I bought a set of wheels 2nd hand just before xmas thinking they were pro 2 hubs on syncros wheels. just serviced the freehub & was confused when the hub looked nothing like what was being shown in the video. bit of a search and turns out it’s an xc rear hub (pro 2 front).

not really too bothered, but what is the difference? the xc hub looks to be obsolete now – was it just the version prior to the Pro 2?

also, when putting the freehub back on the axle it doesn’t ‘click into place’ and is just held on by the top hat spacer and then of course the QR pulling it all together. is that right??

cheers!

Ive only just ditched my rear XC after 9 years use and bugger all servicing. Only because I now have an Alfine. My front one is still running sweet. All the parts are still available on CRC.

AFAIK – It’s just the one before the PROII (there was the bulb and the big un then, i think)

xc hub has lot better sized bearings than the pro2 and no there is no click putting the free hub back on!

cool, i’ll happily take these two responses. ta chaps!

Yeah xc much better rear hub

hope xc hubs are far better and more reliable than pro2’s…..the only benefit the pro2 offers is that you can change the axle to suit different frames..i.e 12mm maxle/10mm bolt/standard qr

xc’s are qr only
plus..the xc’s freehubs are stronger and last longer than pro2’s
you dont need ear plugs when you freewheel(unlike pro2’s where you sound like a demented wasp on steroids)

The Xc is a great hub, as is the bulb.

XC was cheaper than the Pro2 when available as new so theoretically “worse”, (used XC wheels tend to go for ~£100 on here, Pro 2s about £150, and IIRC new pair of XC/717 was £200 compared to ~£260 for Pro2/717) but a common consensus here is that the XC’s have bigger stronger bearings, and dont have that annoyingly loud click.

Only problem with XC’s is theyre not convertible to newer standards (20mm bolt thru etc), Pro2s are, which is probably why the XCs went out of production.

And no the freehub doesnt “click” on.

We have 2 pair of XC and a pair of Pro2, and to be honest I prefer the XCs (but have 20mm bolt thru forks).

Yeah – XC has been succeeded by ProII as far as I can tell.

IIRC the XC has steel (or Ti) freehub body , whereas ProII has aluminium, so you can use cheaper, chompier, cassettes on the XC, or easy SS conversion. Means it is a bit heavier, but, whatever 🙄

I’ve got both XC and ProII on different bikes, and the ProII’s are the ones that have failed on me!

so seems like the xc is well revered all round, which is nice!

14 year old xc on one of my bikes still running strong with only one set of bearings in that time …cant fault

I swear by mine. Had both Pro 2’s and XC’s and much prefer the latter.

XC by hope is a great hub, it was developed and run at the same time as the bulb, it runs 6001 2rs bearings 4x. If you buy them in SKF they will last forever almost. It doesn’t accomodate 20mm front or 12mm rear, however that is what the larger bulb hub was for.

The pro 2 is a more modern version that takes the place of the bulb and XC, however it isn’t as tough or long lasting as either hub, the pro2 is noisy though and as such, suits a lot of people persona’s so they like it 😀

+1 to bullhearts comments. xc better than the pro II

Hmm, I wish I’d read this before upgrading to Pro2s, and selling my old wheels!

The XC is the better hub. It has fatter bearings that last longer and doesn’t make that god awful din. I ditched my Poo2s in favour of XCs.

The bearings in my XC and Ti Glide hubs last loads longer than on the set of Pro2’s I’ve got. And the leaf springs in the Pro2’s freehub won’t last more than a couple of years either.

I keep looking at getting a bulb to replace it, but they always turn up on ebay as part of a heavy DH wheel and I don’t want to faff with swapping rims.

Pro2’s are lighter, but I reckon the freehub drags more than on an XC and they’re not as robust.

Pro II’s slightly easier to work on (changing the freehub bearings) in my opinion but the XC and the Bulb give me far less hassle in terms of bearing and pawl life. I own wheelsets with all 3 hubs. For what its worth I prefer the Bulbs of the 3, then XC hubs for XC wheelsets. Pro II’s still great hubs though especially if you go for the steel freehub body.

