Best 24h straight pull centerlock road hub that doesn’t sound like shyte?

These are all 24 h straight-pull centerlock hubs, drop in replacements (did the spoke length calcs) from my DT350 hub which is draggy and has an awful oscillating noise, tried downgrading from 54t to 24t ratchets which only muted it (sounds like the wheel is broken).

Hope RS4 T6 alu 2-pawl 44 POE 279g €210
4 x MR17287 17x28x7mm bearings

+ sounds great
+ deep bearings
+ cheapest
+ hope customer service
+ have the hope tools
– mediocre 51 mm flange spacing
– heavy
– hard to find at the moment

Newmen Gen 2 Ratchet 20 POE 7075 alu 215g €265
4 x 17x26x5mm CN LULH bearings

+ widest 56 mm flange spacing
+ available now
+ light
– new brand, unknown resale value
– might require new tools to service

Carbon-ti X-Hub 4-pawl 56 POE 7075 Alu+Ti 181g €399
3 x 61803-2RS1 17x26x5mm + 6903RS-2RS1 17x30x5mm SKF bearing

+ wide 54mm flange spacing
+ lightest
+ SKF bearings and a large drive-side one
+ great resale value – highly regarded
– preload adjuster
– price
– maybe too loud?

Volume can be tuned with grease in most cases.

I’d have the dtswiss over any of those 🙂

Sorry, only hubs that sound good here – happy to sell the DT350 though 🙂

Has anyone suggested DT Swiss yet?

DT fanclub has already arrived yes

Flange wider = lower nds spoke tension

Flange wider = lower nds spoke tension

Good point, so I think flange width is basically a moot here.

I have DT 350’s , they sound much nicer and quieter than the Hope hubs I own.

Quiet is not a sound, it’s absence of sound. You can mute nearly any hub with enough grease. Plus DTs still oscillate like something is broken even with a lot of grease.

DT350 54t ratchet be warned https://streamable.com/qqrve

Old DT Swiss 240 18t hubs, very understandably packed w grease.

Shimano? Nice and quiet, doesn’t scare the wildlife!

Sorry, only hubs that sound good here

Whether a hub sounds good or not is totally subjective so you won’t ever get an answer to your question of what sounds good to you. You just need to make your own choice and get on with it.

Groan. Another thread where you ignore all the answers. I don’t think it matters what hubs you fit as your never going to be happy. Why not ditch the carbon rims for something quieter or buy a wheeler from a recognised manufacturer.

Why straight pull spokes? J-bend are a lot easier to deal with.

No matter how much you tell yourself that you will get the special tool to hold your bladed spokes in place while tightening them, you will end up with them pointing in different directions.

The aero gains if you’re just an old biffer like me, are negligible in comparison to the resulting irritation.

personally don’t like the sound of Hope, which just goes to show it doesn’t matter what other people think. If you’re actually thinking of changing a hub as it sounds bad…on a road bike…that’s a special category all it’s own TBH.

…did the silent clutch hub ever sell ?

Whether a hub sounds good or not is totally subjective so you won’t ever get an answer to your question of what sounds good to you.

Primarily looking for something that doesn’t sound broken and not one particular sound signature. Open to suggestions.

Groan. Another thread where you ignore all the answers. I don’t think it matters what hubs you fit as your never going to be happy. Why not ditch the carbon rims for something quieter or buy a wheeler from a recognised manufacturer.

No advice given, no hub suggested. Seems like there aren’t that many to chose from. Choice of hubs is important so worth giving some consideration.

Why straight pull spokes? J-bend are a lot easier to deal with.

No matter how much you tell yourself that you will get the special tool to hold your bladed spokes in place while tightening them, you will end up with them pointing in different directions.

The aero gains if you’re just an old biffer like me, are negligible in comparison to the resulting irritation.

Once built up straight pull hubs/spokes have some advantages:

– Easier spoke replacements.
– Allows higher spoke tension (may or may not matter)
– Easier to lace.
– Better fatigue life.
– No spoke rubbing.
– Replacements are now easy to find, plus not a factor for me as I always have spares.
– The hubs don’t look like they’re from the 18th century.

Reusing the spokes I have so will just have to embrace the challenge – no holes in the rim bed either.

