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I'm in the market for a new rear ss wheel. My current bikes have Hope XC (not been super reliable), King (regular cassette version) and Paul Components WORD with White Industries freewheel. Not 100% convinced about the latter as I've had to change the bearings on the freewheel after about 12 months (admittedly heavy) use, and the hub has developed some play. The King is three years old & only just had it's first bearing change, although there is a bit of play still (could be a worn axle perhaps), but crucially it keeps on trucking..well ok it froze once but nothing a bladder-emptying in the right direction couldn't solve. The seals on the King aren't great, so I do find I have to clean it out frequently, but the quick pickup and nice noise are a bonus.
It'll be used for long distance rides and racing, so priorities are (in order)...
1. Reliable - will not leave me stranded even if it starts to go wrong
2. Light weight
3. Easy to maintain
So far I'm considering the following...
Chris King SS
Hadley SS
DT Swiss 240s SS
??????
Any other thoughts? Cheers!
Paul Components WORD hubs can be adjusted quite easily. I had some build last year and after a few ride developed some play. Quick stop and adjust and everything has been fine since.
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That allen bolt on the collar is what you need to look at.
That allen bolt on the collar is what you need to look at.
CK has similar.
My Surly hub has been fairly bullet proof
Phil Wood Hubs and WI Freewheel for me. The worst is a new freehub of £70 and its all new again. My freehub bearing went a bit grindy, so stripped and regreased and as it was, as new again.
I've never had any problems with DT Swiss or Chris King hubs.
DT are much lighter if that matters, but paint quality can be variable. CK come in lots of pretty colours and have quicker engagement.
Hadley look good but there is only one spares supplier in Europe and they couldn't hurry themselves to sell me a pair of new hubs so I wouldn't trust them to rush me any spares if needed.
I'm looking for new rear wheel options too, possibly less tasty, and interested if anyone has experience with the Goldtec SS hub?
If you want bling and bombproof but heavy, phil woods with wi freewheel, ck are nice hut have seen a couple fail, pauls are ok, but not massively impresed with mine, hope were...erm...I got through a lot of pawls. ..goldtec pro ss are lughter than ck, super reliable and uk made...got them on 4 singlespeeds and a170 fat bike version as well, and they'll anodise them whatever colour you want. There aren't many bad ss hubs around now, so really pick one that you like
Used to have a Royce, was sweet running after 5 years
DT. Upgrade the star ratchets if you want faster pickup.
goltec,if you want cassette type,DMR+WI for screw on.no other required.
I had a double fixie Goldtec hub on my 'track' bike which I used for audaxes, and I was happy with it. The bike shop replaced the bearings once, and I bought replacement bolts and washers for it after the originals started to flatten, but I'd given it a lot of abuse by then. Because of the positive experience with the fixie hub, on a later build I bought one of their 'pro' front road hubs with smooth-running bearings, but I didn't use it much so can't comment on reliability.
I had a White Industries ENO hub on a winter bike, and remember having to replace the bearings early on in its life - I think the bike shop said they were poor quality.
These days I'm not so keen on hub shells which are machined - I've had a couple of proprietary ones break, and I've read a good few reports of similar problems with the likes of Hope and Royce. However, other than Shimano, I'm not aware of any cold forged hubs.
Ck great SS hub
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njee20 - Member
DT. Upgrade the star ratchets if you want faster pickup.POSTED
It's the "upgraded" ratchets that cause the only problems on these hubs. If fast pickup is important to you (I can't say it is for me) then buy something else.
Just bought a set of Hope hubs (SS rear) built on P35 rims. Expecting good things!
I'll report back when i have some miles on them...
Thanks all, good info. Obviously I've tried taking out the play with the adjustment nuts on the King & Paul hubs :-), even after a full strip down & service of the King by Bromley Bike. They reckon it's a worn axle or adjustment nut needs replacing (I haven't tried either yet). Anyway, I think I'm sold on a ring drive type mechanism rather than pawls as I have broken too many of the latter and they strike me as a potential ride-stopper component (I've come close with the Hope XC).
Oh, and I did crack the hub shell of the CK, but it was replaced under warranty (3 year old hub), which is bad that it happened in the first place, but bloody good customer service as I didn't even buy the hub in this country.
God only knows why DT Swiss don't ship the 240s with the upgraded star ratchet as standard...seems odd on such a pricey hub.
Thanks for the CK pic, Postierich 8) CK and Goldtec sounding good right now. Guess I'll sleep on it...
Had a rear White Industries but as above went through the bearings in no time did love the freewheel though!
[url= https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7893007130_ea70307850_o.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7893007130_ea70307850_o.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/d2tJ2Q ]P8300021[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr
Stealth Poacher - instant engagement and silent.
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God only knows why DT Swiss don't ship the 240s with the upgraded star ratchet as standard...seems odd on such a pricey hub.
Because they're crap. DT know their market, and their buyers want reliable. THey probably lose potential buyers who want to play the numbers game,but they keep those who just want the simplest, most reliable drive system going.
It seems that increasing the number of teeth on the ratchet also increases unreliability. Are the "upgraded" ratchets made by DT or an aftermarket company ?
If you want reliable quick pick up go CK. You could also go Industry 9, but if that needs fettling you'll be sending it back to the US.
I've broken two CK SS hubs....
never broken a WI freewheel 😉
I know of a very lightly used DT 240 SS hub available for sale (not mine). Available either with QR axle endcaps, or the bolt-on kit.
If interested, let me know and I'll find out how much. Email in profile.
Thanks sillyoldman...will bear that in mind. Keef - what happened to the CK hubs?
There's been a DT240SS on a Stans Flow on ebay for ages, might be worth a look- DT are a good used buy as they're so servicable...
(on the subject of the fast pickup ratchet, I've had no problems with either of mine, I remember reading about premature wear a long time ago though and you can't overdo the grease or they're inclined to slip. But it doesn't make much practical difference either IMO, one of my wheels is still on a standard ratchet and I barely notice)
Useful info, thanks Northwind. I'm rather accustomed to the fast pickup of my WI and King so I wonder how I'd get on with a standard 240s. I saw that one on ebay...tempting but of course I'd just be taking it apart for the hub and then have the hassle of getting it built up somewhere. Generally I get wheels from JRA as their builds have been faultless IME.
Pedalhead - hub is in local shop on behalf of seller. Shop could easily build onto rim of your choice - he spanners on the WC DH circuit, so knows what he's doing. Hub is as new.
My CK SS hub is lovely it swaps between 2 bikes and takes a damn good thrashing, used it for 3 years and it was second hand when I got it...
pedalhead, cracked bearing track on one, after 6 weeks use from new.
ring drive and spring worn on the other after a year or so.
I
don't get me wrong,I thought King hubs were beautifully made,lovely kit.
but for the price I'd never touch them again. I had to send the axel to them in the States,as they wouldn't let a uk dealer warranty it,as it was bought from the states (WTF?)
ring drive,they refused to warranty 'fair wear' LOL...
Big up to Tim at Sideways who replaced the worn parts,and serviced the hub,at more or less cost. 😉
never again.
Wow, never heard of those kinds of failures on King hubs. Tough damn luck!
Normaly I'm a big Dt 240 fan but after breaking a star ratchet tool today before the bloody ring came undone I'm less happy.
My oldest ss hub is old hope with eno freewheel , well several free wheels as the hub won't die