Pro2 is more adaptable but the xc is a better hub if you don’t need that.

oh come on!

There were no XC’s 14 years ago. It was the sport hub or bulbs back then.

I’ve replaced more pawls and springs in my pro2 wheels as compared to my old bulbs, but as has been said, the pro2 is lighter (especially the rear -280ish grams), more adaptable and a touch easier to work on.

My bulbs were bomb-proof is a little portly (about 380g IIRC) by todays standards. In fact, the XC weight about the same from what I can see with a quick google search.

Irrespective of the reduced service interval, I still get plenty of bearing life from the pro2’s – about 4 years. Yes its not as long as the bulbs, but its long enough for it not to be a problem for me.

14 years ago it was xc or sport ( difference being Ti or steel freehub body) or bulb. Before the sport came out (97ish ?) the xc was just called a hope Ti though I seem to recall that the Ti was splined spider only – eg not 6 bolt.

I have a xc 6 bolt Ti hub in the garage, mibbe time to dig it out me thinks.

I’d be interested if anyone has an xc/Ti going spare…

This thread ought to be forwarded to Hope, make them see they need to reintroduce the XC hub.

Stop trying to do a jack of all trades hub! It might be cheaper for Hope, but it won’t encourage me to buy their current rear hubs at all. And I’m a Hope fan!

I sold a set last year and posted the wrong set, I sent the ones with the ti freehub 🙁 oh well lucky buyer lol

What a Bulb-End…. 🙄

Sorry Mick but you asked for that. I’m sure you agree. As does your wife. 😐

pro2 is stiffer – defo notice the difference on the front.
xc – seemed to require less maintenance tbh, bit lighter too perhaps?

I know elf lol oh well a. Least I didn’t ask for them back as I’m nice like that 😉

All my xc/sport/bulb/big-uns required the ratchet ring changing every 2 years. Bearings lasted longer than the bloody ratchets… have to send to Hope to fix… still good hubs but I prefer the pro2 (but not in 12mm axle… grrrr… bring on the Evo).

My hope was 96 – silver xc ti glide – ti freehub , non disk , still going strong

Fair point about the ratchet messiah, Bulb hub is the only hub i’ve ever had a ratchet replaced on.

Hope XC are my all time favourite hubs.

Ok they’re not as versatile as the ProII

But they’re better built, just as easy to maintain, steel or Ti freehub body so no issues like there are with the ProII freehub body gouging with pretty much any cassette, a little quieter than a ProII, but still have a lovely mechanical click to them when freewheeling

Shame some twunt stole the bike they were on or I’d still have them 🙁

Hope XC hubs with Mavic XC717 rims and DB spokes are my all time favourite wheelset, I did see some come up for sale a few weeks ago, but my damn boiler decided to pack up, so I couldn’t buy them 🙁

I’ll disagree with the Xc love-in

The XC axle is flexy, this causes the ratchet to dig into the freewheel, which when sufficiently gouged sticks and you have to fixed wheel ride the bike home

Pro 2 bearings seem to last longer than the XC ones for me

For all the people complaining about the loud noise on the pro2’s – just pack plenty of grease around the pawls and they soon quieten down.

I sold my Bulbs with Ti freehub to fund my studies drinking as a student 🙁

For all the people complaining about the loud noise on the pro2’s – just pack plenty of grease around the pawls and they soon quieten down.

I quite like the noise, it means the springs are still in one piece!

My nine year old rear xc is still going strong – bugger all maintenance and original bearings 🙂

For all the people complaining about the loud noise on the pro2’s – just pack plenty of grease around the pawls and they soon quieten down

Not a good idea. Too much grease stops the pawls moving freely, and they slip and damage the ratchet ring.

if you travel with your bikes in the car wheels off, be careful to tighten up the rear qr on the hope xc hubs as the freehub & cassette has a habit of falling out. It’s very fiddly getting the pawls & tiny coil springs back in at wet a Trail Center Car park.

XC’s were pretty bloody heavy though, and similar money to XTRs of the time!