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Thought some on here might like the visual comparison between the two versions. They are very, very similar, close enough that they look interchangeable/compatible however there is a definite difference on the hub body end. The EXP version is slightly deeper and a different shape.
They've become all sorts of confusing lately, DT Swiss - they suddenly have three different standards of ratchet freehubs - standard, EXP and DEG (not counting EBike variations) whereas they historically had just one.
4 if you count ratchet LN with the seal position being on the freehub. I've not yet work out if the ebike 'Hybrid' versions are cross compatible.
Just coming back to this the above picture should be disregarded. I think the non-exp freehub used for the picture is a fake as it binds when fitted. In comparison with a genuine real one there are notable physical differences.
I seem to remember a chap on YouTube called LoveMTB (I think) who reviewed the EXP when it came out. I think the official line was that they weren't compatible but other than a washer or something, I think they measured up exactly the same.
Just had a look at my spare non-EXP freehub and it looks the same as your EXP one.
Yeah looking at the various other ones I have the difference is a circlip fitted to the non-exp ones. However the exp hub I have has been running fine with what I'm pretty sure is a non-exp freehub with the circlip in place (only discovered when I went to fit the microspline freehub) :shrug.
Will an EXP freehub run on a non-EXP hub?
I have a pre-2022 350 Hybrid rear hub and I want to go Microspline.
Merlin have this freehub, but don't list the part number. The photo and the render image look different!
The ratchet, ratchet exp, ratchet OS and ratchet OS exp freehub bodies are cross compatible. Ratchet OS is also called hybrid hubs. Ratchet LN and ratchet DEG use different freehub bodies. The ratchet OS (Hybrid) hub bodies are made of steel.
Merlin have this freehub, but don't list the part number. The photo and the render image look different!
That's a steel ms freehub, aka the hybrid or ebike version. I have one ordered from there (for the end cap as you don't seem to be able to buy the ms end cap separately). It'll fit on my 350s but does not have the circlip inside that you can see in the photo. You could move the circlip from your existing freehub. I think the circlip might help keep the spring central.
I have ordered what I "think" might be OK from a bikeshop. It was a take-off part so they don't have the part number. I want a steel one as it is for an ebike.
SJS Cycles have loads of DT spares listed, but no the internal spring clip. I can see what you mean about keeping the spring central. On the newer designs that use a non-tapered spring with a shaped washer to mount it against the bearing.
Yeah there do not appear to be any spares other than bearings for the freehubs. I have one here (HG) that I think has a mushroomed internal spacer but cannot buy that part as a spare :(.
OK, so my current freehub (Ratchet Hybrid HG) has a thin captive shim between the inboard freehub bearing and the grooves for the star-ratchet. This stops the spring making contact with the bearing seal. It seems to be fitted into a recess from the bearing side, meaning that to remove it the bearings would need drifted out of the freehub.
My "new" Ratchet Hybrid MS freehub does not have this shim. In the DT Ratchet Service Manual there doesn't seem to be a captive shim on the illustrated example (photo 2, page 19).Â
Other than that, everything is fine. I think I am moving to Deore 12 speed MS cassettes and away from SRAM PG cassettes. I need to get out more.