Robust hub to build a wheel around
It's my commuting road bike. I want something that has a good 32h hub that won't need regular truing.
Am I better buying off the peg or getting a build done.
Budget ~ £200 - £300
Cheers
Comments
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If you want durable, quality and strength take a look at the Hope Pro 4 hub with a steel freehub body. Only costs around £100
The hubs come in 32 hole and the steel freehub won't get chewed by the cassette and comes in road standard width.1 -
Not clear if it's the budget for the hubs only... as above, Hope PRO 4 with a steel freehub is what I have and it's the most robust and durable hub out thereleft the forum March 20231
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Surely for that money a Royce Venus is what you want, not the Hope?0
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In theory I do like the small manufacturing workshop, the precision engineering and all... but over the years I had more troubles out of the 3-4 Royce hubs that I handled than the 100+ Hope hubs that I builtdangardner27 said:Surely for that money a Royce Venus is what you want, not the Hope?
left the forum March 20231 -
You can't argue with that. There you go Hope it is then for my next build, hope that helps the OP too.1
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Budget was for the whole wheel. Either to buy a hub to have a wheel built around or recommend a wheel off the peg in that price range.ugo.santalucia said:Not clear if it's the budget for the hubs only... as above, Hope PRO 4 with a steel freehub is what I have and it's the most robust and durable hub out there
My commuting bike uses rim-brakes.
Do Hope make hubs for non-disc wheels?
Cheers all.0 -
Yes, it does... RS 4... bit pricey thoughleft the forum March 20231
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Miche from CycleClinic?0
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Or a Shimano 105/Ultegra... they both have steel freehubs that don't dent (unlike the Miche mentioned above)left the forum March 20230
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I have Miche Primato hubs on 2 sets of wheels and my freehubs haven't suffered indentations. I'm guessing as he's a wheelbuilder Ugo has seen a lot more freehubs than I have but I've only got good things to say about Miche.0
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Miche hubs have alloy freehubs. I know what is am about to write may seem controversial to some or ride or even arrogant but it's not. It's a fact. Some things in this world are not opinion this is one of them. Alloy freehub dont notch to the point that cassettes are hard to remove if the lockring is torqued enough. Without question every notched freehub I have seem has had a lockring that's not done up tight enough. Without exception every complaint about notched freehubs I have come across has been from people who have not torque the lockring to 40 nm min. Those people are also adamant that they have done it tight enough. Theres nothing wrong with steel freehub mind but they are not intrinsically better. They allow for more lax cassettte fitting.
You can torque a lockring to 50 nm. 60nm in fact if you dare. Hand tight is not enough. Some cassette lockrings I see are hand tight.
The problem the op has is not his freehub. Its his toolset and the assumption he is making. Or she, let's not be assumptive.
Notching happens if the sprockets can move relative to the lockring. If the sprockets can move and notch the freehub the lockring is not tight enough. It really is that simple. some people have said to me they dont like doing the lockring tight enough, it feels too tight. My reply is ride a fixed gear then or pay a mechanic who is comfortable using a torque wrench to do the job. No point in beating about the Bush is there.
Some may think this rude
It is however honest. If your blaming the kit before your skills then there is little help that can be offered.
There is nothing wrong with steel freehub bodies and there nothing wrong with aluminium ones.
In both cases lockring must be done to 40 to 50nm. It not only prevents notching but ensures the correct sprocket spacing. That last bit should be of interest to everyone.
The op needs a new freehub and a good torque wrench. That cheaper than a new wheel.
Also a miche cassette which use thicker steel sprockets and thinner spacers notch even less than shimano sprockets.
Shimano use steel or titanium freehubs so they have made there cassettes with that in mind. They have used thinner sprockets to save weight. Thiner sprockets put more stress on a freehub so if it's not held by the lockring properly it will start to notch at a lower load. However shimno cassettes on miche or other alloy freehubs with the lockring done to 40 to 50 nm still dont notch much at all.
My mtb 11 speed cassette for example has not notched my alloy freehub.
I have little time for those that blame the kit before there skills.
