I’m planning to build a rear wheel up from a spare rim I’ve got (mavic 721). But even the £60 for a superstar hub seems pricey to me… I mean come on it’s only a hub right! (cue assault on all sides from pro2 afficionados).

Can you get sealed cartridge bearing hubs for around the £20 mark? If so then what, and are they worthwhile? Alternatively what’s the cheapest decent hub with replaceable cups and cones as well as bearings?

LOL

Shimano cup and cones are cheap, easy to service and good imho.

Get a shimano XT, learn to look after it, and don’t ignore it if it’s anything less than glassy smooth. If the cones get crusty then you can always get another one and gut it, or just buy the spares. £35 ,job done.

If you want a sealed bearing hub then you will need to budget more than £20.

Your best bet for a cheap sealed bearing hub will be a used factory standard hub from someone like specialized, giant, lapier etc get on ebay and do some searching and post up a wanted add in the classifieds over there —->

has on one still got £40 hubs? having only seen them on their site I’ve no idea if they’re cup/cone or cartridge thohgh. Guessgin cartridge going by 10mm thru-axle but not impossible they’re not cup/cone?

Cheap to buy or cheap to own?

My vote sits with the pro 2 really.

Chris King?
just kidding.. it’s shimano at that price.

Shimano Deore hubs are so cheap it makes all the arguments about Hope hubs invalid. crc deore
A full set of bearings for a Hope Evo Pro II is £40. The freehub pawls and springs costs more than a Shimano replacement freehub. The freehub body costs twice as much as an entire deore hub. But then I suppose you can change axle diameters etc.

tomaso

ive got hope hubs still in use from 1998 bought off epo-aholic on here back then and was on my only bike back then and is now on my “do it all hardtail” its had the bearings changed once and a new set of pawls once.

show me a deore thats seen as much use and still in use and still working perfectly ….

I’m still rollin’ on hope hubs from 2001….

trail_rat sprung to mind as someone else who’s got some ancient Hope hubs too…

Similar weight to hope (slightly heavier), 55 quid ish posted for the pair…
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Novatec-Mountain-Bike-Hubs-Shimano-8-9-10-Speed-D811SB-D812SB-32-Holes-Black-/150875027904?pt=AU_Sport_Cycling_Parts&hash=item2320da39c0

Seconded Deore for the budget-concious, but repack the bearing with some decent waterproof grease like Phil Woods before you start using it. The stuff they put in at the factory is pretty useless.

The XC hub on the back of my Pitch is in at least it’s 3rd build, i bought it 2nd hand and it had been rebuilt into a new wheel once already. All it’s had is new bearings.

Cheep: XT
Cheeper: Deore

IME the hubs last about 2 years with minimal maintenance (annual strip and grease), which is about what I get from rims on an XC bike so build them and bin them when they fail.

Next best would be a 2nd hand hope XC if you only need a QR axle.

It’s really hard to justify anything but Pro2’s though if you can afford them, lighter than shimano and Hope’s warrenty is brilliant. That and they’re just nicer than shimano. No play in the freehub, rebuildable, stiffer, I’m sure the combination of no play in the freehub and stiffer axle make them shift better too.

“IME the hubs last about 2 years with minimal maintenance (annual strip and grease), which is about what I get from rims on an XC bike “

still running v brakes ? stuck in the 90s are we ?

Thanks for all the replies!

are these ones any good?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=12910&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Shopping&utm_name=UnitedKingdom

dmrs are a favourite of some. used to be the same as on one, may not be the case anymore…

DMR – I can’t tell from the blurb, are they sealed cartridge or just sealed? http://www.tredz.co.uk/.DMR-3-Pawl-9-Speed-9mm-Cassette-Rear-Hub_32576.htm?utm_source=Google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=Froogle02

Nowt wrong with Shimano cup & cones at all. As said, strip them before use & re-pack with proper grease. Dont overpack them though, just enough to give the bearings a good coat.

To set the cones I clamp the wheel in the outside of the dropouts with the skewer, so the axle is under compression while your adjusting them. Dont know if this is the right way, but it works.

While your at it, fetch the freehub off & sit it in a pot of oil so it soaks through, then let it drain.

The de-rigeur Hope Pro2’s are nice, but we cant all afford them.

takisawa2 – you assume people only buy brand new?

“really hard to justify anything but Pro2’s though if you can afford them”
I dont’ think I could live with the level of noise they make. I know I could pedal more, but then I could get a fixed hub if I wanted to do that
Also, the freehub pickup speed could be better on a pro2. Yes they’re faster than a 2004 XT, deore or standard DTswiss, but SLX, 2008/2012 XT, upgraded DT and more (dmr? stans? amclassic?) are bit faster pickup again
If they could double the pickup speed to 48points like the pro2 singlespeed then I might consider one, though maybe buy some earplugs with the wheelbuild ..

cartridge bearing rear hub for £20 you say?

Pro2s are really not that nice are they.. seals are draggy, alloy freehubs not strong enough, 24pt pickup is only marginally better than the cheapest shimano 16pt.. i still have them though because Shimano freehubs don’t last at all. Hope Hoops are a good deal for complete wheels.

Superstar are £60 and terrible bearings.

i’m assuming he wants 6bolt disc.

how about these? (Funn £44+)
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=15921

you want something with parts available though…

funn hubs look ok and cheap but they don’t even list them on their own website….? Always a bad sign for future support/parts. Did they dabble in hubs then decide it was a no goer?

Still got Shimano mountain lx hubs on my 1988 Kona that work just fine and XT hubs on the Orange Aliminium O from 90/91 that are the same. In fact both bikes are still original apart from chain and freehubs and brake pads. Can’t rate shimano highly enough

My Hope Pro II Evo collapsed at the Coed y Brenin enduro the other week. Its only a year old. May be I ride too much to make it last on one set of bearings until 2020?
I’ve got some shagged Shimano hubs too
But Deore hubs are still as cheap as you want to go down to.

That Funn hub looks nice, but like you say parts might be an issue.

I take it if the freewheel failed, say, I’d have to find another fun freewheel to put on it, and couldn’t just use any one?

For the price you can’t go wrong with an XT rear hub.

Deores are okay but I’ve had hit or miss with how long the freehub lasts.

Can get an XT for £32posted (Clicky) so only a bit more than a Deore, well worth it IMO.

Going to be building up a wheelset soon and want a steel freehub (for intermitent singlespeeding with a narrow sprocket) and will be using XT.

you could, if you were around 2 weeks ago, get 756a for £17.99 from CRC. honestly, no shimano freehubs last well, they all get wobbly, sealing is a little better on higher ones, but it’s just the design, the little balls wear out. and they aren’t serviceable either.

don’t know about Funn spares, i’d call Funn and check. buying two now is a bit silly? i’d go with shimano 525a probably. unless anyone has suggestions for other good cartridge hubs..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=3310

very similar to the basic “xt” above.

hold up
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=37012
this claims to have shimano compatible freehub body (which?). as i said they don’t last too well, but they should last 1-2 years and at least can be got. looks good on paper. or superstar. i’d still either go for cheap cup&cone or something decent. shame hope’s cost too much, hub is £120 and whole wheel is about.. £150?

For those interested – I got a reply from Funn. They stopped making hubs five years ago, the company has changed ownership since, and they have no idea about getting spares. Nice of them to say as much though – worth knowing!