Hey guys,

I broke the free hub pawls clean off on my ride today, not an especially hard effort but never the less a surprise when it happened! They are a un-branded Taiwanese wheel set and aside from the hubs & spokes I think the carbon rim is OK, the bare wheel set weighed 1380g which isn't too bad i don't think considering the price. I have been offered a replacement free hub which I'll take but I don't really trust the hubs now and the spokes look a little suspicious...

So, I'm after suggestions on what hubs to go for. They are my training wheels although I'd like something light if possible (I don't mind a little maintenance...) because I enjoy using well made components. I've been looking at Chris King's and they look fantastic, I can change my axles if I upgrade my forks and I can use 'fun bolts' on the back. But what else is about that I should consider?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=2039


I'm after a 6 bolt disc mount.

Cheers

P.s. I've ruled out DT 240 or 190 hubs because I think they are too plain.

Quite a lot to choose from...

Hope Pro II's - just about bombproof, little maintenance, respectable weight
Industry Nine
Tune King/Kong or Prince/Princess hubs - pricey but light
American Classic hubs - reliability is/was questionable but good weight/price
Shimano XTR
etc

Personally I would go for the Hope's.

The Hope's look good, I like that they are a UK company which counts for a lot.

I like the looks and the idea of of the Tune's but I've seen some pretty shocking pictures of their Alu free hubs falling apart, I'm not so sure I can justify the risk.

What about Extralite, are these reliable?

Ruds

Could only tell you what i've read about them... mostly good, some bearing problems and problems with the original pawls which were made from titanium but are now steel. I think the first generation were a bit hit or miss but the newer models are more reliable.

The Hope's are good, lot of happy riders out there using them... they are easy to maintain and re-build and their customer service is good.

I have been on Hope Pro 2's awesome hubs! With that said I have Ligero building me a new set with Stan's Crest rims and I-9 hubs. BTW these are single speed 29er wheels.

_________________
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You can't go wrong with King. I've just received my third set. If you don't want to spend that much, Hope hubs are an excellent choice as well. I've been riding a pair on my current 29er for four years. Hope's front hub can also accept different axle styles.

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Maybe some custom hubs e.g. Mack - http://www.mackhubs.com/
A half year ago I've decided for them and I'm happy now.
Price starting from DT240s level. You can choose many parameters e.g. weight, colour, number of spokes, bearings etc.
In attachments are some pictures from polish lightbike forum.
Red hubs is mine. When you see the special logo designed by me on the last picture, you'll understand, I didn't want 240s, exactly like you

Rycki

I run Pro II hubs and I love em.

Once every 6 months I pull the cassette body apart and give it a clean up and re-grease with Extreme pressure grease. They roll like nothing else and are basicly indestructable. They come in any variation you need, QR to 20mm on the front and QR to 12mm through or bolt up. All easily changed with the appropriate kit.

The only recommendation I can give is run a high end cassette, one with an aluminium center that holds a number of sprockets (ie XT). Running a lower spec'd cassette results in the sprckets digging into the aluminium cassette body and can be a pain to remove. But this is the case with any aluminium cassette body.

If you choose Tune just go for the titanium freewheel hub. No problems then.

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Lefty heaven

What is the story on those Mack hubs? They can make me any hub I want? I can choose the flange to flange spacing? How many bearings to support the axle? What's the scoop?

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I have a couple sets of wheels with ProII hubs and know many others who do as well--highly recommended. The weight is OK, colour options are nice, and the price is pretty reasonable. Hope's customer service is pretty good too, though you're unlikely to need to find out first hand because they seem to just go on and on.

+1 what's the story with Mack hubs? Looks interesting, but not a very helpful website...

Anyone else got experiance with Tune hubs, every where I look people are having probelms with Tune aluminium free hub bodys exploading... Titanium ones appear to be better and have different bearings but have Tune acknowledged these issues and fixed them? The Tune hubs start getting very expensive with the Ti bodies!