If you dont use a torque wrench then yes use a steel freehub, that's the right choice but it not because there anything wrong with an alumium freehub, but it your choice not to buy good tools. That's why shimano use steel freehubs, they know what there customers are like.
To answer the ops question finally then a shimano hub is the right answer. That's tiagra rs400 or r7000 to stick to the budget. Nothing wrong with these hubs and nothing wrong with 32 spoke wheels. They are quite good.
Sadly not every shop mechanic uses atorque wrench either.
Also if you all used campagnolo hubs this discussion would not even be a thing. The tall splines are a better design.www.thecycleclinic.co.uk0 -
Steel freehubs have one other advantage. If they ha e replaceable bearings the body itself is more amenable to having bearings pushed out and pressed back in again. Alloy freehub are in theory serviceable but require more care or a design where both bearing are pressed in only a short distance.www.thecycleclinic.co.uk0
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Controversial perhaps, arrogant perhaps, but not fact! I have an automotive torque wrench, bought specifically for cassette tightening and bb's.thecycleclinic said:Miche hubs have alloy freehubs. I know what is am about to write may seem controversial to some or ride or even arrogant but it's not. It's a fact. Some things in this world are not opinion this is one of them. Alloy freehub dont notch to the point that cassettes are hard to remove if the lockring is torqued enough. Without question every notched freehub I have seem has had a lockring that's not done up tight enough. Without exception every complaint about notched freehubs I have come across has been from people who have not torque the lockring to 40 nm min. Those people are also adamant that they have done it tight enough. Theres nothing wrong with steel freehub mind but they are not intrinsically better. They allow for more lax cassettte fitting.
You can torque a lockring to 50 nm. 60nm in fact if you dare. Hand tight is not enough. Some cassette lockrings I see are hand tight.
The problem the op has is not his freehub. Its his toolset and the assumption he is making. Or she, let's not be assumptive.
Notching happens if the sprockets can move relative to the lockring. If the sprockets can move and notch the freehub the lockring is not tight enough. It really is that simple. some people have said to me they dont like doing the lockring tight enough, it feels too tight. My reply is ride a fixed gear then or pay a mechanic who is comfortable using a torque wrench to do the job. No point in beating about the Bush is there.
Some may think this rude
It is however honest. If your blaming the kit before your skills then there is little help that can be offered.
There is nothing wrong with steel freehub bodies and there nothing wrong with aluminium ones.
In both cases lockring must be done to 40 to 50nm. It not only prevents notching but ensures the correct sprocket spacing. That last bit should be of interest to everyone.
The op needs a new freehub and a good torque wrench. That cheaper than a new wheel.
Also a miche cassette which use thicker steel sprockets and thinner spacers notch even less than shimano sprockets.
Shimano use steel or titanium freehubs so they have made there cassettes with that in mind. They have used thinner sprockets to save weight. Thiner sprockets put more stress on a freehub so if it's not held by the lockring properly it will start to notch at a lower load. However shimno cassettes on miche or other alloy freehubs with the lockring done to 40 to 50 nm still dont notch much at all.
My mtb 11 speed cassette for example has not notched my alloy freehub.
I have little time for those that blame the kit before there skills.
If you dont use a torque wrench then yes use a steel freehub, that's the right choice but it not because there anything wrong with an alumium freehub, but it your choice not to buy good tools. That's why shimano use steel freehubs, they know what there customers are like.
To answer the ops question finally then a shimano hub is the right answer. That's tiagra rs400 or r7000 to stick to the budget. Nothing wrong with these hubs and nothing wrong with 32 spoke wheels. They are quite good.
Sadly not every shop mechanic uses atorque wrench either.
Also if you all used campagnolo hubs this discussion would not even be a thing. The tall splines are a better design.
I torqued my cassette lockring up to 45Nm and the alloy freehub still got notched to the point cassette was difficult to get off after 8 months use. That's why I only use steel freehubs.
Is my alloy freehub experience opinion, non factual or an exception to the rule?
