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I have DT 350 hubs on 3 sets of wheels and they're excellent.
Just seen a wheelset come in stock that id like, but it has DT 180 hubs which i know have ceramic bearings.
Is there anything i need to know before splashing out on the wheelset? Will i be setting myself up for huge service costs with those bearings or can i use the same bearings as the 350's?
240s are probably worth the upgrade over 350s (or at least they used to be before the new 350s came out recently and look amazing value).
180s have generally not been considered worth the upgrade from 240s in the past.
They are lighter (but only by a bit) and have ceramic bearings (which are of questionable benefit particularly since the 180s use steel races - but therein lies a whole other can of worms!). In short, as the ceramics wear out, you should be able to replace them with steel bearings since they are fairly standard sizes and fully encapsulated.
If your wheelset has 180s and you can get it for a good price, then why not enjoy the ceramics and replace them down the road/trail. If you can get the same rim on 240s (which is often the case in the DT prebuilt range), I would suggest saving the money.
I’ve got some, as part of XMC1200s. They work, go round, and engage just fine. So do 240s and 350s I’ve had, mind.
This is a set of DT XMC 1200.
Although I just read about the issue with the new Ratched EXP.
Early EXP issue is old news is it not? Check your article dates.
Yeah the EXP issue only affected a very early batch of EXP hubs and anything that's been made in the last few years won't have that problem
I've been running a 54T EXP system on my hardtail for almost 3 years now, it's solid and easy to look after.
Ceramics are lovely and arguably worth it if you're racing seriously but you cam always fit standard DT steel 240 bearings if you decide down the road that the replacement price is to steep.