You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I am a fully signed up member of the "light wheels are important" gang and as such I'm going to build up a set of 27.5" carbon rimmed wheels but I have been away from the wheel scene for 5 or 6 years and my last set had Hadley hubs so what do you think I should be looking at ?
ps this bike will be a general purpose bike, so natural stuff mixed in with trail centres and the odd overseas jolly, thanks in advance Paul
pps I have an aversion to anything Chris King - see my comments in what have you bought thats a bit shit
DT240 or American Classic for my money.
Always a fan of DT Swiss 240s or American classics.
Never had any issues with either.
Edit - Arrrggh , beaten to it ^
Crikey, that's verging on consensus!
I got my American Classics from AEBike in the US, came in barely any more expensive than Hope, and they sell them in all the various axle and freehub body configurations - some retailers seem to want to sell you an XD body separately.
How much are you spending for light?
American classics here, been running for a good few years now, really pleased.
American Classic here too.
I like the little touches such as steel inserts on the alloy freehub splines.
As njee says, available in loads of configurations and pretty simple to change/convert if needed.
Weights on American Classic?
225g and 130g for QR/6 bolt.
223g and 116g for 142x12 and 15mm thru-axle
Anyone got weights on Circus Monkey hubs - I actually have a set but can't recall what they weigh 😳
According to ebay 118/239g.
And I do seem to recall that the actual weights weren't far off that so they're fairly light (and I've had no problems with them) and cheap.
American Classic or DT Swiss. Nothing else comes close for value / weight / durability.
You can be lighter than DT240 but the thing is, they're also pretty much bombproof- you can use for anything, forever, there's no sacrifice of reliability or strength or similar.
And I do seem to recall that the actual weights weren't far off that so they're fairly light (and I've had no problems with them) and cheap.
Definitely, are they available in anything other than QR though? All the ones I've seen have been standard freehub body and QR, so potentially not an option if you want thru-axle and/or XD bodies.
Possibly not (I use QR). Good point though.
DT240
Impressive! Their Battom Brackets and Whell Hubs look particularly good!
Saddles do look interesting, but not with those garish logos!
You can be lighter than DT240 but the thing is, they're also pretty much bombproof- you can use for anything, forever, there's no sacrifice of reliability or strength or similar.
Agreed. I'm a big old lump and I've smashed Hope hubs to bits but I can't break my 240s or even wear a bearing out. Very glad I changed to the DTs. The front 15mm is silly light too.
You do wonder that they don't even try a spell check on google...
The front 15mm is silly light too.
I really rate DT240s, but they're not silly light - the Centrelock 15mm front is 130g IIRC, combined with the fact Centerlock rotors weigh more puts them at a good weight, but not crazy light.
They are fantastically durable though!
another DT240 vote, 2 mtbs and 2 sets, keep an eye on eBay as the resale value is terrible for some reason
I got mine by buying some used DT 26 inch wheels- they have terrible resale value because the rims are famously gash.
Another vote for American Classic here. I have two sets, one of which is now 7 years old, and has been through a whole host of axle conversions as things have moved on.
Great hubs, easy to work on (unlike DT Swiss they don't require a special tool to service the freehub), reliable, and very fast due to the clever freehub mechanism.
big thanks to one and all, I'm happy to go with either AC or DT Swiss so thats one question ticked off, I going to give those Derby carbon rims a go and lace them with cx-rays
D lights are 1/3rd the cost of xc rays and the same weight (lower fatigue limit but I'd not worry).
what do Hope's weigh ou of interest? what saving would DT 240's give?
Just to throw a spanner in the works, I've got a pair of these hubs (brand new) for sale right now...
[url= http://clee-cycles.co.uk/esite/P12702/product ]B.O.R MD7 hubs[/url]
They are essentially a rebadged Tune King & Kong pairing. Front comes with the 15mm adapters, rear with QR and 142x12. I'm asking £250 for the pair.
Only reason I'm selling is cos I'm happy enough with my (not quite as light, but nonetheless excellent) DT Swiss 240 hubs.
what do Hope's weigh ou of interest? what saving would DT 240's give?
Depends on configuration, but between 50 and 100g for the pair.
Or just buy some American classic wheels
Another for DT 240. Safe to say the best thing I have bought for my bike, although i haven't had them ages.
I'm poor so have been using DT 350s. Same intrnals as the 240s but a cheaper shell. You can get the rears on Ebay for about £50 posted. Do a search for new "DT swiss 350 rear hub"
unlike DT Swiss they don't require a special tool to service the freehub
To be fair, you need one proprietary tool to access the very centre bearing, which by virtue of being smack in the middle of the hub very rarely needs replacing. In fact I've done two, both on hubs that were at least 7 years old, which I can cope with!
You can change all the other bearings (including the 2 in the freehub body) without any special tools.
But in case you think they're magic I had to replace all the bearings in my rear DT240S after 1x dry hour, 2x damp hour and 3xhorrendous wet 4hour races plus about the same again dry training. This appears to be out of the ordinary (and the conditions in one race were truly ghastly)
Definitely out of the ordinary! I regularly drowned my Rovals (with 240 internals) and replaced one bearing in the back in two years.
You can change all the other bearings (including the 2 in the freehub body) without any special tools.
Are you sure? ISTR using the special tool to get at one of those, which makes sense given it's behind the same splined bit as the one you need the tool for on the main body (I was going to check DT docs, but then remembered that you're not even supposed to be able to replace freehub bearings, just buy a complete new one). I have a DT240 rear AC front on my older lightweight wheels and have had to change bearings much less on the front than the rear - have had to change the main body one you need to special tool for on that.
My newer blingier lightweight wheels have Tune King/Kong hubs. Have never had any problems with them, and no idea how difficult it is to replace bearings as I've never needed to. Kind of pricy though.
Two in the freehub body you knock outwards - move the sleeve between them to get at the back. Don't care whether they say you can do it, you can, very easily.
Axle taps out of the NDS with the outside bearing. Then you do need the tool to get at the one on the DS of the rear hub shell, and it can't be avoided. I have access to a tool though, so I'm happy!
The big pain with Tune hubs is that they use a proprietary bearing in the hub shell, so you're tied to their expensive replacements.
Ah, yes you're right, I remember now.
For reliability I use 240 on my winter wheels and stans ti for my light wheels
Mostly the awarkwad bearing in the 240 last years so not to much of an issue
Had goodexspeinance with a2z hubs toi
I think I've only had to do the central bearing twice in my various DTs, all of which were bought well used, then horribly abused. It's a wee bit scary with lightweight wheels, lots of flexing and groaning, but that's about it
(aside- I've devised an excellent DT Tool-adjustable spanner-11mm allen key 1/2 inch socket-enormous breaker bar device which makes it much easier than doing it in a vice. If DT had just made it 1/2 inch compatible things would be much easier)