I'm getting wheel built so I can go 1x9 at the Kielder 100 rather than the singlespeed that I normally ride.
Anyone got anything good to say about XT rear hubs (756 model)?
They used to be the dogs back when I had gears but I'm seeming to find lots of poor reviews recently.
Anyone?
Horrible
Fine
good use them on my SS so winter use and not cleaned. Not had to regrease in 2 years use though I will service this year / clean grease etc. Front hub needed nipping up once in that time due to minor play.
Would depend on the price tbh as i got these cheap in an On One sale and other hubs HOPE are better but much louder.
they work well and will last a long time, but they're not fit and forget.
you have to keep an eye on them to see if there is any play. easy job to fix (tighten up the cup & cone).
it is the one of the reasons i no longer use shimano hubs. i'm lazy. i would much rather spend a few quid on a set of bearing as and when necessary than fiddling with the hub every few weeks.
What Alpin said.
My XT rear hub exploded spectacularly(well seized)due to lack of maintenance, the quick release took off into the woods never to be found again.
I only use Cup and cones on the front now and cartridge on the back.
If you maintain them then 756's are fine - I have two sets.
When the freehubs go it's often more cost effective to buy a new hub and swap axles, bearings and freehubs across than buy just a freehub.
Best hub you can get at the price.
P.s haven't had to 'fiddle' with mine for about 2 years, although I noticed the other day it's starting to rumble a little. You just need a decent pair of cone spanners so you can do the lock nuts up really tight.
Cool; I've already got the hub and it's only going to be used on those days that gears are the sensible choice i.e 100 miles.
mine has been brill as long as you keep em serviced they last forever. Horror stories = fit and forgot to maintain.
do the lock nuts up really tight
ruined mine within 3 days in the Alps a few years back.
No hub is maintenance free. The best bit with cup and cone hubs is that the bearings are £1 a hub, not £20 for sealed cartridges. And when you have the knack it's no slower to change them either.
A properly maintained XT will last as long as anything at any price IME.
ruined mine within 3 days in the Alps a few years back.
How do you destroy a hub in 3 days? Which bit failed?
standard=crap (too much servicing)
modified=better than Hope (stronger)
fitted to a Ragley Bluepig and ridden very hard mostly at Lee Quarry
Mine;
more info here;
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/grease-nipple-xt-hubs
The trick with all cup and cone hubs is to Loctite on the less accessible cone and locknut so it can never budge, then you know only one side is adjustable. And when you get that adjustment dead on (slight play with QR loose which goes way with QR tight) they roll so so sweetly.
It's a good tip from Tucker. That's ALWAYS the cone that comes loose. I've seen it happen on a literally brand new bike, locking the wheel.
The best way to adjust Shimano hubs is to get a spare QR and two smallish steel plates/discs whatever and drill a small hole that the QR spindle will go through. Place one drilled plate on each end of the QR to represent the positions your bikes dropouts would be IE on the outside edges of the hub axle. Now clamp the QR as hard as you would if you were fitting the wheel to the bike-this effectively compresses the axle slightly which is why you have to normally adjust the hub with a slight bit of play to compensate for this compressive action of the QR. Once you've compressed the QR-adjust the hub WITHOUT having the slight play and then do the lock nuts up. Release the QR and you will now feel the slight amount of play in the axle the hub should have. Easier than doing it the other way round and trying to get the amount of play correct.
As per Peterpoddy. Its the cassette side that locks up if the cones are loose, the drag from the bearings causes the drive side cone to 'screw inwards' along the axle threads thus locking the hub.
Before using a Shimano hub, loosen the non drive side enough to expose the drive side cone and lockring, tighten the buggers till you fart. The non drive side dosnt need to be as tight as the bearings/drag have a tendancy to want to unscrew them along the axle making play in the hub.
XT hubs last forever. Have used Shimano hubs for 20 years and only Deore have been below par. New grease in springtime, job done. Easier maintenance and better reliability than cartridges IME.
Its the freehubs that are the problem....
