Best Hubs for reliability/easy service

Which hubs give the best mix of reliability and easy serviceability?

Hope either XCs or Pro 2s.

chris king.
i can service the ring-drive on the rear in 15 minutes, once every few months if necessary.
the fronts need next to no service other than keeping an eye on preload adjustment ime.

Hope XC if you can still find them

Hope Bulb or XC

Not only do they last for years without a service, they are also really simply to strip down and regrease.

I read Chris Kings have to be serviced every couple of months or so, sounds pointless to me. Just get hopes, cheaper and better

Hope XCs aren’t available anymore and Pro2s are just not as reliable as Chris Kings.

Hope XCs SH if you can get them. If you’re not on a budget CKs.

pro 2s with decent bearings in

Highly rate my DT Swiss 240’s………

Are the new SLX’s any good?

Hope XCs.

More reliable then Pro 2s.

If anyone’s got a black rear XC hub they’d like to sell, please email me and we can talk, even if it’s a bit knackered
🙂

Hope XCs are more reliable, require servicing least often, but when they do in the end, pro2s are easier to service (IMO) just because the springs and pawls are so much more sensible.

I’ve got a front Hope XC hub if anyone is interested?

gunmetal

32 hole

perfect order. probably a few marks where its bot hit wit a rock but otherwise fine.

Offers?

hope’s bodies may split, hope’s may snap axles, hope’s may split flange to rotor interface……
i’m a hope BB and brake fan, but not a hub fan, but i’m a tart too.

chris kings WILL NOT FAIL !

I use Pro2’s, have ridden them for about eight months and they’ve been no problem, I figure I should give them a bit of TLC, can you buy a service kit or does anyone have a “shopping list”??

oh and Andy@CRC did you ever get those bearing tools back in stock?

I’ve got a black hope rear xc, an WILL never sell it! Hope hubs are great. Mines had 3 sets of bearings in since I bought it 7 years ago! I also have a front hope xc which is still working fine, I’ve never had to replace the bearings too. Can’t quote about any other hubs due to the Hopes being so reliable that I’ve never had to buy any others.

Always have used Hope hubs, x/c and Pro 2 never had any issues with either, easy to service, parts readily available….

NOT pro2’s. I’m on the third set of rear wheel bearings since July. The freehub seal just doesn’t cope with UK conditions and water sits in the ratchet area and rusts/rots the driveside bearing. The bearings are a lot smaller than the old XC’s too which doesn’t help.

On the plus side they are easy and cheap to replace.

I do wish I still had my old Ti freehub XC.

If anyone’s got a black rear XC hub they’d like to sell

Oh no, I don’t think so 😀

Stif were selling off Black XC rears last time I looked at about £75 iirc.

chris king or hope bulb.

Both have been fine for years for me, front and rear.

been running pro2 on my XC bike for 2yrs never serviced them and they work fine!

the bulb i’m running on the intense hasn’t been rebuilt either, bought new in 06, been to france and allsorts

I think if you were lucky enough to get some of the earlier pro2s they were similar to the XCs, recent ones have been pants.

CK hubs need a special tool to service them, not sure Hopes do.

I’ve had hope xc hubs and they were poor. The cartridge bearings, although fitted with seals, are not designed for the attack of water from our british winters/summers. The 3 pawl freewheel hub is of poor design. A mate with the newer pro 2 hubs had a back one split last week from the freewheel side along the length towards the non drive side. I have given up on hope hubs and have chris kings. The freewheel ringdrive does need looking after but with the right tools its a doddle. The bearings are sealed but are made from stainless just in case water does get in. I’ve never had any problem whatsoever with Shimano XT but would buy the kings again given the choice.

Shimano XT or CK’s, my opinion.

2nd hand Hope XC/Bulb or Burgtec – no need for service since I bought it 18 mths ago despite daily use.

I think there is a lot to be said for well sealed serviceable cup/cone bearings.

gravelrash – how can you say these things about Hope XC hubs ?

I think every poster above who has Hope XC hubs will diaagree with you about them not coping with our water. The fact is that the water doesn’t get into the hubs in the first place !

I’ve got 2 sets used all year round – the 4 years old set has had new bearing in the rear. The second set 3 years old running sweet as !

So why is the 3 pawl freewheel of poor design ?

However I would agree that the new Pro2 pawls are better than the older XC’s. Mainly because the old fridge suck moments are a thing of the past. The leaf spring makes more sense.

just don’t forget that steel freehub for the proII’s..

DT 440 are nice hubs. Quieter than hopes or CK too. You don’t need any tools to clean and relube the freehub.

hope XC, one of the few things other than easton handlebars, yeti lock-ons an an LX rear mech to be kept when the main bike got rebuilt last year.

daffy – the Ckings need nothing more than a cassette lockring nut, a chain whip and 2 5mm allen keys to keep the bearing clean and the ring drive lubed.
this way it alleviates any bearing service requirement and the special tools !

Of the hubs I’ve had, all my Hopes have been painless (I’ve had a fair selection of Tiglides, Bulbs, XCs and ProIIs). They’ve never ever failed, I’ve rarely had to replace the bearings, and you need no special tools to do a complete strip down (bar a big hammer). They’re also convertible to almost any axle standard out there.

My SO has DT240s on her XC bike. Nice, light hubs, and the star ratchet is clever, but the need for special tools to replace the bearings with is a major downer.

Hope XC have done me fine – i think my current pair are around 5 years old. Front’s on original bearings, rear’s on 2nd or 3rd set. I always pop the seals off and pack the bearings with grease before fitting – seems to double their lifespan.