DT Swiss 240S straight pull hubs

[LouisN]

There seems to be an invasion of DT Swiss 240S straight pull hubs these days. Especially all the pre-built wheels.
I'm thinking of getting a pair, and asking myself the advantages/disadvantages of the SP design (besides the already known for centuries "the rear width of the flanges makes poor wheels stifness... ) ) .
Thanks !!
Louis

[bm0p700f]

I have built with then and there are no upsides. Putting aside there geometry your limited to aero spokes and even then twist is a issue that takes more time to resolve.

The improved fatigue resistance of striaght pull spokes is moot as in a properly specced wheel how often does that happen.

[LouisN]

Yes, I remeber now my Powertap GS rear wheel had twisted spokes too...
Why so many asian manufacturers build relatively cheap wheels with DTSwiss 240 SP hubs exclusively, but the flanged ones are still extremely highly priced anywhere on the net ?
My only guess is the SP ones are manufactured in asia and cost way less to produce than the "classic" ones.
So I guess Malcolm you would say I'm better with WI T11 hubs instead ? This option is a little more expensive, but I like the WI hubs. I miss my WI hubs wheelset that got stolen last fall , 20h rear and surprisingly stiff, was meant for my daughter but I started to use it for both road and CX and loved it. Ti freehub is always a plus too.
I'd like to try the Carbon-Ti option but not sure about durability for a 60-80 g weight difference. These wheels will do 4000-5000 km's /yr in all weather. And going to race in Netherlands in late april .

Louis

[Beaver]

Yes, I remeber now my Powertap GS rear wheel had twisted spokes too...
Why so many asian manufacturers build relatively cheap wheels with DTSwiss 240 SP hubs exclusively, but the flanged ones are still extremely highly priced anywhere on the net ?
My only guess is the SP ones are manufactured in asia and cost way less to produce than the "classic" ones.
So I guess Malcolm you would say I'm better with WI T11 hubs instead ? This option is a little more expensive, but I like the WI hubs. I miss my WI hubs wheelset that got stolen last fall , 20h rear and surprisingly stiff, was meant for my daughter but I started to use it for both road and CX and loved it. Ti freehub is always a plus too.
I'd like to try the Carbon-Ti option but not sure about durability for a 60-80 g weight difference. These wheels will do 4000-5000 km's /yr in all weather. And going to race in Netherlands in late april .

Louis

Some people seem to prefer the clean look of straightpull hubs. And I don't think the classic ones are not produced in Asia.

With Carbon Ti X-hubs you will save around 100g... I have both DT 240S and Carbon Ti, so far both are trouble free. The Carbon Ti bearings needed adjustment after 500km, but afterwards everything is fine. In the past they used bearings with contactless sealings but not anymore, so even regular rain shouldn't be a problem.

If you want to use a high-pressure cleaner the 240S might be the better choice though.

[bm0p700f]

Louis,

I would go with the WI hubs too over DT 240 but Carbon ti hubs would the ones I end up with in the end because they are so much lighter (120g in fact than WI and 90g lighter than 240's) for that I would put up wih the extra time keeping the spoke straight. Carbon Ti hubs dont have bearing life issues. They seems to cope with the elements quite well.

[clarinet5001]

My local wheelbuilder said Whites are a better value than the 240S (and build a slightly better wheel too). I'm not sure how Carbon-Ti hubs fare in the wet but from what I can find they're far more durable than expected given how light they are. They're also pretty reasonable given their weight and durability: around $450-470US I think so a bit more than the SP 240S and similar to the White T11s. 240S are very durable though, although if you use Shimano then expect to replace the freehub body a couple times.

I ended up going with the Whites becuase I wanted 24/28 spoke count and becuase I'm not sure if the Carbon-Ti hubs would last 3 rim builds' worth, whereas it looks like the Whites (and DT hubs as well) should. That and Whites should be impervious to the "Ultegra Cassette Freehub Issue." Haven't gotten them yet though so can't say how I like 'em. Only two more days hopefully.

[LouisN]

OK, thanks for your comments guys.
I was under the impression from what I gathered that the Carbon-Ti X-Road SL hubs were heavier on the Farsports website (270 g) than stated on the Carbon-Ti website (220 g).
I guess they are the same hubs that Prendrefeu had on his wheeset on this discussion, and same model that you have, Malcolm ?:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=132497&=45
I think I will pull the trigger on these now.

Louis

[bm0p700f]

The carbon Ti hubs are 224g per pair. Very light and quite reliable.

There are two rims brake hubset I like much Primato and carbon Ti. One is cheap and relaibility the other is not cheap, very light and reliable. Other high end hubs are not as light and only some are as reliable. So why?

[clarinet5001]

OK, thanks for your comments guys.
I was under the impression from what I gathered that the Carbon-Ti X-Road SL hubs were heavier on the Farsports website (270 g) than stated on the Carbon-Ti website (220 g).
I guess they are the same hubs that Prendrefeu had on his wheeset on this discussion, and same model that you have, Malcolm ?:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=132497&=45
I think I will pull the trigger on these now.

Louis

It looks like the SL is the older version and the SP the newer one. That said, I'm not sure what changed between the two.

[MayhemSWE]

I'm thinking of getting a pair, and asking myself the advantages/disadvantages of the SP design

Not really inherent to straightpull vs J-bend I suppose, but as far as 240s hubs go DT's compatibility tables says only the straightpull version can be fitted with an XDR driver.

[alcatraz]

I like how solid the hub looks.

I only wonder about one thing and it's if the small PCD on the DS side isn't the weakest aspect of the hub?

Doesn't the resulting bracing angle provide quite poor lateral stiffness almost requiring the use of an asymetric rim?

[bm0p700f]

Try do the maths. OCD has almost no effect on bracing angle. It does have an effect on tension Ch ages when pedalling which on average are small anyway.

[alcatraz]

Try do the maths. OCD has almost no effect on bracing angle. It does have an effect on tension Ch ages when pedalling which on average are small anyway.

You're right about the bracing angle but maybe not about the tension if I'm allowed to use spokecalculator.net's tension predictions. A difference between 45 and 65mm DS pcd results in a mere 2% difference in NDS tension.

Why aren't all hubs using small pcd's or large pcd's? There is quite a variety out there. Do the differences have less to do with performance and more about aesthetics and marginal effects perhaps?

Bontrager (dt) hubs have on average larger pcd and dt's own hubs on average smaller pcd. It's interesting. Does it come down to architectural taste?

[bm0p700f]

45mm to 65mm is quite a big change. most DS flanges are not that big. I was commenting on most hubs where the PCD us 55mm or under and then tension balance is barley affected. 2% is almost nowt and withing normal variance anway.

There are manufacturing issues with using large flange hubs. It is possible to get it right but the ain reason ist is done is not tension balance but to reduce tension changes caused by pedalling.

You lot are obessed with tension balance, dont be. 1% or 2% between one hub or another is meaningless. You cant control tension that well anyway.

So dont pick a hub because the flange is huge therefore that must be better or that hub gives a better tension balance. That far too narrow a view of a wheel building.

[TobinHatesYou]

I'm thinking of getting a pair, and asking myself the advantages/disadvantages of the SP design

Not really inherent to straightpull vs J-bend I suppose, but as far as 240s hubs go DT's compatibility tables says only the straightpull version can be fitted with an XDR driver.

A DT Swiss rep at NAHBS told me the J-Bend hubs are XDR compatible too.