so my normal DT swiss cassette rear hub has died on my ss for the 2nd time in 8months is it time i went to a SS specific hub? if so what type, the ones with just a narrow cassette body/freehub or the screw on type with a freewheel that you screw on?
pros cons of each? and recommendations please…

please note budget is not huge!

If you go for something like the Hope SS hub you can change ratios relatively easily.

The screw on hubs are perfectly good, especially if you use a WI freewheel.

On a tight budget I’d be looking at stuff with BMX origins.

How about this from me for £30 posted?
It’s a surly and needs a screw on freewheel, I bought it and never got around to using it. It is in pretty good nick with just a small mark on the disc mount side where the previous owner had the chain jump off when using a bolt on fixed cog.

Surly disc hub by markenduro, on Flickr

Pros of the cassette type is that changing ratios is easy and cheap, that is about the only one I can think of.

WI freewheel can be taken to pieces and rebuilt very easily, so when it fills with mud you can fix it. And if it’s not being immersed in slurry it’s very reliable.

But, the downside is, as others have said, that changing the ratio at the rear is much harder. You either need two freewheels (expensive) or two sets of outer teeth (fairly expensive). Changing the outer teeth takes quite a while.

Superstar do a good one 😉

I used to use a DMR hub with a WI freewheel for about 6 years with one bearing change to the freewheel

I now use a Hope s/s cassette hub ( I got a deal on the hub but I was looking at the superstar hub)

The old wheels just worked the new wheel is shiney and full of Hope goodness ( and heavier despite the same rims )

just go DMR

salad, was looking at the dmr hubs, and they are only 288g os shiny goodness.
mark, many thanks for the offer, I’ll have a think about it and get back to you 🙂

will look at freewheels now

Dicta and ACS were pretty much the “industry standard” when I was bmxing! Cheap as well 🙂

lol dicta and acs + mud = imminent falure !

fwiw i run hopes on my ss

I have been using an old deora 9 hub speed hub for the last 3 yrs and its never let me down, though i do need to grease the bearings now..

I went for the WI freewheel and screw on hub option, mainly because I was offered an old Hope screw-on hub that was too nice to pass up on. Added the WI freewheel and that was me tied into that option as too much invested.

I’d say if the budget is tight, avoid the screw on option. IME only the WI ones last and they are a lot of cash, the cheaper ones have always failed on me – under full power.

mmmmm me now want WI freewheel they look nice….need to sell some bits…

trail_rat – Member
lol dicta and acs + mud = imminent falure !

+1

In this country there’s not much better than the WI freewheel. Plus they are rebuildable and repairable.

The ability to adjust your chainline is useful with the cassette type hubs such as the Hope though.

Pros of the cassette type is that changing ratios is easy and cheap, that is about the only one I can think of.

And that they’re a lot more reliable that freewheels IME. Even WI ones seem to have an unreasonable failure rate (though they can be rebuilt but that’s no consolation mid-ride when yours has gone again…)

just get the hobpe.
im guessing the DT swiss hub is dying due to lateral forces and uneven bearing placement (ive not seen one)

a hope hub has two bearings in the hub, and two in the freehub shell, no chance of lateral forces killing it.

if its for a SS specific, get the SS specific one. the freehub body is short, so it only takes a SS sprocket, not a full cassette, but allows for a better dishing, and comes with a non buggerable steel freehub body as standard.

and 48 pickups by offsetting the pawls, iirc

my SS is a slot dropout inbred, so CAN take gears if i want it to.
so i used a normal dimensioned hope Bulb and SSed it with that.
dish isnt as strong, but i can put a cassette on if the wind takes me.