Stock Zipp and DT Swiss 240 hubs - why held in such contempt

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Ozrider
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Geoff
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by Geoff

Hey, I have seen 240 hubs that look pretty similar to that (except with bigger chunks ripped out). Also, on DT-manufactured wheel sets, not hand-built ones.

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uraqt
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by uraqt

Why held in such contempt?

Very hard to beat DA and Campy.

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Geoff
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by Geoff

Darn near impossible, I'd say. That does not mean other hubs are complete garbage, or anything, just that the ability to replace bearings and adjust them is a really powerful feature of the 'factory' hubs.

indywagon
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by indywagon

So, besides Campy and Shimano, which are both pretty heavy by weight weenie standards, what hubs are better then the Zipps or the DT 240s? How do Chris King R45 hubs stack up?

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hmai18
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by hmai18

Throwing White Industries T11 or Alchemy ELF/ORC into the mix.

Geoff
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by Geoff

But still cartridge bearings, not angular contact bearings...

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ultimobici
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by ultimobici

indywagon wrote:So, besides Campy and Shimano, which are both pretty heavy by weight weenie standards, what hubs are better then the Zipps or the DT 240s? How do Chris King R45 hubs stack up?

Campagnolo heavy? They're lighter than R45's and much more easily serviced, if they ever need it. Add in that they have much more appropriate bearings than any WW hub and the only drawback they have is that they are only available in 32 hole.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

As I said eariler when did 343g/pair become heavy.

jooo
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by jooo

@bm0p700f - A Mig/Mag or ELF/ORC-UL combo only weighs a little more than the rear Record hub, I'd say that makes them kind heavy don't you? Maybe you're on the wrong forum? Have you thought about joining RBR?
Geoff wrote:But still cartridge bearings, not angular contact bearings...

Which is not what the post asked.

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ultimobici
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by ultimobici

jooo wrote:@bm0p700f - A Mig/Mag or ELF/ORC-UL combo only weighs a little more than the rear Record hub, I'd say that makes them kind heavy don't you? Maybe you're on the wrong forum? Have you thought about joining RBR?

But both of those combinations are dry weather only use. What is the point of a part being super light if you can only use it when the weather is sunny & dry? Plus if you want to use Campag with Alchemy you have to use a Heath Robinson set up with shims.

Ozrider
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by Ozrider

Considering the number of wheels built on DT 240 hubs, the failure rate is remarkably low.
In 10 speed form the bracing angle wasn't as good as some other hubs, but since the move to 11speed the DT hubs are now pretty comparable to most 11 speed hubs in terms of bracing angle.
Their design is robust and they are basically fit and forget and low maintenance in wet climates. Most maintenance is tool free, and as they are so widely available spares are easy to obtain.
The following wheel manufacturers either use DT 240 hubs or internals - Reynolds, Giant and Lightweight.
Bontrager Aeolus and RXL wheels are built using DT hubs, and Enve offer DT 180 and 240 as well Chris King Hubs as standard offerings.
Looking at the above manufacturers, and I'm sure I have missed one or two, there have to be millions of DT 240 hubs on bicycles worldwide. Price wise they are probably overpriced in the after market context.
If you are building custom wheels, they are not the lightest or most exciting hubs, only being available in black and white versions.
Tune or Extralite offer really light hubs and Tune and Chris King offer a wide variety of anodised colours if y want to colour match hubs with headsets and BB.
Weight wise a set of DT 240's is approx 320g which is within a few grams of Chris King R45's or White Industries T11, where tune Mig70 Mag170 come in at 240g.
Currently Alchemy hubs are not available, and it is unknown if and / or when production will recommence.

As per a previous post I have experienced a failure on a rear DT 240 hubs on a 24 spoke wheel which was only 18 months old, but I have a older set that is on its third set of rims and still going strong with nothing more than annual servicing.




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Bridgeman
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by Bridgeman

Does anyone know the bearing quantity and size for Chis King R45?

yz387
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by yz387

Why such contempt? Good question. I often wonder that myself. I have owned a couple of wheelsets with 240s and currently own a couple of sets of 303s (with model year 2011 hubs). The 240s were nice hubs but could be nicer if they had better drive side flange spacing to make a stiffer wheel. The zipp hubs do have "play" in them which I think puts a lot of people off, but once on the bike, I never notice it and find them to be some of the best rolling hubs I have ever ridden. I use mine for both road and cyclocross and have never had any durability issue with the hubs despite what I read about on the internet.

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mambo
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by mambo

I have been investigating hubs choices in depth for about three weeks now.

On this thread I started on another forum the White Industries hubs come highly recommended by several very well respected wheel builders, including my own. As a result I am ordering a set of them.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/wheels ... 22736.html

My conclusions are as follows:

DT Swiss - super quality, long lasting, easily serviceable in most shops and at home. Easily upgradeable star ratchet system for quicker pick up, probably one of the most sold quality hubs out there and used by many OEM's. A great do it all hub. Coulour options - black on red!

Tune - Lightest reasonably durable, quality hub, though durability not quite up to the standard of the other I mention. Tune spares and hub availability very poor. Lots of colour choices. The factory currently has issues with the rear freehub so supply will be delayed for some time (don't ask where I heard this from!

White Industries - Super quality, lasts forever, not the lightest option. Good colour choices, silver polishes up so you need sunglasses to look at them directly, possibly the prettiest of them all. Factory service superb.

Chris King R45's - Last forever. Super guarantee. Not too light either. Light servicing easily carried out, but full servicing requires proprietary tools costing $180 currently (most shops don't have the tool). Bearings are also proprietary. The seals cause the hubs to have more drag than others (some wheel builders told me the drag disappears with use, others disagreed). Lots of colour options.

Alchemy - Highly regarded and durable. Just a tad heavier than the Tune hubs but lighter than the others. Wide flange spacing builds more laterally rigid wheels than the other hubs mentioned. Supply sketchy. No Campagnolo compatibility and won't be for some time yet. Three colour options.

The Fairwheel bikes hub review is good but talking to the people at the shop will give you a better insight into the foibles of each one that do not appear in the review.
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