Prices have rocketed to around £190 now…!
Just got a front and a rear for MUCH less than that.

Anyway, wife's Rockhopper (2008, £600) has a dead back hub – very dead. Was going to get a Hoop but £190 is just too much IMO (or possibly not). My bike mechanic is happy to build a new hub onto my old rear rim (DT Swiss 430 I think) but I need to keep budget sensible. Was wanting sealed but maybe not any more?

Needs to be six bolt, 32 hole disk. SLX seems to be centrelok only, XT seems to get a few bad reports and is old. What are Deore like? It's to replace an M525. Wouldn't mind something a bit better but i's not essential. The M525 is completely shot so can't revamp it.

Glad I got my Hoops when I did too!

What about putting a WTD on the classifeds?

Bogo deore are pretty good if you look after them.

"XT seems to get a few bad reports and is old."

what does that even mean ?

just get a hope hub and build it in then if you cant look after a 525 then SLX/XT/XTR will all end up the same way .. itll just take slightly longer as they are sealed unlike the 525 …

Just get a s/h XC and relace the wheel.

Even a pro II rear is only £110.

Shimmy hubs *spits*

superstarcomponents? Cheap wheels at the minute.

deore and XT are fine if you do regular preventive maintenance. Most people don't, they wait until they are going wrong which is too late.

Have a look at the Merlin handbuilt prices

Shimano hubs are not that bad – always spec them on my winter training bikes because they are cup & cone and can be easily serviced and rebuilt. The fit, forget, replace generation don't necessarily have the skills to do so these days though….

just get a hope hub and build it in then if you cant look after a 525 then SLX/XT/XTR will all end up the same way .. itll just take slightly longer as they are sealed unlike the 525 …

They aren't sealed actually (XTR might be but don't think it is).

A Hope hub is around £150 – a bit on the steep side. This is a £600 so price needs to be sensible(ish).

Eh?

http://techdocs.shimano.com/media/techdocs/content/cycle/EV/bikecomponents/HB/EV-HB-M775-2702_v1_m56577569830621051.pdf

There's seals on that one.

dont worry hes confused as to what sealed actually means.

"sealed" is a misnomer when it comes to bearings. Sealed bearings are sealed to keep the grease in, not the water out. Just got to remember to take them apart from time to time, check re-grease and tighten up "just right" with your cone spanners. You sure the current ones are completely shot, i.e. the housing is pitted?

my experience (wrenching over a few periods in the last couple of decades)

LX and above have lip seals and last way longer than Deore and below – a deore will likely go the same way as your 525. I am guessing you are confusing "sealed" with "has cartridge bearings".

The quality of shimano hubs does not significantly change over the years – a 1990 XT is as good quality as a 2010 one (bar the ones with oversize axles and the gash freehub body).

So I'd say got for a xt 6-bolt, aren't they £30 odd? Build it yourself and then post pictures of yourself doing it awesomely?

The fit, forget, replace generation don't necessarily have the skills to do so these days though….

I dunno about that. My XC's having been going strong for 8 years now and I've only had to replace the bearings once.

My shimano road hubs have done about 30,000 miles with no maintainence other than a nip of the lockring. They always last about 5 seconds off road for me though, I can't see the atteraction of stripping them every week when hope hubs just shrug it off.

Surf_Mat – you've come to the wrong place for advice on bikes mate. Nobody on here knows heehaw about anything bike related unless it's w@N*ing over stuff in the On-One catalogue.

Where do you buy Hope rears from? Rip off LBS's?

£157 for a Hope rear on DT EX500.

Its what pisses me off about people selling one year old ones as well- asking for too much.

Cheers all – ordered a Merlin Xc717 on an XT hub with DB black spokes – a bargain at £90!

Will get the bike mechanic to check they are properly built (also putting an entire new drivetrain on the bike).

If I built it myself, it would look like this:

lol@jimmyshand

You get a gold star, well done!

£157 for a Hope rear on DT EX500.

where and do they have stock – not that im interested but you may find that their prices go up shortly once they see that hope have put their prices up …..

If I built it myself, it would look like this:

I own and will use a claw hammer sometimes when it comes to a bike. Any decent mechanic will have a metal hammer like this.

I have that hope / mavic combo from Merlin only ever had to replace one bearing over 4 years of abuse. Wheels are still as true as the day I got them. Be aware that they do not come with rim tape or skewers

Good call on getting a wheel from Merlin Surf-Mat – in my experience their wheels are always built very well and stay nice and true (much better than CRC and other places at similar prices). I hope your wife is pleased with it!

anjs – good call. Have got a skewer, will get some rim tape.

MM – phew. I pressed the "buy" button then thought "uh oh!"

Got xc717s on Pro2s myself and really like them.