Gigantex rims... which hubs ?

Nack

Hi all,

A good friend and excellent wheelbuilder is building me a set of carbon clinchers for the occasional road race, triathlon and sportive, and has already ordered a set of Gigantex rims (55mm).

I'm a big fan of Hope hubs (current road wheels are Hope Pro Mono laced on IRD Cadence Areo rims, have also got Hope hubs on my cyclocross wheels) as they're very reliable, easy to service and... nice and loud ! My friend tells me he could build my carbon wheels with Hope hubs but I thought I'd ask for a second opinion.

Given I'll be using the wheels in the summer (so on dry days mostly), I wonder if the Hope hubs are slightly overkill and perhaps other options would be better ?

Are Novatec hubs an option - my friend believes they won't be as long lasting as the Hopes. Other options in your opinion ?

Thanks !

Nack

sloppyschleckonds

Your friend gives good advise

drlodge

Nack wrote:

Hi all,

A good friend and excellent wheelbuilder is building me a set of carbon clinchers for the occasional road race, triathlon and sportive, and has already ordered a set of Gigantex rims (55mm).

[...]

Are Novatec hubs an option - my friend believes they won't be as long lasting as the Hopes. Other options in your opinion ?

Thanks !

Nack

For occasional raod racing etc, I would say Novatecs would be ideal as you don't need them to last forever.

napoleond

Only thing to check is if the hubs have the right no. of spokes. But if you like hope, why change?

racingcondor

I don't think it's all that controversial to say -

Bitex < Novatec < Hope

Worth checking but I suspect the Hope's have bigger bearings than the very light end of the Novatec range (and definitely the tiny things in some Bitex hub's I've seen). Differences will be small but my vote would be go for the best hubs you can in your budget.

Camcycle1974

Nack wrote:

Hi all,

A good friend and excellent wheelbuilder is building me a set of carbon clinchers for the occasional road race, triathlon and sportive, and has already ordered a set of Gigantex rims (55mm).

I'm a big fan of Hope hubs (current road wheels are Hope Pro Mono laced on IRD Cadence Areo rims, have also got Hope hubs on my cyclocross wheels) as they're very reliable, easy to service and... nice and loud ! My friend tells me he could build my carbon wheels with Hope hubs but I thought I'd ask for a second opinion.

Given I'll be using the wheels in the summer (so on dry days mostly), I wonder if the Hope hubs are slightly overkill and perhaps other options would be better ?

Are Novatec hubs an option - my friend believes they won't be as long lasting as the Hopes. Other options in your opinion ?

Thanks !

Nack

I have just had a wheel built up on an Archetype rim. When I was looking at hubs Hope came up as an option. The guys in the shop recommended a new hub they had just got in from a company called Via. The price was very similar to the Hope but they were raving about how it is engineered. 6 pawls and 60 ratchets means very quick engagement and the sound of the freewheel is awesome. Only 253g for a rear hub too. Super happy with my wheel, will be getting the front done too when I can afford it.

Nack

Thanks everybody for the feedback. Hope hubs on Gigantex rims sound like a good choice then.

Camcycle - thanks for this, I'll check out the Via hubs.

Monty Dog

I've built my own wheels with Bitex, Novatec and Hope. Novatecs are half the price of Hope if bought from Taiwan (ebay) and bearing replacement is cheap and easy.

markos1963

I've had four seasons of racing on my Novatech hubs and they still seem like new so I would go for them to save on costs especially if racing.

Camcycle1974

Nack wrote:

Thanks everybody for the feedback. Hope hubs on Gigantex rims sound like a good choice then.

Camcycle - thanks for this, I'll check out the Via hubs.

Search Via Components.