Are DT 240's worth the extra over 350's?

Trying to work out specs for my new wheels and torn between the 240’s and 350’s. Is there that much between them apart from the 67g’s I’d save going 240? Both would come with the 36T ratchet so engagement should be the same..

Would I be better spending the money I could save on the 350’s by going with better spokes?

There’s no other difference between the two. Hard to justify IMO.

They look fantastic and bring me joy every time I look at them ,if that helps?

was sorely tempted by 240s (luckily they were out of stock) but the cost is ridiculous.. most ppl say buy them 2nd hand but the last pair that came up on here were £130 and 6 years old.. couldn’t face that, no matter how good they are.

if it’s a weight issue then for sure 240’s but reliability of the star ratchet is just the same between the two, great hubs & I’ve run them for several years with no issues at all.

Most recent pair I built have wtb KOM rims & I’m very happy with them.

For the rear hub, what Nijee said. For the front they use different adaptors. The 350s don’t seem as readily available. Personally the last couple of sets I’ve done are 350 rear Hope front, but then I’m not a believe in The Rules. If you don’t swap end caps I’d get 350s, unless you are feeling especially flush.

Depends which one’s going to go best with the rest of your bike’s colorway.

As I understand it, only a weight difference in the rear though a lot of people think they have inferior bearings too. But the front 240 has better convertability for standards. Maybe 240 front, 350 rear makes sense?

Or, broken record time, buy some 26 inch wheels with 240 hubs and scrap the rims- bargainicious.

You could split the difference and go for American Classics.

Or, broken record time, buy some 26 inch wheels with 240 hubs and scrap the rims- bargainicious.

Which ones have the 240 hubs?

Loads of custom builds but the EX1750 is a good option- they have the oversize hub that also converts to 20mm. Just, if you’re buying a custom build make sure it doesn’t have the really old front hub that can only be QR. The downside of 240s is they last forever so there’s some outmoded ones still out there. (some older rears will have the original axle that’s not 12mm compatible, but that’s replacable at least)

It’s worked out between £75-£150 for me each time, depending on whether I needed adaptors, new bearings etc and if the wheel parts were sellable.

American Classics have also got steel reinforcing strips on the freehub body splines. Worth having.

I only have had experience with ‘er indoors’ 350’s, but might help a touch

For the front they use different adaptors. The 350s don’t seem as readily available.

one of her front adaptors was loose a dropped out unexpectedly. ruined a days ride but a spare cap was available from a shop in Germany.

people think they have inferior bearings too

Her front bearings lasted < 6 months. The replacements are still good AFAIK The rears just need changing now at 3 years.

HTH

I went for 350s and more expensive spokes which I felt would make more of a difference to the wheel.

Luckily I snapped a pair of new 240’s up of ebay shiny new with XD driver boxed for 180 quid, happy days just waiting to choose rims.

I looked at this carefully and chose 350’s for my roval traversee 29’er rebuild.

350 are Taiwanese made with same guts as 240’s but regular steel bearings and less modular options for future proofing axle standards

Weight difference was minimal and comes from intensive machining done at DT Swiss in Europe hence the cost, the 240’s have stainless bearings

The main thing in favour of 240’s if you look at the compatibility chart on the DT Swiss site is the ability to run all kinds of setups with adapters.

Price difference between 240 and 350 was hard to swallow…

You get DT Swiss hubs way cheaper in Germany for some reason. The full wheelsets at http://www.actionsports.de/en/dt-swiss-240s-disc-is-custom-wheelset-mtb-29er-4051 seem good VFM. I got one set from those folks a few years back. I got another set of 240s from https://www.bike-components.de/

I had a 350 rear, and I’ve also got a 240s, and I found the pickup was much slower on the 350, to the extent I got rid of it. That was 2011 350, and a ~2008 240s. Might have changed.

Leon – Member

I had a 350 rear, and I’ve also got a 240s, and I found the pickup was much slower on the 350, to the extent I got rid of it.

It’s a 2 minute job to swap the ratchets btw. Though they’re mentally expensive these days

I’ve got a 6 bolt qr 240s with an XD free hub for sale if anyones after one

“would come with the 36T ratchet “
My 350 came with the 18t ratchet. Bought a 36t ratchet for it and installed before using it. Not cheap, but couldn’t have run the 18t without first breaking a 36t. Its not broken yet, the internet said its possible

I was looking at actionsports for my wheels. What was the build quality like?

I contacted DT at the time and apparently I couldn’t upgrade the ratchet. That would have been cheaper than replacing the wheel…oh well, live and learn

Actionsports build quality is fine. TBH I think the difficulty of wheelbuilding is overstated 🙂

I had a problem with one of the rims (crap rim, Pacenti) and Actionsports rebuilt it for free. The customer service is German style, IOW a bit nippy and offhand, but they are efficient.

I don’t mind the 18 tooth ratchet most of the time, only every so often when in a ditch or climbing some tricky bit does it seem more teeth would help, and I’d rather give that up for the added robustness of the 18 tooth.

I got my DT 240s built on ryde trace trails from action sports . Apart from the rims being a disappointment the price was fantastic , build and delivery excellent .

nikk – Member

I don’t mind the 18 tooth ratchet most of the time, only every so often when in a ditch or climbing some tricky bit does it seem more teeth would help, and I’d rather give that up for the added robustness of the 18 tooth.

It doesn’t seem to be any less robust these days; they used to be less reliable and have wear issues back in the dawnatime but you don’t see it much any more (and most seem to be in badly maintained hubs). I think it’s just one of those things where they’ve been making the same product basically forever so it’s aquired a lot of history.

TBH though I’ve got the 36 in 2 bikes and the 18 in one, I always notice the difference then I forget. But it’s entire grams lighter!