So the rear hub on my Mavic XA light wheels has had constant play since I bought the bike and multiple trips to the LBS haven't been able to resolve it. Time for a new rear wheel.
I used to run King ISO hubs but found they needed fairly frequent maintenance. In particular, they constantly developed lateral play. Debating DT 240 or King and just wondering if there has been any reduction in the fettling intervals for Kings in the last 8 years or so?
On a new hub, it can take a few months for the bearings to bed in which means tightening the adjustment collar with a 2.5mm Allen key every now and again over the first few months. After that, nothing. I tend to clean and degrease mine every 6-12 months dependent on frequency of use and conditions. No special tools required, just some Ring lube.
I’ve got over 20 King hubs and must’ve had over 50. Only once have a had to replace a bearing and that was because I damaged it.
Mine get a bit of a clean/adjust whenever I change a cassette but that’s it. Never seem to need any more than that.
I've not own CK hubs, but the couple of friends of mine who have/do seem to still have to adjust (esp the rear) on a fairly regular basis. May be outliers compared to above, but some additional info - your experience isn't unique.
DT or Hope for my money, or I9s if you really want bling factor (out of my league though!).
240s do seem to be a bit more fit and forget.
Thanks to all. Food for thought.
I had one for a few years, several times a year I had to adjust it. Easy to clean and lube once a year. But its not worth the hype it gets.
My DT hub has never needed adjusting or cleaning after 4 years of abuse on my Capra.
I've had Hope, Shimano, E13, Chris King and DT. With that experience Id only ever buy DT now.
I've run all sorts of hubs over the years and I keep going back to hope on the mtb.
I like Chris King hubs, you can clean the bearings and keep them going for years but I don't think they are very light.
I've recently used tune Prince and Princess hubs on a hand made road disc set and so far so good. (King and Kong are slightly cheaper and not that much heavier)
But I think the standard answer is dt Swiss 240s
I’ve got over 20 King hubs and must’ve had over 50.
Can you expand on this. It’s fascinating.
Same as most of the above, initial occasional fiddling, then not needing to touch them for years after.
They aren’t light, they aren’t cheap, but they are very reliable, and very nice.
brant
Can you expand on this. It’s fascinating.
@brant - it wasn’t in any way an attempt at bragging. I was giving a sample size for the OP to base his decision on.
No. I know it wasn’t a wierd flex. I just wondered how you’d had 20.
20 is a lot of anything.
I mean even 20 sets of tyres is quite a lot.
@brant. I don’t have 20 sets, I have 21 hubs.
10 Wheelsets, 2 spare hubs and a front wheel as an alternate to my Revo in the summer.
8 bikes, with all but one having CK hubs (it’s a Singlespeed Road bike and they don’t have a 120mm hub with a screw on freewheel so, Phil Woods had to do) and 3 additional wheelsets. 29er spare (for the 29+) gravel spare (for road) 650B gravel (cos I has some spare rims and hubs...they’re pink)
I have a set, and I wouldn’t buy again.
They do everything really well, look and sound lovely, only opened up and cleaned twice after several seasons use.
However, they cost a fortune, I invested I them as a set of hubs I’d swap between bikes and keep. Then the effing manufacturers changed all the bloody standards and you can’t change a 135 to a 148. Buy the time i give in and get a new hub, they will change again.
I still have the hubs, they work as good as ever, but latest hubs are dt swiss.
As a total aside, how easy is it to change between 135mm QR and 142x12mm TA on the rear hubs (assuming I can find a cheap rear hub...)?
It’s ‘easy’ as it’s just a case of replacing the axle and lock ring.
It’s not cheap though, around the £60-80 mark for the axle from memory.
As above. One 2.5mm bolt. New, the axles and adjusting cones are expensive, but on eBay, maybe £20-£25.
I used to run King ISO hubs but found they needed fairly frequent maintenance. In particular, they constantly developed lateral play. Debating DT 240 or King and just wondering if there has been any reduction in the fettling intervals for Kings in the last 8 years or so?
Still the same setup. (most Chris King hubs I see have play when bikes come in for service), however an adjustment or service sorts them and I have customers on 6+ year old bearings still spinning away. Some customers totally abuse them and they just keep going.
DT do need a DT tool to remove the ratchet ring to remove the drive side hub bearing, can be mega tight.
Full Chris King service tools are also expensive/not every shop has them.