Dura Ace freehub

kangarouge

The freehub on my Dura Ace 9000HB recently needed replacing. How shocked was I to find out the price of a replacement; almost the same price as the hub. Surely this is a bit of a 'stitch-up' from Shimano. Fortunately, I was able to replace it with an Ultegra version for a fraction of the cost of a Dura Ace version and it works fine. Others may want to follow suit.

I was also informed by the mechanic that it is his understanding, that Dura Ace hubs will not be available separately in future. They will only be supplied with complete wheels. Is this true?

This reminds me of their Dura Ace C24 wheels which you cannot buy rims for when they wear out. They have to be binned. So much for recycling.

I'm beginning to think I might buy Campag. next time. Would this be wise?

ugo.santalucia

Dura ace freehubs are titanium, hence the hefty price over the Ultegra, which are steel.
To be honest, I am surprised Shimano still offer hubs to build and I am equally surprised Campagnolo still does the same. My feeling is that this will stop pretty soon and you will be left with Taiwanese options or UK made Hope if you want something more sturdy. Vast majority of wheel builders use Taiwanese hubs by default, unless you want the fancy upgrade

MattFalle

Nothing at all wrong with Campag, you can run 11 speed wheels and cassettes with your 11 speed D/A no dramas.

Only glitch will be the cost buying the wheel and Campag cassettes through the range aren't cheap - compatibles are available though so worth pricing up the whole shebangle before you start.

trevor.hall12

It's not surprising that anything DA is that price ,
Shimano sell it as "for those who never compromise "
Other than your bank account .

MattFalle

trevor.hall12 said:

It's not surprising that anything DA is that price ,
Shimano sell it as "for those who never compromise "
Other than your bank account .

buy the best to be the best

no one ever got a stiffie over ultegra