I’m looking at upgrading my 350 hubs from the 18t to the 56th star ratchet, they ain’t cheap at around £90. I came across some cheap Chinese versions for £40....
Right, no doubt they’ll break so I’m staying clear but has anyone used these?
And is the upgrade worth it for the faster engagement?
Well if your ok with breaking the patent (as they probably are) then there’s no technical reason you couldn’t make a good version. Of course, if you don’t care about the patent why would you care about the customer either?
As I mentioned I wouldn’t want to go down the Chinese route and I’d rather buy original than a knock off that’s for sure.
And the machining quality looks awful! That’s something I wouldn’t want near my bike
I was looking at this myself only yesterday. Bontrager seem to make this as well - also £40ish. Was wondering what the catch was. I’m inclined to trust a UK shop selling Bonty kit over an Alibaba special.
Aha. And the answer is because it’s just one ratchet, not the pair. Odd.
As for the "is it worth it", even if official. Can't say I've ever been bothered about the 18. The delay is zero bother to me, and other than that it clonks slightly on engaging sometimes. Meh.
Some I know with the top end engagements just sound crazy. Also makes it more noise and one of the reasons I go DT is to not have a hub sounding annoying like Hope.
I thought the consensus was that the 54T was overkill for almost all cases and that if you really wanted more than 18T, the 36T was the sweet spot for engagement and longevity?