Was so pleased with my Newmen MTB wheels that I bought a second set

Question for the internet experts (because I doubt there’s a good answer).

What’s the point of >2 pawls?

Hope RS4 now have a 2 pawl freehub.

Hope trials free hubs were the same as normal 4-pawl free hubs, but with the pawls offset so only 2 engaged at a time, and if anyone was going to break a hub it’s someone on a trials bike?

So why do hubs generally have 3 or 4 (or 6 as two lots of 3 offset). I guess more should be stronger, but presumably isn’t, or isn’t needed?

Once built up straight pull hubs/spokes have some advantages:

– Easier spoke replacements.
– Allows higher spoke tension (may or may not matter)
– Easier to lace.
– Better fatigue life.
– No spoke rubbing.
– Replacements are now easy to find, plus not a factor for me as I always have spares.
– The hubs don’t look like they’re from the 18th century.

Reusing the spokes I have so will just have to embrace the challenge – no holes in the rim bed either.

Allows higher spoke tension (may or may not matter) This is based on the maximum tension allowed by the rim and not dictated by the spokes.
No spoke rubbing.??? Why will this occur. Wheel stiffness will be related to the components you use. If you use a stiffer heavier rim and heavier spokes you will get less flex from the wheel. If you think spoke tension affects stiffness then you are wrong. Wheel Stiffness

I understand everyone measures the sound a hub makes subjectively but when you start throwing crap engineering out as reasons then you should probably back off.

Onyx would solve one of your issues but they don’t do a straight pull. Like most engineering problems, the solution often involves compromising some of your criterion

Was so pleased with my Newmen MTB wheels that I bought a second set

They look solid!

Allows higher spoke tension (may or may not matter) This is based on the maximum tension allowed by the rim and not dictated by the spokes.
No spoke rubbing.??? Why will this occur. Wheel stiffness will be related to the components you use. If you use a stiffer heavier rim and heavier spokes you will get less flex from the wheel. If you think spoke tension affects stiffness then you are wrong. Wheel Stiffness

I understand everyone measures the sound a hub makes subjectively but when you start throwing crap engineering out as reasons then you should probably back off.

Right I said may or may not matter, could matter if you have a very strong rim with few spokes? Straight pull hubs generally have stiffer flanges though.
Spoke rubbing can occur with J bend laced hubs.

Objectively straight pull hubs are a better design for two major reasons 1) easier spoke replacement 2) better fatigue life by eliminating the spoke j bend.

Personally I like j bend spokes – I’ve used them for all the wheel sets I’ve bought. They’re generally easier to get hold of spares for and are pretty easy to replace.

I’ve got Hope Pro4’s, Hunt 4 Seasons (with whatever hubs they have), some DT370’s and some no names silent things on the hybrid.

I don’t like the completely silent hubs tbh and they’re really heavy.

The 370’s sound ok – my mate thought they were loud until I got the Hope’s and then he said he struggled to think whilst I was freewheeling 😝

I think the Hunts may just be louder than the Hope’s tbh. You only have to freewheel and people almost point and stare.

I’d actually just keep the 350’s – they’re probably marginally better than the Hope alternative and will likely need less maintenance. From the video they aren’t sounding a huge amount different to the Hope’s – maybe a touch quieter I guess.

But based on all your other threads you’ll probably ignore all the advice and end up with some kind of pawl hub Novatec.

Ps. I think Newman have a good reputation for decent light / strong wheels.

I’d actually just keep the 350’s – they’re probably marginally better than the Hope alternative and will likely need less maintenance. From the video they aren’t sounding a huge amount different to the Hope’s – maybe a touch quieter I guess.

Can’t you hear it’s going bzzzBZZZZbzzzBZZZZ oscillating like something is broken?

Going to get the Hope RS4s if there’s no better suggestion since weight isn’t that important to me and they’re cheaper + less obnoxious sounding than the carbon tis.

Hunt uses bitex hubs I believe.

i’ve got some Hope road hubs, they’re far more noticeable than the DTs, somewhere between them and a Chris King in terms of high pitched bee buzzzzzzz

Right I said may or may not matter, could matter if you have a very strong rim with few spokes? Straight pull hubs generally have stiffer flanges though.
Spoke rubbing can occur with J bend laced hubs.

