Campy compatible hubs

jumbosausage
jumbosausage Posts: 77
edited February 2013 in Road buying advice
Hi,

I have a new retro steel steed in the pipeline and have just about everything sitting here waiting for a complete build....except some wheels!
I fancy going down the tubular route with some nemesis rims along with some suitable stainless db spokes. My conundrum is with the hubs. I'm going to be using campag 10sp and because of my rugby player build (100kg) as opposed to cycling racing snake i'm going to need a 32/36 f/r combo or just a 36/36.
What hubs are available to me that are going to go the distance (without taking out a bank loan) I'm not on a strict budget but don't really want to blow funds unnecessarily. I have a Hope pro II on my mtb which seems fine but I've heard lots of bad news re Hope pro 3 hubs?? Ambrosio/Novatec fit the bill and budget but seem too cheap...are they any good?
Any other suitable options?

Help please

JS

Comments

  • I forgot to mention.....because of the whole retro thing I really want a silver finish!
  • Try Royce hubs. They'll last a lifetime.
  • Not so sure what bad things you have heard about Hope... but they are unfounded... they are very good... Ambrosio/Novatec are OK, good value for the money, but Hope are better.
    If you fancy a bit of retro look and you have some spare cash look at Phil Wood too
    left the forum March 2023
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Ambrosio Zenith, Velo Orange or see if you can track down some Electra Ticino
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    Zenith is just Novatec A171/F272, but I think the OP knows that.
  • fluff.
    fluff. Posts: 771
    White Industries do some nice shiny campag hubs (H2/H3, replaced by the new T11), bit expensive though. I'm not sure what it is with hubs, they seem to go from cheap to expensive, with not much in between.
  • Campag Record are verry nice but i think they come in a black finish these days .
  • fluff.
    fluff. Posts: 771
    32h only though, unless you can find some old ones.
  • Thanks for the input everyone.......Like fluff points out, there doesn't seem to be much middle ground price wise on hubs except maybe for Hope. I'd heard some bad words about these but the more I look the more it seems the minority and most Hope products seem pretty durable (the only mtb hub I've not broken...yet) so i'll probably give 'em a spin. Unless I can get some campy ones of flebay......
  • Thanks for the input everyone.......Like fluff points out, there doesn't seem to be much middle ground price wise on hubs except maybe for Hope. I'd heard some bad words about these but the more I look the more it seems the minority and most Hope products seem pretty durable (the only mtb hub I've not broken...yet) so i'll probably give 'em a spin. Unless I can get some campy ones of flebay......

    The only downside is that upgrading to 11 speed Campag with Hope hubs is a problem, the freehub is apparently not wide enough to accomodate the 0.9 mm wider cassette. I have only just found out myself... I looked back and all the Hope hubs I built were Shimano.
    left the forum March 2023
  • I'm only running 10sp but I hear what you're saying......Thanks for the Heads up
  • I bought a pair of hope hubs to run 10spd campagnolo veloce last year and my advice is to steer well clear. As ugo said they don't work with 11spd well nor do they with the latest 10spd cassettes, as the lock ring extends beyond the axle, even with the special axle adapter required. This basically means the casette jams against the drop out. The local hope dealer gave me a refund because it didnt work. It is a shimano hub bodged to work with campag, and for the money do you want that!?
  • Have you had a look at miche hubs?
  • I bought a pair of hope hubs to run 10spd campagnolo veloce last year and my advice is to steer well clear. As ugo said they don't work with 11spd well nor do they with the latest 10spd cassettes, as the lock ring extends beyond the axle, even with the special axle adapter required. This basically means the casette jams against the drop out. The local hope dealer gave me a refund because it didnt work. It is a shimano hub bodged to work with campag, and for the money do you want that!?

    They are great for Shimano though... :wink:
    left the forum March 2023
  • Yeah, they look really nice (if a bit loud!) which is why I bought them.

    Luckily I bought them from my LBS, which is about 15miles away from the Hope factory so they have a good connection. However after several attempts at putting the cassette on, photos emailed to Hope, special axle extenders basically the hubs don't work with the latest Campagnolo cassettes.

    The strange this was Hope denied this to their retailer but offered no solution and could not make it work. They basically outlined that it was a problem with the cassette, or it must be 11sp. However it is an genuine Campagnolo 2011 10sp cassette, which done 100miles since on a Mavic wheel.
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    I'm glad you posted that. Hope has been on my long term list for an all-round wheelset but I'm certainly not going to bother unless I end up back on Shimano for some reason.
  • I'm glad you posted that. Hope has been on my long term list for an all-round wheelset but I'm certainly not going to bother unless I end up back on Shimano for some reason.

    They have to resolve the issue soon, a new hub is needed for Shimano 11 anyway, so they might as well take it as an opportunity to make it compatible with Campag 11 too.
    Hope seem to focus on MTB components mainly and their road side is... Is a side...
    left the forum March 2023
  • majormantra
    majormantra Posts: 2,094
    True enough. I'm not going to hold my breath though.
  • 2alexcoo
    2alexcoo Posts: 251
    Unless I can get some campy ones of flebay......

    You can :D No bids yet on the auction I liked to above (no connection to the seller but I have bought from them before)
    Alex
  • So Hope have been scrubbed of the list after all :? What a disappointment!
    I did have a look at Miche but they have red anodizing and prominent black graphics on them which is not what I'm after. So it looks like a choice between take a chance on the cheap/economically priced Novatecs, find some NOS Campag on flebay or get the wallet out and go large on some bling!

    Again...I appreciate everyones input
  • Calpol
    Calpol Posts: 1,039
    So Hope have been scrubbed of the list after all :? What a disappointment!
    I did have a look at Miche but they have red anodizing and prominent black graphics on them which is not what I'm after. So it looks like a choice between take a chance on the cheap/economically priced Novatecs, find some NOS Campag on flebay or get the wallet out and go large on some bling!

    Again...I appreciate everyones input
    In the same boat. Was going the Hope route on my soon to be ordered handbuilts but now it seems that won't work. Might have to go Novatec but in the knowledge that they might need replacing in a year. (or less :( ) Doesn't seem to be anything else in the Hope price bracket.
  • Calpol wrote:
    So Hope have been scrubbed of the list after all :? What a disappointment!
    I did have a look at Miche but they have red anodizing and prominent black graphics on them which is not what I'm after. So it looks like a choice between take a chance on the cheap/economically priced Novatecs, find some NOS Campag on flebay or get the wallet out and go large on some bling!

    Again...I appreciate everyones input
    In the same boat. Was going the Hope route on my soon to be ordered handbuilts but now it seems that won't work. Might have to go Novatec but in the knowledge that they might need replacing in a year. (or less :( ) Doesn't seem to be anything else in the Hope price bracket.

    Novatec makes many hubs: I find the least durable are the 291/482 combos, the light ones to you and me. I have built a few last year and pretty much all had one or more bearings to be replaced... it's been a wet year.... The 171/172, also marketed as Ambrosio, seem to have more durable bearings and fewer problems with the freehub, I have built more of these and none has reported bearings failure yet. I also own a set of 711/712 for cyclocross which I use on my disc fitted bike and these are on pair with Hope PRO 2 in terms of quality.
    The Silver Ambrosio are not a bad buy... also bear in mind changing a bearing is a fairly easy job on these, you just need a couple of tools and bearings can be easily sourced from online retailers (simplybearings for instance) for 3 pounds per piece
    left the forum March 2023