Which hubs for longevity and servicability?

I recently took apart some XT hubs which had been on duty on my mtb and then commuting bike for a while. They were grinding a bit.

It's not too big a job but could be a lot easier. I went to the LBS to order some parts, you can replace the bearings and the outer bearing races at a cost of around £7 per wheel. However the internal bearing races are part of the hub body and therefore can't ever be replaced. In my case these were a bit pitted. This is clearly a stupid design and means your hub has a limited lifespan.

Are there any hubs which allow you to replace the races and bearings separately, and ideally a serviceable freewheel would be useful too?

This is clearly a stupid design and means your hub has a limited lifespan.

Only if you don't service them often enough. I have recently sold some 4 year old Deores that were utterly perfect. Serviced once a year…..

And bearings for £7??
50p a wheel is more like it!

XT hubs, stupid design – not so.

What's needed is more regular maintenance: service the hubs before they get grindy. If you service Shimano hubs on a regular basis (and it is very easy to do) with new bearings and grease they'll last for ever.

It's a bit like replacing your chain (cheap) before it wears out necessitating a new cassette (expensive).

A monk on a mountain once told me this was called the ancient art of 'Preventative Maintenance' which I had previously thought meant making sure your condoms were in good working order.

Hope (and lots of others) are not cup and cone but cartridge bearings which are full replaceable (even for the hamfisted like myself), free-hubs are also serviceable – another cartridge bearing.

The hubs not stupid- you are 😉

If you serviced them often enough, they wouldn't get pitted. Even the best hubs can be trashed if you don't look after them enough.

This is clearly a stupid design

It served the bike industry fine for many decades…

*awaits TJ*

Got some 1990 xt hubs still running on a road bike.

Hope, utterly reliable and serviceable.

Easy to do yourself as well

What Z1ppy said.

I have Hope, had to replace bearings last year, after years of use and never "servicing" them.

Parts are cheap enough and easy to replace and my Hope hubs go for ages with naff all maintainance.

Thumbs up for Hope, Cartridge bearing, hubs here.

🙂

CC.

Hope (and lots of others) are not cup and cone but cartridge bearings which are full replaceable (even for the hamfisted like myself), free-hubs are also serviceable – another cartridge bearing

Hope, utterly reliable and serviceable.

Easy to do yourself as well

And how much does a set of bearings cost? And how much battering do they take to get out? And have you ever had a bearing seperate leaving the outer race in place?

So, no easier than cup and cone hubs to service, and certainly a LOT more expensive…….

For me its got to be the Hope Pro hubs, easy to look after and maintain. The shimano system is fine if you look can maintain a good service schedule, but for lazy buggers like me, got to be the Hope.

And how much does a set of bearings cost? And how much battering do they take to get out? And have you ever had a bearing seperate leaving the outer race in place?

So, no easier than cup and cone hubs to service, and certainly a LOT more expensive…….

bearing are cheap and one set of bearing for 4 years use is **** all, especially when thehubs won;t be written off due to lack of servicing. Battering? Why would you need to, a sharp tap gets all but the must corroded bearing out. Have I had a outer race serperate yes, a bearing puller sorts this out in seconds.

SO yes a lot easier to service, and no more expensive.

ffs.

for lazy buggers like me, got to be the Hope

Gotta disagree, my status as a lazy bugger demands it. Servicing Shimano hubs takes just a very little while, and so should servicing Hope hubs…

… however, sometimes, as PP said, it just goes t!ts and servicing a Hope (or any cartridge hub) can takes AGES.

To further my lazy bugger™ credentials might I add that you can service cup'N'cone hubs whilst sitting down: not so easy with those hubs that require hammer-swinging.

And how much does a set of bearings cost? And how much battering do they take to get out? And have you ever had a bearing seperate leaving the outer race in place?

So, no easier than cup and cone hubs to service, and certainly a LOT more expensive…….

Bearings are more expensive but have lasted me in excess of 2 years with no attention. Easy to replace, ("Battering" with a soft mallet is part of the process, but no issues there) and I have never had the bearing seperate from the outer race. Cheap alternative bearings trying to save a few quid maybe?

They are more expensive, but you get what you pay for. The original poster now has to replace his original hubs, considerably more expensive than a set of Hope bearings!!

bearing are cheap and one set of bearing for 4 years use is **** all, especially when thehubs won;t be written off due to lack of servicing. Battering? Why would you need to, a sharp tap gets all but the must corroded bearing out. Have I had a outer race serperate yes, a bearing puller sorts this out in seconds.

SO yes a lot easier to service, and no more expensive.

ffs.

FFS? Pardon?

I'd appreciate it if you didn't try talking down to me like I'm some sort of idiot, thanks.

You'd better calm down fella because I'm just about to rip you to shreds.

C&C hub-
50p pack of bearings and a dab of grease once a year. So, 4 years = £2 = No wear. Only cone spanners needed. And that's a cheap Deore I'm on about.

Hope XC rear hub-
4 years, 2 sets of bearings. Cheap beaings £1.50 each, which last a year a set, 4 bearings in an XC hub, so £6 a set minimum. Decent bearings £15-20 a set, but last 2-3 times as long as cheap ones.
Pro2s have 5 in the rear hub, and they don't last as long as the good old XC bearings in most cases either, so they cost more.
The first time I changed my XC rear beaings (2 years old) I left marks in my bench from hammering the old bearings out. It takes no less time to hammer out 4 bearings than it does to service a C+C hub, unless you are a real numpty or it's your first time, then there's a few minutes difference.

