Road Hub recommendations

il_principe

Fed up with the Zipp 188 hubs on my 404's. Am going to get them rebuilt onto new hubs. Does anyone have any recommendations? They must come in 16H F and 20H rear (which rules a few brands out I think). Am considering DTSwiss 240s or maybe Chris King R45ss. Any other options? I've love something with a steel or Ti Cassette body as Alu ones seem to get chewed through too easily.

Anyone had any experience with Hope Hubs?

TheStone

Very unimpressed with the Chris King R45s
Expensive and the rear completely failed after about 6000km.

dhope

No problems with the Hope hub on the Condor, though it's a disc brake hub and wont have done huge mileage yet.

Paging Ugo to the thread?

spasypaddy

love my Chris kings

Kieran_Burns

My Hope Pro Evo IIs have gone through a rough Winter (and this one) while still feeling like new. Completely smooth and roll very easily. You just need to be able to put up with the noise on the freewheel though

il_principe

I like a noisy freewheel. Main concerns are durability & weather resistance. I can get DT Swiss on trade so they're looking like my first choice at the moment.

I've heard very mixed feedback on the R45s...

sloppyschleckonds

Il Principe wrote:

I've heard very mixed feedback on the R45s...

They sound fantastic

menthel

I have a set of hope mono rs hubs and they run very nicely. They are bloody noisy though.

asprilla

I've had R45s, Hopes and Royce in the last couple of years.

The Hopes offered the best value, the Royce looked and felt amazing and the Chris Kings were disappointing.

I still have the Hopes and if funds weren't an issue then I'd have the Royces again in a flash.

UndercoverElephant

A lad at work has a set of titanium Royce hubs - they are frankly beautiful, they have a pearlescent shine about them which is quite lovely. Not massively light, though.

If you're after lightweight as well, you could look at Tune hubs.

bondurant

PMP hubs are lovely
http://www.pmpbike.net/pmp-bike-en/?product=k023-mozzo-posteriore-11v

ugo.santalucia

I think you are pretty much bound to go for Hope if you are on the 20H. They're good solid rather than light hubs. The best thing about them is how easy it is to take things apart, service, replace bearings and stuff.

These jobs are never cheap though, as fancy CX Ray spokes are over 2 quid a pop and the rear hub is 140 or so... you really need to be fed up with the Zipp hub

I seem to be on the unlucky side with Royce, having had to send three back to Sussex to do various jobs to them

lostboysaint

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I seem to be on the unlucky side with Royce, having had to send three back to Sussex to do various jobs to them

Probably easier to send them back to Hampshire where they're made isn't it?!

ugo.santalucia

lostboysaint wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I seem to be on the unlucky side with Royce, having had to send three back to Sussex to do various jobs to them

Probably easier to send them back to Hampshire where they're made isn't it?!

Yeah, whatever... bordering counties. I have actually never sent the back myself, as I have never supplied them, but the moral is that they are not so bulletproof in my experience. The other annoying thing is that they could have fitted a couple of slots to undo them, either by Allen Key or cone spanner, it wasn't a big job, while the caps are screwed but only by hand. Inevitably over time they get seized and impossible to unscrew by hand. Then you have to clamp them in a vice and grab them with something and inevitably scratch/ruin the delicate alloy caps... not service friendly

itboffin

Tune MAG 8)

ugo.santalucia

itboffin wrote:

Tune MAG 8)

Not exactly known to be problem free either... :roll:

itboffin

ugo.santalucia wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Tune MAG 8)

Not exactly known to be problem free either... :roll:

that was the 180s not the 170s i've not heard any complaints about those yet

greg66_tri_v2.0

Royce or DT Swiss 240s. Easy.

The DT Swiss have a quiet freehub - at least the LWs I had were v quiet.

You know there's a Zipp recall for some of their front hubs right now. Probably a bit older than yours.

What problems have you been having? Interested/anxious to hear details as I now have a couple of dogs in this fight.