I put a solid bmx/track axle thru mine and it has been pretty much bombproof. i'm 200lb. and ride my bike purdy hard.
also, proper cone spanners (with handles long enough to get 'em real tight) are absolutely crucial.
lovin' the added grease nipple, btw!
tighten the buggers till you fart.
Liking that grease nipple idea. Off to read up on it.
I was afraid of shimano hubs until I had a crack at them and learn through trial and error about how much to tighten them up.
Good advice on loctite on one side. Which is the best side to do? Cassette so it can never tighten or other so it won't come horribly loose?
Locite cassette side cause that's the bugger you can't reach with the cassette on (hence always the one that comes loose as Peter says).
Because I'm anal retentive I also do the same on the front hub, drive side for rim brake hub, non disk side for disk hubs.
I have a the m756 XT hub on my SS - my experience (of a sample of one!) is that it isn't as hassle free as earlier generation XT hubs that I have/had, but at the price you can't beat it IMO. It just requires a bit more preventative maintenance than older ones
Oh and its survived 2 Kielder 100s so far, once geared and once SS.
G.
cheers Tucker
There's better hubs. The one I had went through freehub bodies on a regular basis, it was heavy and when the bearing race in the hub pitted junk.
XT hubs used to be very reliable.
I have a set that are still going after about 8/10 years. (Silver ones...not sure it makes a difference)
More recently I had a rear XT Disc Hub that kept on undoing. It undid within 200 miles of being built up and it continued to do that no matter what I did. I'd lock the cones/locknuts off as tight as I could and they'd undo. I loctited them and they did the same. (Black one...not sure it makes a difference)
And I know I'm not the only one.
And I know it is all too commonplace to find loose locknuts and cones nowadays on newish shimano hubs..... no idea why....shame because they were decent kit. (Mostly black ones in my experience....not sure it makes a difference)
Type of Loctite does makes a difference I think.. Unless you get the parts 100% oil free you need one that can work OK with contamination, and they come in different strengths too. I like Loctite 243, medium strength (I'd actually say high medium), and tolerates oil contamination. I accidentally Loctited a nut to a bolt prematurely the other day, I had trouble getting it off again, so no way Jose is vibration going to loosen it!
I had the drive-side cone tighten up once, so I bastardised the thread just below the drive-side cone so mine wouldnt budge.
Also, when adjusting them, mount the wheel on the outside of the dropout & do the skewer up tight. If packed with grease they last plenty long enough. Given the choice though, I'd go for cartridge bearings.
"Its the freehubs that are the problem.... "
+1
more than the short lifespans, the sudden failures I like least about them. Either something snapping to lose all drive or something dislodging to lock the almost lock up completely but requiring constant pedalling to try to prevent ripping the rear mech off
Also the freehub isn't the quickest (16 point), shimano SLX centrelock can be had for similat money and weight as XT 756 but twice the pickup speed (32 point). Its possible to bodge the SLX freehub onto a (6 bolt) M756 XT, but its obviously not meant to work
Theres a gap between the freehub and hub body so dirt will get to the seals in the back of the freehub much more easily, you'll need to ditch a couple of spacers from the axle assembly to keep the 135mm spacing, and the rim will need re-centring (negatively so, the driveside spokes will have to be a steeper angle under more sress. I've not noticed many more spokes going than normal, nor on just the driveside, it has let me get a 32point pickup hub without having to rebuild my 6bolt XT hubbed wheel though
As above, keep on top of any play in the hub, keep it greased and replace the ball bearings and cone nuts once in a while. If you don't you'll get some pitting in the races, the driveside is part of the freehub so that'll be replaced in time but the nondriveside is part of the hub body(?) so you're stuck with it. Its much harder to keep on top of play once you've got even a little pitting in a race IME
I'd like to go cartridge if/when I get some new wheels but I want at least 32 or 36 point pickup, hope pro IIs noise levels don't sit well with me (so I believe thats dmr and superstar standard out too), nor do I really want to spend more than £100, ideally less than £50
770 centrelock 36point oversize axle/caged cup/cone bearinged XTs would probably where I'd spend now
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