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Lapsed wheel builder here with a hankering to build some nice carbon road wheels for my disc SuperSix. Am thinking about some 38mm Light Bicycle chinese rims (have built with these before on a rim set, very nice) but I'm not up on the disc road hub options. Can anyone short cut my Googling and tell me what to get? These will be going on my winter road bike so not the very best needed, but something that might (just might) survive the winter roads for a couple of years before bearings need attending to... Cheers!
Hope.
Future proof, fully serviceable. Not cheap but will repay your investment in the long term, as you will still be using them in ten years time.
Hope?
The rs is the more road version for straight spokes. Some one will suggest something lighter but Hope seem reliable with parts available going forward
Hope RS4 yes, nice shout - I'm so out of the loop. My previous winter road wheels I built had Hope hubs from my former-life MTB knowledge, hadn't immediately seen the centrelock RS4s. Not that much heavier than some others I was already perusing. Should come in at around 1600g all in.
RS4s here. Not the fanciest, not the lightest, not the loudest, but they've been utterly bombproof. Built then up with old i21 KOMs and DT competition spokes and they did 3 years of road/towpath commuting 4 days a week in all weathers. Front bearings aren't as smooth as they once were, but I reckon that's good going.
Either those or DT 350/240. I wouldn't build a 'nice' set of wheels that couldn't be converted to different axle standards any more.
@fossy can you get Ultegra or DA disc hubs separate now then? I shall do some digging! My rim DA hubs are still going strong after a rebuild onto new rims and ten years...
DT Swiss 350.
As for spokes and nipples - which you didn't mention - Superstar Components are clearing out their stocks of Sapim at bargain prices.
Another vote for Hope. Super reliable, good availability of spares, easy to build onto.
Available as centre lock or 6-bolt, all the axle variations and lots of colours. 🙂
@frankconway good to know... I always used to use Sapim so that's useful..D-Lights used to be my weapon of choice.
Hope hubs just don't do it for me on road bikes, sorry. And I'm not a Hope hater - I have them on my MTB and (for extra niche/rarity points) my BMX.
DT make far nicer hubs.
Bitex? Can be boughti via their uk distributor, DCR wheels with their own branding.
Light, reliable, multiple colours, ratchet freehub
Ultegra certainly with centrelock. I'm still running 7400 DA. For my old MTB I've built wheels onto older XT hubs.
I’ve got some DT 350s and some 240s and they are both excellent and have been faultless in terms of smoothness and bearing life. One thing I don’t like is that due to the “tool less” servicing the cassette falls off the wheels when not in the frame. Very irritating if you have a puncture and all the components fall out in the dirt. I have got one set which are a full DT Swiss wheel build going back to Madison tomorrow for an axle replacement under warranty . The other set are Rovals so I might send them back to Spesh if the DT ones come back fixed OK…
I had some XT hubs on my MTB EX511 wheels and they were superb too, felt lovely when spinning along some nice singletrack.
O rings are in place, it’s the same on two sets of wheels. Chap from Madison said they shouldn’t fall off and likely the axle was out of tolerance. Hopefully they’ll sort it and then Specialized can fix the other set.
Weird. Got about 10 sets of wheels with 240/350 hubs between all the household bikes, some as old as 20 yrs and none have ever done that.
There is no way I’d go near cup and cone again. Unless shimano have at last moved on?
Only on their entry level hubs.
I’ve got 4 sets of Hope RS4 centrelock on Light Bicycle rims in the armoury. Not had a problem with any of them. Nicer hubs (IMO) than the price and weight comparable 350 and I know they’re easily serviceable with UK sourced parts should I ever need.
Pretty much agree with the above - Bitex and Novatec hubs are decent, very light and cost effective. Road flavours, both rim and disc.
Bearings (and general serviceability) are better on Hope, but at double the price.
If I were building a long term bomb-proof set for all year riding and commuting, I'd probably go for the Hope.