I’m trying to figure out what you mean by spoke rubbing? Are you confusing the issue of wheels flexing when you have a stiff rim but too few spokes, so the whole rim can twist relative to the hub and rub on the rim brake caliper?

Arguably an advantage of J-bend spokes is that they touch and therefore you can tie and solder them if you want really stiff wheels.

Straight pull hubs generally have stiffer flanges though.

Generally if you want stiff you go with high flanges, straight pull hubs are probably the lowest flanges you could sensibly get.

There’s a reason why track bikes use hubs like this:

Can’t you hear it’s going bzzzBZZZZbzzzBZZZZ oscillating like something is broken?

That’s just the wheel being out of balance, nothing to do with the hub. There will be variations in the carbon, the tyre and, of course, there’s the valve to consider.

Every SP spoke i have seen fail, fails at the head. Every J-bend i have seen fail has failed at the nipple.
So its a small sample size but seems to indicate that the bend in the spoke isnt the problem, and that it may actually be stronger than SP.
But as mentioned earlier, you do seem to ask questions and then rubbish eveyones view but your own.
I really like the wheels you bought and am now considering some myself.

That’s just the wheel being out of balance, nothing to do with the hub. There will be variations in the carbon, the tyre and, of course, there’s the valve to consider.

I balanced the wheel, no difference, and it’s the same on every youtube video sound test for DT hubs.

rubbish eveyones view but your own.

Not nice. It’s called discussing.

I really like the wheels you bought and am now considering some myself.

Make sure to get a visual inspection done beforehand. They also offer different hubs (carbon-ti’s from them are only $300 for the rear for instance), there a huge farsports thread on weight weenies you could check out.

Generally if you want stiff you go with high flanges, straight pull hubs are probably the lowest flanges you could sensibly get.

Not necessarily, DT have low relatively closely spaced flanges, Carbon ti and Hope have higher driveside flanges and wider spacing.

Reusing the spokes I have so

370 then. Otherwise there’s little chance you’re reusing the same spokes.

370 then. Otherwise there’s little chance you’re reusing the same spokes.

Not a bad idea (apart from the reports of their pawls being crap, so a better idea is the Hope), but only ever seen J bend 370s for sale, not sure if they even come in centerlock 24h straight pull. All the hubs listed will work with the spokes currently used according to DT’s spoke length calc – or are there other reasons the spokes could not be reused? Sheldon brown thinks reusing spokes is fine https://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/reusing-spokes.html

I’m not that vested in the straight pull vs J bend strength discussion – of course both are fine, mostly straight pull looks better and is more practical for spoke replacements.

Close but no cigar..

The noise Hope hubs make is not a problem, it’s a feature.

It tells everyone when you’re slacking….

Exactly, you shouldn’t be coasting anyway unless you have run out of gears going downhill so the hub noise is irrelevant. Pity you didn’t get that fixed gear as you wouldn’t have had this problem…

It massages your ears when you’re going downhill bzzzzzzzz and can conveniently be used to let people know you’re coming in a less obnoxious way than a bell. If you want to be silent you can too.

What’s not to love about a reasonably loud even tick?

Thisisnotaspoon: Shimano hubs AFAIK also just have 2 pawls, seems like it’s adequate and RS4 has 2 pawls for less drag and less noise whereas the Hope trials hub has 2 of its 4 pawls engage at the time to double POE from 44 to 88.

My RS4s are considerably louder than my 350s.

My RS4s are considerably louder than my 350s.

Loud is ok, you can tune volume with grease to some extent, but do they sound even? I.e. not oscillating a lot.

you can tune volume with grease to some extent

I wouldn’t rely on this as a working solution. Yes for a freewheeling audio byte, but not for real world long term trouble free pawl/ratchet engagement.

Bzzzzzz Bzzzzz Bzzzzzzz ZZZZZZZZZ

mostly straight pull looks better

Round spokes are far more aesthetically pleasing than bladed. For starters, they are symmetrical.

Having had SP-bladed spokes, and now back to round J-bends, I’m never going back.

It actually pains me to look at wheels with bladed spokes now. The physical agony is up there with the pain I used to endure when the previous hub did its uneven buzzing noise.

Loud is ok, you can tune volume with grease to some extent, but do they sound even? I.e. not oscillating a lot.

I can’t say I give enough of a crap to notice.