I find myself having to replace my rear 26 wheel. My previous one was a hope pro II evo of which a bearing inside exploded last week and sent lots of tiny ball bearings floating about my freehub and it ended up cracked and scored. I’d like now to consider alternatives to Hope that take cartridge bearings but my knowledge isn’t great in this area. Recommendations please then for easily serviceable rear hubs for 2nd hand or new purchasing. I also fell out of love with the hope hub because of that rubber ring which had a tendancy to unseat itself making your freehub less than free. Which model Shimano hub take cartridge bearings?
Thanks.

Which model Shimano hub take cartridge bearings?

none, iirc.

Other than that – anything but Chris King is probably cartridge.

Which model Shimano hub take cartridge bearings?

none of them

Bit of a freak incident to be writing off Hope…

I’ve been running Hope (XC – 2001 and still going, and Pro2 Evo) and 2 sets of Superstar switch for years without incident. Superstar switch are a generic model made by Novatec, so are well proven.

Have you considered sending your hub back? I think you may be pleasantly surprised with the result. Hope are good like that. FWIW they would have sorted that seal too. Its probably gotten deformed somewhere along the way. They don’t normally do that unless badly seated / damaged.

the hub is 2nd hand when I bought it, you think it likely they would replace it ben? I can email them I suppose.

The general experience of (much cheaper than hope) superstar switch hubs is good these days i think (certainly mine was good as is/was that of the others i ride with) but certainly as said above, hope are usually very reliable and top notch customer service.

I’d have no qualms suggesting the switch as a budget hub but wouldn’t suggest against the hope if you’ve got the room in your budget for them.

I wouldn’t write off the Hope either- speak to them nicely and see if they will help. IME they’re not as good as people say but it’s still worth trying.

DT350 or 240 are good options- more reliable than Hope ime (the 350 is just a slightly cheaper version of the 240, which is great but bloomin expensive. Though, the 350’s stock bearings don’t seem great). Buying a used wheel is the cheapest way to get one of their hubs! They last forever so they’re a great used buy. But still, your Hope failure is pretty untypical I think.

I’ve been impressed with the Novatec hubs on my road bike, and they’re lighter than Hope.

@jekkyl yes I do think they’ll sort you out. Exploding bearings in Pro2 Evos was a (fairly) common issue and we’ve sent a few back and all have been sorted no problems.