Bearing puller? What?
Yeah, sure, like we all have one of those lying around don't we? And how much is one of those if we don't? More than a the £5 pair of cone spanners I've had since '91 I imagine!

Cheaper? Get real.

Put brain into gear before opening mouth, eh?

The original poster now has to replace his original hubs, considerably more expensive than a set of Hope bearings!!

Only because he's not looked after them.

Cartridge bearings are great for those that can't be bothered to look after stuff, but the hubs are waaaaaaay more expensive in the first place. 2-3 times as much as XT? Yeah, about that much I'd say. And then a new set of decent bearings every 2-3 years. You'll never make it pay, if you look at it like that.

Sure, they look nice and your mates are impressed, but I can argue to the cows come home that they make no real difference. 🙂

Pissing on your mates nearly new XT hubs because it's frozen while your 8+ year Hope is working fine… priceless.

PeterPoddy – Member

You'd better calm down fella because I'm just about to rip you to shreds.

FEEL HIS WRATH 😡

Pissing on your mates nearly new XT hubs because it's frozen while your 8+ year Hope is working fine… priceless

And I've seen it happen the other way round. Proves nowt. 🙂

abusive post remove, as I really can't be arsed.

Zippy, how come you are not in shreds? Is a mate typing for you?

sorry crawled in to a corner to cry… can't reply.

you really come across as a Prick sometimes PP, I believe this is one of them

Ahh I see. You start by getting all high and mighty on my ass, belittling me. I stand up for myself, so you resort to insults when you loose the argument you started, in the manner you started it.

And I'm the prick?

Silly me, of course I am.

I know, glad you're happy to admit it. 😆

Wow. Someone takes themselves a little seriously.

abusive post remove, as I really can't be arse

Too late. I saw you.

Anyway I've just been sent home now, so no hard feelings. TTFN. 🙂

You know, You pay your money you takes your choice.

As I and others have stated we prefer to pay for Hope quality products.

PP prefers his Shimano XT.

Nothing wrong with that, just different.

I think many of those reading would laugh when two flat-foreheaded chavs have a barny over how one looked at the other's bird.

And here we are, talking about replacing little balls, in hubs, on bicycles, with it escalating to fighting talk.

Now I don't often say this but, FFS.

LOL

PP, i know you're the champion and all things C&C but those hubs are just a royal PITA for me. I have a set of bonty wheels that are C&C hubs and they forever need retightening. maybe i'm doing something wrong, but i can't see what. would much rather whack some cartridge bearings in and be done with a lot less faff.

i've got both.

I prefer the Hopes. Servicing cup and cones is too 'fiddly', whereas servicing Hopes requires a massive hammer. Thats how real men do maintenance.

I have both types and much prefer the C&C ones. I dislike the beating the hub takes to remove the old cartridge, probably just me tho!

Bloody hell. Taking yourselves a little seriously here guys – over a wheel bearing?!

I wonder what you would be like discussing less important issues like the Middle East, AIDS in Africa, 5cm of snow in London 😉

Pah Middle East hardly important compared to MTB 😉

Horatio's right. Hope maintenance is unsubtle, which I also happen to like. It's also relatively infrequent, which I also think is a good thing.

Also if on a ride you notice there's a problem you're unlikely to have cone spanners about you and the default position is the whole hub takes some damage, in my experience. If it all goes horribly wrong with cartridge bearings the worse that happens is you knacker the bearing and an axle. Replacing these is generally cheaper than a whole hub, with rebuild etc.

If I was lighter and less clumsy I might go with C&C, but for lardy folk of the North riding rocky nonsense I reckon cartridge bearings.

King hubs on the other hand I found a chuffing nuisance and gave them away. Albeit to a mate who had given me a HED tri spoke for my birthday.

Given the choice I go for cartridges – I can never set the cup and cones up without ages and ages of fiddling. Plus replacing the cartriges is easy and its only those bits that wear – even if you ride them worn out for ages. But then Im not PeterPrody 🙂

As an aside… although Shimano say you can't replace the 'cup' in the hub shell once pitted, you can. Next time just buy a complete hub and swap all the internals across, works out cheaper.

If you look at high end road bike wheels most of them use cup and cone because you can set them up to spin faster, and for roadies esp racers this is key.

Also if you stay on top of maintenance then they will last a very long time.. But when they wear out the case hardening in the cup gets pitted and unless you can get replacement cups (you could in the eighties) then the hub is wrecked.

If you are slack and lazy (like me) or dont have the facilities or tools (not like me, lots of room and loads of kit) then cartridge bearings are a godsend, like other posters have said when they wear out they don't wreck the hub (mostly).

I think the best bit about this is the fact that they can get you home without wrecking the hub, if a cup/cone goes wrong on the road if you carry on riding then the hub is dead..

toys19 – Member
If you look at high end road bike wheels most of them use cup and cone because you can set them up to spin faster, and for roadies esp racers this is key.

Anyone who thinks that hub bearing friction is significant is dreaming!

Hmm, I cant say I have ever felt it but all my roadie mates spit on sealed bearings for precisely that reason, also friction is proportional to load so it may well be something you only notice at higher speeds or only on the bike. Like I said I prefer sealed…