Any news on Alchemy hubs?

[G60]

I've had some $$ burning a hole in my pocket since last fall, holding out *somewhat* patiently for a set of Pacenti SL23's laced to Alchemy ELF and ORC-UL hubs.
I know Alchemy has been in the process of restructuring and last I heard production may start back up soon, but has anyone else heard anything more set in stone?

[ergott]

I spoke to him last week. There is no ETA at this time. I know one of their goals to improve the brand is to have much more stock available on hand instead of the hubs coming out in small waves. I think it's tough to get the quality of production he wants, a decent volume of production, and of course not escalating the cost beyond reason.

Give them time, I bet they will figure it out.

[Zigmeister]

Yeah, this is disappointing. I went with Tune hubs as the best alternative and weight due to no availability of the Alchemy. Hated to do it, love the hubs. But some business issues and how to scale production are in order there.

[ergott]

The silver lining to me is that I know the product will be spot on if it's in my hands.

[Zen Cyclery]

We've had hundreds of inquiries about their hubs in the past couple of months alone. I really hope that they will be able to start up production again soon seeing as the season is fast approaching. They still make the best road hubset out there IMO.

[Zigmeister]

The silver lining to me is that I know the product will be spot on "if" it's in my hands.

Operative word.

[Zigmeister]

Oh I have an update, after 1000 miles of riding, 1 wet ride, the rest dry/normal...the NDS bearing is shot on my Alchemy ORC UL hub...I know they are just cheap 6901 enduro bearings, but still. Makes you wonder if it was just a dud bearing, or some design issue causing premature wearing/angle of contact issues.

All other bearings, front ELF hub, and right side/DS bearings, still smooth. Left NDS...rough/grinding with basically zero pre-load set, pulled the bearing out...looks absolutely perfect, except for the bearings being crap now.

[Bridgeman]

I have no experience with this hub, but have had 3 failures with Enduro Bottom Bracket bearings after light rain exposure. Unless someone can prove otherwise, I've given up on Enduro Bearings.

[sugarkane]

Endruos are rubbish, it's not a matter if they fail it's when.

[Zigmeister]

Interesting since they are fairly widely used. And in a boutique $440 hub that alchemy charges...a better bearing should be in order then. At their wholesale cost, and Enduro 6901 is like $3. So Alchemy is putting about $15 into their hubs for bearings.

I just ordered some spares to replace and have on hand. But if they only make it 800-1000 miles, that is pretty sad for sure. Then again, my massive quads could be the issue when I'm laying down my 1200w sprints...haha

Guess just keep some grease packed on the outside/sealed portion to help repel deter water. It was one heck of a rain storm during a race, but really, shouldn't have caused the failure, and until I took the wheel off and spun it in my hands as a test/check of the bearings, did I notice the grinding/friction, after doing some research/testing, found it was the left outboard NDS bearing that went. The wheel was still riding what I thought was normal, nothing out of the usual.

Good reminder to take your wheels off, not just the front one's like a lot of people do, but the rear, and spin it in your fingers to check the bearing smoothness/pre-load.

[ergott]

Alchemy switched to Phil Wood bearings with the redesign of the UL.

I've had to replace bearings in the Orc, but never the NDS, that's odd. I haven't had to replace any of the bearings in the UL hubs since I've sold them. I think the PW bearings help and the design also works better too.