For weight weenie summer bike and glorious long epic rides, I'd go Bitex.
Good shout on the discount spokes!
I think while the DT look nice (and I've hankered after them before) I will go Hope. Now it's just finding the right colour, spoke hole and axle options in stock somewhere!!
I've built many Novatec hubbed wheels and while they go nicely, they don't like the winter much, hence why I used Hope on my previous winter rim wheelset and they're still going strong.
Not sure but the RS4 might have been discontinued in favour of the Pro5.
Ah that's a point yes I did see the Pro 5... Cheers
Pretty much agree with the above – Bitex and Novatec hubs are decent, very light and cost effective. Road flavours, both rim and disc.
Agreed, and bearing changes are easy. I think I've needed one new set of bearings and one new freehub in eight years on the Novatecs. Bitex seem a little less durable but are very light.
I have Hopes on my mtb so not directly comparable, but they eat bearings.
Chris king ( runs and takes cover)
Chris king ( runs and takes cover)
Personally I prefer Phil Wood but Chris King would work.
I think while the DT look nice (and I’ve hankered after them before) I will go Hope. Now it’s just finding the right colour, spoke hole and axle options in stock somewhere!!
You can order direct from Hope via their website. If you go to a shop, they'll just be doing exactly the same - with the number of possible axle, freehub, spoke count, colour and disc mount options, it's unlikely anyone will just happen to be stocking exactly what you want!
Good choice 🙂
Another (running and hiding) vote for Chris King, I have the luxury of ISO hubs on my MTB, and R45s on my do-it-all road bike. Both have been utterly faultless for years. Properly fit and forget.
Bitex 106R comes in oil slick!!!! (other colours are available - I quite like the orange).
I've have had a set of their 211 on my MTB for the past 2 years and they've been great. I did snap an aluminium axle & DCR sent be replacement aluminium & steel axles very quickly.
Novatec from AliExpress would be my vote if you don't want to spring for Hope.
Personally I prefer Phil Wood but Chris King would work.
A pair of Phil Wood disc hubs would weigh nearly as much as a SuperSix frame 😀
I'm not even kidding - the rear 'Pro' (lighter) Phil rear disc road hub is 427 grams...
A pair of Phil Wood disc hubs would weigh nearly as much as a SuperSix frame.
OK - Royce then.
I was put onto Phil Wood when living in the US.
The bike shop mechanic (who raced RAAM) had them on his tandem - and recommended them after I chewed through a Shimano hub in weeks.
I then 60,000 miles on the front one before I upgraded to a dynamo-hub.
Oooh - SON!
Don't get me wrong, I think Phil Wood hubs are awesome - I'd have them on my fixed gear if I didn't have Goldtec hubs on there.
Just not for a whizzy carbon race bike.
@crazy-legs are you sure you can order direct from the Hope website? Where should I be looking?? Can't see anywhere to order direct...
a cheap option could be the prime hubs on crc/ wiggle, although the prices seem to have crept up, I;m sure all hubs were £5-20 a few weeks ago
Just as an aside regarding the cassette dropping off my wheels, DT Swiss say the wheel has the wrong freehub. I fitted an XD driver to accommodate my X01 cassette without the need for the 1.85mm shim but apparently the hubs will only take an XDR driver. Most odd as I thought they were interchangeable except that the XDR needs a 1.85mm shim to allow MTB cassettes to be installed. Seemingly the whole hub is 1.85mm longer so the end cap doesn’t sit on the axle properly…
another Hope vote.
Had them on the previous road bike with amavic rims after the OEM cast lead wheels were carp) . Utterly reliable. Wore through the rim walls (rim brake) after a few years, had them result, and lasted 2 or 3 years more until I sold the bike.
The (albeit low end for them) DT wheels on the newer road bike have been a bit shiiite really. The rims are cracking in multiple places from the spoke holes and the freehub started to go wrong after a year. When I replace at Easter ish they'll get replaced by Hope hub based wheels for definite.