I've just bought some new wheels - Hope Pro II on the front, XT on the rear with 819 rims from Merlin. Brilliant.
However, I'm a little scared of destroying my rear wheel after listening to everyone. So, first of all, I need to learn how to maintain the hub as best as I can. Also, I need to know what other cartridge bearing hubs I could buy if this does die? I didn't buy the Hopes originally, as I don't want to faff with aluminium cassette carrier thingy (!) that only likes expensive cassettes and I hate the noise!
My wheel was less than £100 on Merlin, currently Hope ProIIs are £184 and DT 240s is £276. Ouch.
Please give me advice, abuse, MTFU requests
I have just this minute recieved an email from Merlin as I was concerned about the aluminium casette hub. They said they can do one with the steal casette hub for the same price! This really doens't help you though but it's what I'd recommend a next wheel.
Regarding the shimano hub. Keep an eye on the nuts. Just jeck they are finger tight everywo often. IF they are not then get some cone spanners and tighten them properly.
Check the bearings every so often. I did nothing for 2 years and have since changed them once (3 years old). It's a doddle and cheap. Worth paying more attention to if you ride in really foul conditions or dump your bike in a river/pond. Just make sure the wheel is working correctly and at the first sign of play, loosening cones or the wheel not spinning freely do something ASAP rather than leaving it.
These are rather good
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=12048
The full builds on CRC are really good value
a pro2 is only clicky because of the light grease in the mechanism.
you COULD get the steel one (avoids the expensive cassettes, adds 20g i think), and put a heavy weight grease in it.
any hub with that kind of mechanism is going to click until its greased.
i got quite good at looking after cup and cone, but they are such a faff.
there ARE other hubs on the market, cheaper ones.
a dmr revolver take cart bearings, but the freehub mechanism is a non servicable cartridge, like that on a shimano hub.
couldnt comment on that hub, wouldnt touch dmr with a poopy stick myself. (they manage to cock up grips... GRIPS!!, thats special)
Halo hubs are a similar design to hope i believe, 5(i think?) cart hubs along the width of the hub, the main difference being the ratchet is on the freehub boddy, and the pawls are in the hub shell.
you could see how you get on with the XT/ride it till it explodes, then swap it onto the old rim?
a bit of a wheel building project for you?
thats what i did.
Superstar Components???
My XT rear hub seemed loose from the outset (also from Merlin) I'm keeping it finger tight for now and have bought a cone spanner to do it properly when I get time. I'm not overly impressed with this "feature" tbh
Thanks guys. No significant saving apart from Superstar and I just need to learn to look after my XTs.
Thanks for the advice though, Jon and Olly. I might get a Hope in the future, pack it with grease and get a steel version to boot. I think I'll deal with the 20g + weight of grease!
I’ve just placed an order with Merlin for a pair of wheels and I went for Hope front and XT rear due to the freehub chewing issues with the Pro II rear. After reading [b]jonb’s[/b] post I phoned them about switching to a Pro II rear but with a steel freehub but they’ve just got back to me and said that will be [b]£60 on top of the normal Pro II price[/b] so it’s back to XT on the rear.
I’d really have liked to had Hope front and back having owned some pre-disc XC hubs for years but seeing as my reason for wanting Hope hubs is to have a set of hubs that will last ages the additional cost of having a freehub body that won’t chew up put’s them above my budget, sale lost by Hope I’m afraid.
enfht - don't ride with your hub loose, you can destroy it that way (though it's not clear whether you mean the cones/bearings or locknut is loose)
XT rear hub will last a long time. I only just serviced mine after two years but now I know how easy and cheap it is to do ill prob do it every year.
Don't bother buying a new hub until the XT one is dead.
XT used to (many many years ago) have grease nipples in the covers of the cones...made servicing a doddle - just slide it open, squirt the grease, slide closed...jobs a good 'un for a few years of regular squirting.
I was sad to see that go as it made servicing XT cup and cone hubs a total breeze (in fact Suntour also used them on their XC Pro groupset) - way back in the early 90's...
As I know how much lack of maintenance you do, the fact your previous XTs lasted so well is a good testament to how good they are - for complete lack of maintenance then go for cartridge bearings.
Hopes click - big deal...keep pedalling and you won't hear them...using heavier grease will work but if too heavy could block the pawls from working and then your hub spins both ways!
The XT Hub just needs a cone spanner and ring spanner - plus new bearings and fresh grease...the Hope hub needs a 5mm allen key and new bearings (and the tool to remove the old cartridge bearings) - as they are gubbed, a flat-bladed screwdriver and persuader can be used to remove them - getting them back in requires skill and ideally the correct tool, but careful use of a persuader can do the job no probs.
XT hub I'd guesstimate about 45 minuts to do properly - most of the time is removing the axle and resetting it with the right tension. It's been about 10 years since I did anything with Cup and Cone hubs...
Pro II - 10 mins max.
As the hubs you have work, why bother thinking of replacing them? Either run them until they are beyond repair, or run them and do some maintenance on them yearly and they should last for a good few years...
Cynic-al I meant the locknut, I didnt notice for a while and the wheel no longer spins as freely as the front so I guess it's partially ****ed already 🙁
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