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Inspiration please.
I'm not especially strong and not especially heavy, but I'm managing to do this to hope freehubs
And this to Halo Supadrive
Any Hosses out there with rear hubs that are lasting?
I'm not far off 20 stone and run a mix of DT Swiss ratchet and ratchet EXP rear hubs on all my bikes, 54 tooth on the hardtail and gravel bike and a 24-tooth on the E-MTB.
I tend to be pretty on top of servicing so the 18-tooth versions may be better for those looking to 'fit and forget' but cleaning and regreasing the ratchets is a 5 minute job so not exactly onerous.
Ineresting to hear you've been ok with the 54t. I have read elsewhere they can be fragile.
The Hope problem stems from flexing of the hollow aluminium axle, exacerbated by things like longer hubs, poor clamping, flexy frames and big / strong riders.
We made a solid stainless axle for big_scot_nanny's Ti fat bike (very long hub) with big end bolts to clamp everything up tight and it has been perfect for hundreds of miles (he could previously crunch a new freehub in just one ride). Have now made a solid aluminium version for him to try.
And no I'm not making any more 🙂
In the MTB tandems world there are 3 hubs folk rarely break. rohloff, Hope tandem special ( 40 hole count tho) and Chris king tandem special
Actually Mick, I do remember your thread about that and I had concluded the flex was my issue with the hope hub.
My main problem is that its difficult to find adequate information to see which hubs might be stiffer/stronger.
I originally went with halo because they have a steel axle and decent POE, but They are coming with their own problems.
Actually, thinking about materials, it may be that the steel axle is less stiff than the hope alu axle.
240s for me having broken several other hubs. Recommended.
I'm not quite following your science on that one....
Same dimensions, the steel will be stiffer than the aluminium (basic Youngs modulus). It is only where you can increase the dimensions / have more material that the aluminium might be stiffer or stronger for a given mass.
Ineresting to hear you’ve been ok with the 54t. I have read elsewhere they can be fragile.
When fully engaged the 54 spreads the load across the same area as a lower engagement hub and therefore (in theory at least) is as strong. My 54's certainly feel no less solid under power than my slower hubs.
In the real world however, stuff will eventually start to get past the seals, either getting in between the ratchets or stopping the ratchets from moving freely and preventing full engagement.
The shallower teeth of the 54 have less room for error when this starts to happen and therefore it's more important to keep them maintained, where as the slower engaging ones with chunkier teeth will go for longer when neglected.
Hence why DT spec 36's as standard as it strikes a good balance between engagement and long term reliability.
It a should be noted that the same principles apply to Pawl hubs, the faster the engagment the finer the mechanism and the more vulnerable it is to failure if not maintained.
E-bikes add a whole extra bundle of stresses to this, hence why I run a slower hub on the E-MTB.
If you're seeking ultimate reliability then I'd look for a slower engaging hub. Beware of anything cheap with fast pick-up.
I hear the onyx classic hub is essentially indestructible. The newer vesper seems to have a few issues.
^ Beat me to it. Onyx seems to be the one recommended most on the SS forums for serial kit breakers
In theory, I could stiffen the setup up with an ebike or solid axle. Time to have a look.