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Exploded my rear hub yesterday. Not fixabe and outside warranty so looking for a new one.
Generally speaking I prefer the DT Swiss engineering, the star ratchet system is brilliant. However I know they had some reliability issues recently. Are they resolved?
Otherwise hope are close to my heart, being localish and having great spares availability.
For both the above I can find what I need in stock
What's the winner?
Oh, as a PS, I have mainly hope pro2 Evo on other bikes, and a single dt swiss
I doubt you'll go wrong with either tbh. I usually just go for which one I can find cheaper or 2nd hand at the time.
350, it's not even a question if you're asking between that an a hope, maybe if you were choosing between a novatec and hope it would be a question ;o)
What argee said.
I’d go with whichever you find cheaper personally. Hope are decent and so are DT Swiss. The Hope will probably need slightly more regular maintenance - but my Pro4 is about 3.5 years old and just needs some bearings as it’s feeling a bit notchy. I need to take it apart and see if it’s main bearings and / or freehub bearings. Obviously they have pawls vs the star ratchet in the 350’s which are likely to need some tlc at some point.
DT Swiss are reliable - they just have 1 inner bearing that’s a bit tricky to change as I understand it - but probably won’t need doing for ages.
Just to add another into the mix I think the higher end Bitex rear hubs are decent and quite well priced.
depends on the price. I've got hope, 340, 350 and bitex hubs. Bitex can be bought for around £80-90 for the rear.
When Putin starts dropping the nukes, you won't survive.
Your DT Swiss 350 hub will.
I would like the quietness of the DT with the easier serviceability of the Hope 🙂
I would like the quietness of the DT with the easier serviceability of the Hope
😀 Me too. Both good choices and I like the adaptability, spares availability and made in the UKness of Hope but the lovely quiet of a DT hub is bliss
I was torn on this but Hope do a steel HG freehub which swung it for me. Still went with DT Swiss rims!
simondbarnes
Full MemberI would like the quietness of the DT with the easier serviceability of the Hope 🙂
I'll trade the harder servicing of the centre bearing once in a blue moon, for the reduced need for servicing all the rest of the time, personally. The centre bearing in the DT is a pain, sure, but over a decade of proper use you'll spend way less time and money servicing the DT than the Hope.
poah
Free Memberdepends on the price. I’ve got hope, 340, 350 and bitex hubs. Bitex can be bought for around £80-90 for the rear.
Gotta say I was impressed by my Bitexes. I didn't have my Hubdoctors for long enough to really judge but they seemed excellent too.
Freehub in DT is a bit softer than hope ones but DT bearings last double the time at least, the DT star ratchet is way better than pawls, mines not worn at all after 2 years and spins faster and quieter than hope.
I've got 350's and 240's on my bikes and they've been great. I really like the rachet mechanism and the easy swapping of freehubs
DT Swiss introduced a new ratchet mechanism - EXP - a while ago and there do seem to have been problems with that:
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/05/dt-swiss-acknowledges-ratchet-exp-hub-problems-in-new-service-bulletin/
the older ratchet system that has been in use for years seems bomb proof.
easier serviceability of the Hope
Is that a thing? Failed Hope drive rings are factory only service.
Unsure what hope do that's easier than DT
Never had a problem with reliability on the hopes, then again I don’t pressure wash my bikes. Will regrease the free hub if I’ve had a cassette off and fitting the seal is easy, even without the tool.
Unsure what hope do that’s easier than DT
Northwind covered it above
What argee said.
Also
I was torn on this but Hope do a steel HG freehub which swung it for me. Still went with DT Swiss rims!
DT also do steel freehub options.
Yeah, I have the steel freehub on my 350s that are used on the ebike.
Maintenance is easy on dt hubs, just need the tool to remove the ratchet mechanism to get the bearing, removing it is not too difficult if you have the wheel with tyres on, just get an extender bar and wedge the wheel by the tyre, comes of easy, unlike the stock it in the vice and steering wheel it, I nearly lost my vice doing that!
Had Hope, DT Swiss, Bitex and Novatec.
Bitex are a bargain and just work. DT Swiss are great, until you need to replace the bearings after riding them for 3 years.
Star ratchet welded itself on. Couldn't get it off no matter what I tried (impact gun, 6ft breaker bar etc). I ripped my vise off the desk it was bolted to and ended up bending the axle in the end!
If I had to choose, I'd just go with Hope in a proper tarty colour 🙂
Having said that I rebuilt my rear Reserve wheel onto a Bitex hub and it's great. Just need to rebuild front one now after a minor collision with a fence post...
Novatec one never let me down. They came on the stock wheels on a 2016 Hightower and I ended up reusing them to build some XC wheels on DT Swiss Rims.
Hope are useful if you get lost on a group ride and you can just freewheel to let everyone know where you are ;o)
Honestly, having tried DT, Hopes, Novatec, I9, etc, etc over the years, i just stick with DT ratchet hubs, i like straight pull spokes as well (easier to build and replace broken spokes for me) and the ease of switching over the freehubs, if there was one area i'd improve it would be those ratchet springs for a more modern approach, but they do work, so can't complain that much.
Hope 4 Thru axle unscrewed itself just as I was coming off Jagger Clough in the dark peak yesterday, thought I'd broken the axle in the middle of nowhere with snake pass closed, so nobody to pick me up. Thankfully I had a set of allen keys with me and could screw it back in and tighten it up. A bit concerning. Otherwise I love the noise of the freehub.
Thanks for thoughts all. The comments really mirror what I think about both... I'm no closer to deciding!
Lets be honest, there is only one real choice https://www.evocycles.co.uk/onyx-vesper-rear/mpn:vesperrear_z/
Hmmm that looks....interesting.
Just ordered the 350. Sorry Barnoldswick.
Hope 4 Thru axle unscrewed itself just as I was coming off Jagger Clough in the dark peak yesterday, thought I’d broken the axle in the middle of nowhere with snake pass closed, so nobody to pick me up. Thankfully I had a set of allen keys with me and could screw it back in and tighten it up. A bit concerning. Otherwise I love the noise of the freehub.
Sorry, brain isn't in gear yet this morning. How does that relate to the hub brand? As I read it, I see the through axle and the frame being involved, but not the hub.
I was about to post the same. That is not a hub fault. There are no screwed in axle parts on a pro 4.