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Are you on Campag or Shimano? Maybe the smaller splines with Shimano are more prone to notching due to reduced surface area?reaperactual said:
Controversial perhaps, arrogant perhaps, but not fact! I have an automotive torque wrench, bought specifically for cassette tightening and bb's.thecycleclinic said:Miche hubs have alloy freehubs. I know what is am about to write may seem controversial to some or ride or even arrogant but it's not. It's a fact. Some things in this world are not opinion this is one of them. Alloy freehub dont notch to the point that cassettes are hard to remove if the lockring is torqued enough. Without question every notched freehub I have seem has had a lockring that's not done up tight enough. Without exception every complaint about notched freehubs I have come across has been from people who have not torque the lockring to 40 nm min. Those people are also adamant that they have done it tight enough. Theres nothing wrong with steel freehub mind but they are not intrinsically better. They allow for more lax cassettte fitting.
You can torque a lockring to 50 nm. 60nm in fact if you dare. Hand tight is not enough. Some cassette lockrings I see are hand tight.
The problem the op has is not his freehub. Its his toolset and the assumption he is making. Or she, let's not be assumptive.
Notching happens if the sprockets can move relative to the lockring. If the sprockets can move and notch the freehub the lockring is not tight enough. It really is that simple. some people have said to me they dont like doing the lockring tight enough, it feels too tight. My reply is ride a fixed gear then or pay a mechanic who is comfortable using a torque wrench to do the job. No point in beating about the Bush is there.
Some may think this rude
It is however honest. If your blaming the kit before your skills then there is little help that can be offered.
There is nothing wrong with steel freehub bodies and there nothing wrong with aluminium ones.
In both cases lockring must be done to 40 to 50nm. It not only prevents notching but ensures the correct sprocket spacing. That last bit should be of interest to everyone.
The op needs a new freehub and a good torque wrench. That cheaper than a new wheel.
Also a miche cassette which use thicker steel sprockets and thinner spacers notch even less than shimano sprockets.
Shimano use steel or titanium freehubs so they have made there cassettes with that in mind. They have used thinner sprockets to save weight. Thiner sprockets put more stress on a freehub so if it's not held by the lockring properly it will start to notch at a lower load. However shimno cassettes on miche or other alloy freehubs with the lockring done to 40 to 50 nm still dont notch much at all.
My mtb 11 speed cassette for example has not notched my alloy freehub.
I have little time for those that blame the kit before there skills.
If you dont use a torque wrench then yes use a steel freehub, that's the right choice but it not because there anything wrong with an alumium freehub, but it your choice not to buy good tools. That's why shimano use steel freehubs, they know what there customers are like.
To answer the ops question finally then a shimano hub is the right answer. That's tiagra rs400 or r7000 to stick to the budget. Nothing wrong with these hubs and nothing wrong with 32 spoke wheels. They are quite good.
Sadly not every shop mechanic uses atorque wrench either.
Also if you all used campagnolo hubs this discussion would not even be a thing. The tall splines are a better design.
I torqued my cassette lockring up to 45Nm and the alloy freehub still got notched to the point cassette was difficult to get off after 8 months use. That's why I only use steel freehubs.
Is my alloy freehub experience opinion, non factual or an exception to the rule?1 -
Shimano. Mtb 11-34 cassette, Gears 1-7 one piece pinned block, 8,9 and lockring separate.
I'm a spinner not a stomper, average normal use.
Torque wrench calibrated, always stored on minimal torque setting, warmed up torque mechanism first, treated with care and never dropped or abused.
No such issue with my new steel freehub. Other Freehub was the problem because it was made of alloy.
I've seen alloy freehub designs with small steel inserts on one of the splines, hacks to insert a paper clip into a spline to stop cassettes chewing alloy freehub, all these hacks and expense for R&D because end user can't be trusted to tighten a lockring?0 -
Campagnolo splines don't get dented, they are much deeper.
Torque or not, most people don't own a torque wrench, or they don't own one calibrated for that range of torque, so it's simpler to just get a steel hub, rather than having to pay money to a shop to fit a cassette or pay money to buy a tool that will be used once or twice per year. Decent tools are expensive and cheap tools are as good as not having them at all.left the forum March 20232 -
This is the first time I've ever had this issue. I think I'll stick with steel.thecycleclinic said:However shimno cassettes on miche or other alloy freehubs with the lockring done to 40 to 50 nm still dont notch much at all.
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