[Closed] DT Swiss 18T vs 36T vs 54T

I guess they didn't sort it for you?
I've been looking at this too recently for my 350 hubs.
I think I'd go 36 as, like you, have heard similar stories of the 54 losing teeth. Just not cheap whichever way you go.

More feels nicer. Nosier and more delicate, as you already know.
Does it make a real difference? Not unless you are riding trials where more is better for sure. YMMV.
I swap between 240s with 18 points on one bike and 104 points on a trials bike and in between on others. After 2 mins I forget about it on the trails.

I have 3 DT Swiss wheelsets, one has a 54T and the other two are 36T. I can't remember which one is which & when I ride with them, I can't tell either.

None have exploded into bits, and they all work fine!

I upgraded my 240s to a 36T drive ring, not a chance I would want to run anything lower. Coming from a trials background I just like high engagement points hubs, I have the 36t DT and a 54t SRAM X0 and can deffinitely feel the difference.

I do plan on fitting a 54t drive ring to the DT hub at some point and will just have to keep and eye on how it lasts.

On the flip side. I ride an 18 on dt350s. Don't notice any lag at all.

You can over think these things. Go and ride the bike, if you actually notice it upgrade it. Chances are if you stop thinking about it it's an issue for you on paper.

It comes down to maintenance, faster engagement = more, smaller teeth and therefore less resistance to jamming when something manages to get past the seals. Pawl hubs are no different, which is why you should be wary of cheap hubs promising very fast engagement.

If you are happy to clean and regrease the ratchets periodically (5 minute job, you only need a tiny bit of the red grease and don't even need to remove the cassette from the freehub) then you'll be fine, even with a 54 tooth.

If you're a 'ignore it til something goes wrong' kind of rider, stick with the 18, it'll keep kicking with zero attention long after most hubs will have given up the ghost. This reliability is why DT continue to spec them.

36 is a nice compromise, not quite as bombproof as the 18 but twice as fast. I run them on most of my bikes with a 54 on the Sunday best road bike.

At least with DT ratchets you get the option to switch them.

I switched from 18t to 36t as I got a great price on a 36t. 18t was fine but 36t is noticeably faster. Cost puts me off the 54t, that and the 36t feels plenty fast enough for me.

they also do a 24t rachet for their ebike wheels its cheaper than a 36t set but not sure how much of an upgrade it is

I have some 1501s and bought a 36t set as an upgrade at time of purchase. When I went to fit the 36t I noticed the wheels already had a 36t installed. Coming from Hope I think the lag is the same but I do notice it and do want to upgrade to a 54t, I'm happy to keep em clean as I like to regrease to keep the noise down anyway, its a 5min job and you don't need much grease, little and often is probably the key.
When I have some spare cash I will buy some 54t from a decent shop, probably German & not cheap ebay ones which could be fake.

The 36 and 54 tooth rings are hollowed out to save weight, the 24 tooth E-Bike ones aren't.

Some OEM wheels use solid versions of the 36 to save money so there are exceptions but as a rule 18 and 24 tooth ratchets are solid and 36 and 54 tooth ones are hollow.

I have the 18t on mine. I can definitely notice the lag in the engagement. You can actually hear it on gopro when on and off the power in tight sections, it makes an audible ting when it finally engages. Having said that, I have had the hub for 18 months and haven't changed it yet. Definitely a bomb proof hub in any case. I will upgrade to 54t eventually.

My DT 350 based wheelset came with default 18t too. AFAIK it’s the standard fitment although there’s no reason that certain wheelsets mightn’t have the 36T out of the box as a premium option guess.

Likewise, my web reading indicates that if you plan to swap then 36T is regarded as a sweetspot although digging deeper it’s possible the people being negative about 54T may be serial hub wreckers either due to power output,load or negligence. Pretty much everyone agrees that you need to pay more attention to regular maintenance as the tooth count goes up though, which is probably why DT standardise on 18T- the strongest and least maintenance hungry is likely to produce fewer warranty complaints? From your other thread, it sounds like the ‘Special grease’ is a thing worth having. Obviously there will be useful alternatives just like Mavic’s bushing lube but it’s not as simple as ‘whatever you want’ unless you’re ok with a possible (but maybe unlikely) situation where you’ve used something with unsuitable properties and a warranty claim is refused. For the amount you use, I’d spend the cash on peace of mind, I think.

I never service my hubs, drop them into the LBS when things go wrong and otherwise just abuse them with jet washing and mud. Have 350 with the 36t upgrade and have never had an issue with it.

+1 for getting the right grease, the consistency is very important, too thick and it can stop the ratchets from fully engaging, too thin and the pressure from the springs will slowly push it from in between the ratchets until they run dry.

As Vince said, you only need a tiny amount each service so even the tiny tubs they sell it in will last you a fair while.

I have all three in 240s and a 440 and I do notice the difference between each but less so with the 36-54t I service them every three months or so and have had a no problems with any. 54t will most likely wear more quickly so due to the extra cost I think 36 is the way to go. Also depends if you like noisy hubs as the more teeth the more angry bee's you have. I find even the 54t acceptable as I'm not a fan of noisy hubs.

