Looking on a decent type of hub to start building wheels, but wouldn't want to spend big bucks right away. I was checking on the Hope hubs, but it's hard to find reviews...


.....Got anyone here that has them ?

...Where would you rate them, comparably ? :

- Asian Generic type (Novatech, Formula, etc...)
- Shimano
- Am Classic
- DT
- Else,...

Pros

Cons




Thanks for the info,




Louis

Yes, got a pair in Gold anodising.

Would rate them quite high actually - typical Hope, not the lightest, but bombproof. I guess they are on a par with DT in terms of quality of manufacturing, but a tad heavier.

Pro's (for me) - have not seen one issue with 6 pairs of MTB and road Hope hubs in 14 years.
- click very loud (may be a drawback for some people)

Con's - heavy-ish. That's it.

On the Hope site:

www.hopegb.com

They advertise the rear hub as 361 g !!!

Other sites write it as 260 g (230 g on Monk a Moo, with 110 g front)....wich is not too bad !

Wich one is real ? I checked the listings, but there's only the Pro II 135 mm listed at 297 g (front at 188 g )...




Louis

Pretty sure the 361g is a typo, and the correct weight is 261, which I have also seen advertised in most shops.
361 is Ultegra class weight, so thats not really possible for this type of hub.

Hope's website is not very good, and they clearly focus on the MTB market, with the road hubs as a very minor item.
As opposed to MTB wheels, hardly anyone builds road wheels from components these days (in general), so demand is probably very low for the Pro 3 road.

Have only heard good things about the Pro 3 though, and might buy a rear hub soon myselves, if I don't find a silver Tune 180 on sale in the meantime

Not to steal your thread, but I would love to hear from anyone who has experience with the Novatec super light race hubs. The rear is advertised at 245 grams, and with Japaneese quality bearings - which sounds nicer than Chineese bearings somehow
Are these too good to be true? - or are they actually a super buy for very very little money?

LouisN>>> How much is the Hope 3 rear in your part of the world? It is about 200 USD in the UK, which is a very good price compared to Tune, FRM, Heylight and DT.

Ambrosio Zenith might be worth a look as a daily work hub ... 268g w/QR, bombproof rep, decent price, silver or black.
http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/p ... H_S_R.html

Check the comparably priced Ultegra rear it's almost 100g more.
http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/p ... b6500.html

That ambrosio hub seems to be rebranded novatec hub. They seems to be good for money but there are some alternatives.

Might well be, looks almost the same.

http://www.novatec.com.tw/novatec/engli ... php?sid=51

My issue is that Novatec don't communicate in any language; no reply to numerous emails, failed email address, etc ... whereas Ambrosio do and are also readily available at Euro dealers.

commenting for a friend- he built up a wheelset for another mate of ours; 32/32 front AC micro, rear Hope with AC 350 rims... Can I say delightful? If you like a loud hub you're in for a treat. I got to ride the set up a few decent hills and was very impressed. The hub spins smoothly as expected and hasn't even been broken in yet. One complaint was the decal which was painted on - low quality, likely to rub off, which isn't much of an issue. Should be etched instead...

_________________
gone crazy. be back soon

Same here







Louis

just built up a set of the pro 3 having already had a set of pro 2 (mono) & run them as training wheels for 3yrs (12k odd distance with no issues).

the rear weighs 231gram.. dunno where everyone is getting their weights, but they are not as heavy as people are saying, comparable to campag stock hubs but available in choice of drillings & now thankfully available in campag bodies.

yes, the hub is noisy on the rear but not as noisy as royce which i also run & frankly the hopes have (talking about the pro2 and an old ti-glide I've had for 12yrs now) given my less problems than the royce which just doesnt have such quality sealing as the hopes do (i've used royce thru mainly dry weather and they have seized with about 6k on them, whilst the hope 2 i run has gone for double the distance and seems only just to be getting settled in).

hopes spin faster & more freely than royce in my experience as well, but none of these spin as well as free bearing wheels like record (of which i have a some older hubs but which would dearly like to get in 28h in the new version, but seem like gold dust in the uk).

overall would definately recommend the hopes, prices are pretty good if you look at wiggle / chain reaction & look for the road versions. the pair sat together look well finished and built up without any problems.

I've had Hope Hoops (Pro 3 hubs with Dt swiss 1.1 rims, 32F 32R) for a year. Done lots of miles in rain and sun. No problems so far. Cheapish (£300), dependable wheelset. Much better value than Mavics.
Not sure about weight but probably about 1600-1700 grams.
Going to go tubular next summer and might well get these hubs for the build.

I've had Hope Hoops (Pro 3 hubs with Dt swiss 1.1 rims, 32F 32R) for a year. Done lots of miles in rain and sun. No problems so far. Cheapish (£300), dependable wheelset. Much better value than Mavics.
Not sure about weight but probably about 1600-1700 grams.
Going to go tubular next summer and might well get these hubs for the build.

I came across Wiggle couple days ago, they ship Free to Canada, for a $280CAN + order (wich is about the price of both hubs). Definitely on top of my list for now...





Louis

cool.

one thing i would say is that they are not eye candy! i get loads of comments on the appearance of the royces and they look well on a old school build (master colnago)... but the hopes certainly take care of business and spin up to speed a heck of a lot faster.

be careful on the colour way options, you need to see the shades they come in to see how well the might match other colours. their blue is particularly deep for example. i got mine in silver for this particular reason so they are neutral on the build colour scheme.

Hi mr_tim - I think we must live within a mile or so of each other. Do you ride with DP?

I bought a Goldtec rear hub recently - made in the UK, similar weight to Hope. It has a really fast pickup, which you notice immediately when you ride it. It rolls very well, the wheel is nice and stiff and the hub is available in a good variety of drillings. When I bought mine last year they were working on a campag freehub but hadn't finished it.

So far no problems. I would highly recommend it. Do a Goldtec search as there is a thread here reviewing it.