my LBS, I bet it could be done cheaper buying from CRC or whatever, and fitting them myself.

Cheers
Paul

solitone

I'd say more expensive hubs usually have quickier engagement. More teeth results in more noise.

Personally I like quiet freehubs. The American Classic I'm using at the moment is very silent and I love it. I don't annoy animals in the woods!

cat_with_no_tail

solitone wrote:

I'd say more expensive hubs usually have quickier engagement. More teeth results in more noise.

Personally I like quiet freehubs. The American Classic I'm using at the moment is very silent and I love it. I don't annoy animals in the woods!

Well, not with your hubs anyway

ddraver

paulneenan76 wrote:

, buying from CRC or whatever

No No No No!

Buy them off of an online bearing shop (Superstar or Hope will tell you what the code is) or from somewhere like a bearing shop or Motor Factor (Why are Car shops call Factors?!?)

YOu can buy the most sealed/highest spec SKF bearings (or whatever) for about a tenth of the price of the "official" ones, and they re often better.

mrmonkfinger

solitone wrote:

More teeth results in more noise.

How does that work?