The 36 and 54 tooth rings are hollowed out to save weight, the 24 tooth E-Bike ones aren’t.

Difference is minimal, my 36T was 9g lighter than the 18T one it replaced.

Yes the 54t is way more noticeable than the 18t on techy climbs

I think I paid 60 quid for it... I wouldn't want be paying 200 quid for it as a upgrade but for 60 quid I justified it

It sounds much nicer too

Why not try the 18T for a couple years?
Sounds like it is the most rugged version.

Oil/grease: yes - important to use the "thin" stuff and not too much.

Problems occur in winter time when the stuff gets cold/sticky...

Would use the 18T until they are shot and maybe upgrade to 36T then.

I don't have such expensive hubs. Mine are DT370 and engagement ist around 18 per revolution as well?
No issues problems at all. Lag?
No.

Thanks for all the replies guys! So other than pulling the cassette off every 3 months or so and applying a bit of grease, no horror stories on the 54T.

A buildup of Topcashback means I've just plumbed for the 54T off Amazon (made the decision much easier). Suppose now I can throw the 18T in the pack as a spare, doubt there's any resale value in them. Comes with springs and the special grease so thats something I don't have to think about.

Steveid - I didn't bother trying in the end - sat here now I know I should have done but I just wanted to ride all weekend and all the slop on the trails means I doubt they look brand new anymore.

Also, turns out that my existing 36T star ratchet on my Specialized hub with DT internals doesn't exist...it was one of those 3 pawl arrangements and not star ratchet.

I will be going 54t maybe in the summer although I am really happy with the 36t I have which came with the bike stock. Lets us know how you get on.

I'll report back when dusty trails return to let you know how its managed through the winter slop!

36t is the sweet spot ime.

mines is 3 months old now so only endured the shittest of weather from new - had it out at weekend, looks like new, red grease still present, 2 minute job to clean and regrease

why wouldn't you want mor POE on your hub?!

I've got 36s in mine but tbh that's mostly because I'm a tart and I like my bike to not just be functionally good but also to feel really nice and look good if possible and all that. The 18t is totally functional- the lag doesn't feel nice but it's seriously uncommon that it makes any real difference when riding. Not even when you're ratcheting in techy climbing etc.

Or, put it another way, if you sneaked into my garage and fitted an 18T set in my remedy, I'd probably notice on the first ride but it'd not slow me down or spoil it or anything like that. Except for the extra 10 grams or whatever it is, that'd be a nightmare on the hills

As a cautionary tale, I once had a warranty claim on a set of 350 hubs that TFTuned weren't going to honour because, apparently, 36T rings aren't designed for mtb use. They did honour the claim as they're nice folk but ...

Nah thats rubbish, my DT wheels came with a 36t installed from the factory.

I upgraded from 18 to 54. Reason being my riding buddy out tarted me by upgrading his wheels and increasing his buzz factor. Now my buzz is equal in power and for a lot less money. Probably feels a bit nicer on tech climbs but hard to tell any real difference. It hasn't exploded yet and I don't think it will. Seals are pretty good with DT swiss and I don't produce ridiculous amounts of torque.

Fat-boy-fat

Subscriber
As a cautionary tale, I once had a warranty claim on a set of 350 hubs that TFTuned weren’t going to honour because, apparently, 36T rings aren’t designed for mtb use. They did honour the claim as they’re nice folk but …

My came with 36t as standard so I presume they where spinning you a line.

36t on my 1501’s (240 hubs) can’t say I really noticed any noticeable lag. Seems a good compromise for longevity vs usability to me

I had a brand new 240 hub with the 36 ratchet strip the teeth on the first ride leaving me stranded 10 miles from home. Was replaced under warranty and has been fine for over a year so must have been a manufacturing defect of some kind. Really easy to strip down and regrease every 3 months but make sure you use the correct dt swiss grease. I also bought a spare 18 tooth ratchet set to carry in my camelbak. This means you can pull the cassette and freehub off as one and replace the ratchets if it strips again mid ride. I'd be a bit wary of the 54 but carry the old 18 with you and should be ok

I have run 18t quite happily. Lag is more of a ‘looks worse on paper’ thing to me than it feels in the real world. Plus the 18t is considerably more robust. On that basis, the 36t is probably all you need and maybe represents the best compromise.

Maybe this is a poor indictment on my lack of skills but the ability to spin freely (even for a brief moment) before committing can actually be a benefit. It almost gives you more positioning and movement time (albeit for a fraction of a second). I think I might be in a minority though!

When I first got mine, I had no idea they were only 18t. I really noticed how slow the hub engaged on twisty trails where I was ratcheting half turns of the cranks. I hated it. My 32t engagement nukeproofs felt WAY better for those trails.
For me, anything over about 30 is good and I don’t really notice it. I bought the 54t DT upgrade. It’s really great, but to be honest, once I’m not concentrating on it I don’t really notice the difference between the 54t and my other bike with 34t nukeproofs.