if youve had one how long has it lasted? are the freehubs pretty strong or do they wear out?
Xt hubs arnt much more cash but im wondering are they much stronger/better?
its for average XC use and im no racer…

you do get better sealing with XT over Deore – cup and cone hubs will go on for decades with regular care but if you tend to only look at stuff when it goes wrong a cartridge bearing hub might be better for you. Shimano freehubs last quite a long time but are 'disposable' so once they play up you're lookign at spendign almost the price of the hub on a new one.

LX and above – better sealed.

IME with a bit of TLC (strip and re grease them every 6 weeks or so over the winter) they will outlast the wheelbuild.

Rims/spokes etc seem to get a bit floppy after baout 2 to 3 years hard use, in that time I got through 3 deore freehubs.

XT didn't last apreciably longer, hard to say for sure as, like most things, it tended to be particular events that killed them.

My XT freehub went for the last time at cannock chase (some mud, but it was the constant accleleration/braking that killed it).

The previous freehub went on a mid wales camping trip which involved cycling up what was essentialy a river.

Both 'hubs' are still fine, but aren't worth re-building new rims onto and the freehubs are borked.

My current winter/spare/XC wheels are built onto XT hubs, they arent as good as hope hubs, but they are 1/3 of the price and do the job well enough.

I get through Shimano freehubs pretty quickly. But I can wreck Bontrager ones too. Next time I buy a back wheel I must remember to get a user-serviceable one.

I put the weakness down to me – I wash the bike with a hose, I ride in all weathers both of those factors resulting in water getting in, and I'm very heavy and usually ride singlespeed. However, the bearings last for years.

A lot of more sympathetic riders get years out of them.

I don't think the "better sealed" argument holds water. I've used XT hubs and have replaced with Deore and XT freehubs and can't tell the difference.

Wheels are ok with care,but the freehubs are pants,I never seem to get more than 6 months out of one…..

The hubs last forever if you follow a few simple rules
From new they are usually a bit tight and lacking in grease: I ALWAYS regrease and adjust mine as soon as I get them.
Then regrease once or twice a year. It's not hard and after you've done it a few times it's a quick job
ALways use plenty of grease, and I don't bother with 'cycle grease' I use bearing grease we have here at work, which comes in cartridges. It's nice and thick and sticky, and red, so you know when it's dirty!

Freehubs – Deore don't last long. As soon as it wears out, replace with XT which will last a lot longer.
Front hubs last forever. A new freehub has a new bearing cup in it, and pitting on the other side doesn't really make any noticeable difference IMO, and if you grease from new and keep it up, I've had a 4 year old Deore with literally perfect bearing surfaces, no problem!

🙂

The deore/XT freehubs are different so if you go down the route of upgrading the freehub make sure you've got plenty of spacers to hand as the bearing cup is in a different place so needs more/less spacers.

My last deore hub was used in a build with rim brakes, and the hub was binned once the rim wore out, after three years or so use. With no servicing.

wade rider i also have deores on my commuter with rim brakes.they must be five years old now and ive only adjusted once and regreased the rear once.still in good usable nick…and they were second hand when i got them.hence me questioning the extra for xt.mind you they dont go offroad.

p.s. how can you tell where a freehub is wearing out/worn? the one on my full suss is a bit whizzy sounding when you freewheel it backwards..

odannyboy – they tend to stop freewheeling as well (the wheel goes round if you pedal backwards with the bike in a stand and you also get a 'clack' noisy and a bit of slippage when you put power down after freewheeling for a bit.

I've killed two freehub bodies, and attempting to replace them with upgraded ones didn't work as they didn't fit.

I assume my riding style is at fault for killing the freehubs but next chance I get I'm upgrading again to something with user serviceable freehubs.

I find Shimano freehubs freeze up in the winter – water gets in there somehow and they simply spin in both directions once frozen.

Being a bloke is handy for unfreezing them with a well aimed stream of warm piss… but best head for home as it will freeze again.

6 months for Deore and 12 for XT sounds about right for the freehubs. The hubs themselves will go on forever if greased and not allowed to get loose… which destroys them really quickly.

I've been recommending my customers to the DMR 9 Speed Cassette hubs at £59.99.
They are well sealed, use 2 easily sourced cartridge bearings and the freehub assembly is only £12.99. They're shinier than Deores and also available in red if you like.

Deores are OK but once the bearing cups get pitted they're scrap.