Ps: loving the Boras. Just lovely lovely lovely.

ugo.santalucia

itboffin wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Tune MAG 8)

Not exactly known to be problem free either... :roll:

that was the 180s not the 170s i've not heard any complaints about those yet

I see... the problem was the hub being 10 grams too heavy...

ugo.santalucia

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Royce or DT Swiss 240s. Easy.

The DT Swiss have a quiet freehub - at least the LWs I had were v quiet.

Is the DT 20H easy to source? According to DT it does not even exist, while other sources say it does

http://www.dtswiss.com/Components/Hubs-Road/240s-en

greg66_tri_v2.0

Straight pull, no. Regular, yes. http://www.wheelbuilder.com/dt-swiss-road-hubs/

ugo.santalucia

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Straight pull, no. Regular, yes. http://www.wheelbuilder.com/dt-swiss-road-hubs/

I would not use Wheelbuilder.com as a reference of what you can and cannot have. They have access to things normal human being & businesses can't: Reynolds and Zipp rims for instance, even customd drilled ones.

itboffin

Its always about the weight, have you seen the extralite products?

740g complete wheelset :shock:

ugo.santalucia

itboffin wrote:

Its always about the weight, have you seen the extralite products?

740g complete wheelset :shock:

800-900 grams has never been hard to achieve... all you need are a pair of shallow carbon tubs, the lightest hubs and spokes you can buy and you are around that number. You can easily build deeper wheels that are much better to ride at around 1000-1100 grams.
Regardless of who make them, 750 grams wheels are bound to be shxt. Until someone strts messing with materials like aerogel, it's not realistic to achieve those numbers and have something decent with standard composites.

The funny thing is that even with a fully built bike that weighs 1 Kg and handles like a dream, you won't be able to climb the Alpe d'Huez anywhere near the 40 minutes mark. In fact, on paper it is the only realistic chance I have to break the hour mark.

So it's all pointless, really...

greg66_tri_v2.0

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Straight pull, no. Regular, yes. http://www.wheelbuilder.com/dt-swiss-road-hubs/

I would not use Wheelbuilder.com as a reference of what you can and cannot have. They have access to things normal human being & businesses can't: Reynolds and Zipp rims for instance, even customd drilled ones.

Well, if they sell them, you can buy them.

OT question, one I've wondered about. Can you take a 32h hub (eg Campag Record) and use alternative holes to lace it with 16 spokes? Your hub would look a bit like the weightweenies had decided to fashion it from what I think they call Drillium, but aside from that, would it hold together?

UndercoverElephant

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Straight pull, no. Regular, yes. http://www.wheelbuilder.com/dt-swiss-road-hubs/

I would not use Wheelbuilder.com as a reference of what you can and cannot have. They have access to things normal human being & businesses can't: Reynolds and Zipp rims for instance, even customd drilled ones.

Well, if they sell them, you can buy them.

OT question, one I've wondered about. Can you take a 32h hub (eg Campag Record) and use alternative holes to lace it with 16 spokes? Your hub would look a bit like the weightweenies had decided to fashion it from what I think they call Drillium, but aside from that, would it hold together?

Generally speaking not a good idea, the flanges are weakened by the extra holes. Not normally a problem when you're building with the correct number of spokes, as the spokes spread the load evenly.

ugo.santalucia

That's not the main issue. The problem is that spoke holes alternate between the flanges and if you only use every other hole, you screw the pattern, meaning the occupied hole on flange 1 will not sit between two occupied holes on flange 2 and viceversa. That means you can't make a radial pattern, which you need for a 16-18 holes wheel... the spokes will come out of the hub at a slight angle.

cycleclinic

Get Royce hubs. Cliff will do a 16 front and 20 hole rear. They are worth every penny. And those ti carbon hubs they do may be expensive but my they are a work of art. Mine however are doing winter duties, why not though the titanium won't corrode.

The only problem is Royce hub will last a lifetime and those 16h and 20T rims won't. So is it worth probably not.

il_principe

itboffin wrote:

Its always about the weight, have you seen the extralite products?

740g complete wheelset :shock:

This is for the Aeroad so I'm not bothered about weight really.