SS mtb rear hub..which one?

BoyBoy · May 4, 2004

i suggest you stay away from BMX style free wheels...

the PX disc SS hub as served me very well for a year of hard steet. i beat the **** out of it, too.

HRDTLBRO · May 4, 2004

Woodman Bill SS. I've got the same hub with a "Specialized" sticker on it, or maybe it's the other way around? It's pretty sweet and has taken a beating, including one taco served up with extra special sauce.

-dustin · May 4, 2004

yeah....freewheels don't please me. i'd say stick with cassette SS hubs.

Bikael Molton · May 4, 2004

check out the Novatec and On-One hubs too.

-r

bomberz1qr20 · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by HRDTLBRO
Woodman Bill SS. I've got the same hub with a "Specialized" sticker on it, or maybe it's the other way around? It's pretty sweet and has taken a beating, including one taco served up with extra special sauce.

I'd say the Woodman, the Planet X, or the Surly.

Stay away from allen bolt designs for jumping. The don't hold the wheel strong enough for the potential impacts this wheel will get. The bolts themsevles are actually the axle at the dropouts. You need to tighten them right to the point of stripping to get them to hold. Look for a design with a solid axle and hex nuts.

DO NOT GET THE PAUL UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!!! - worst bike part I've ever bought. Long story.

The nice thing about hubs like the Woodman is you can run a few different cogs on it and swap gear without flipping the wheel, and the tire if it's direction specific. The disc option is there if you ever want it.

-dustin · May 4, 2004

jesme uses a bolt on

whatever happened with your paul hub?

BoyBoy · May 4, 2004

just rock the WOOdman or the PX... both are perfect... unless you can afford Hadley or King.

bomberz1qr20 · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by the Inbred

whatever happened with your paul hub?

Well, I bought the Paul WORD disc rear hub right after it came out. It sat for months before I ever built it up, I was collecting parts for a build.

I get my discs in, so I bolted the rear rotor on to check the fit before I built the wheel. The bolts (stock Hayes) bottomed out in the hub with like 4-5 mm left to go.

I called Paul.

Guy: "Oh, those were our first batch, the holes weren't tapped deep enough"

Me: "Ok, I'll send it back so you can fix that."

Guy: "Well, you said you bought it like 4 months ago."

Me: "Uh, yeah, but I never laced it, it's unused..."

Guy: "Well, the warranty is 90 days - sorry. You can just drill it and re-tap it yourself."

Me: "You won't help me?"

Guy: (deadpan) "No."

Me: "That sucks, that really sucks."

Guy: "Sorry."

I had to use spacers under the bolt heads to get the rotor to cinch down Lame.

The brass (yes - BRASS) washers they use under the axle bolts crack and break. Over and over. I rigged up some different washers.

The bearings need adjustment fairly often.

The hub is expensive for not having a cassette.

All in all, total crap.

D_D · May 4, 2004

Originally posted by bomberz1qr20
Stay away from allen bolt designs for jumping. The don't hold the wheel strong enough for the potential impacts this wheel will get. The bolts themsevles are actually the axle at the dropouts. You need to tighten them right to the point of stripping to get them to hold. Look for a design with a solid axle and hex nuts.

The hubs with bolts tend to have a lot more thread contact allowing you to do them up tighter then a nut before striping.

HippieKai · May 4, 2004

mmmm king

kingLatency · May 4, 2004

I use a Spot hub and have been pleased with it. I think they cost more than the Surly hubs, and I doubt it's worth the extra money, to be honest. I use a Surly track hub and quite like it. Definitely good bang for your buck.

crashedupderby · May 4, 2004

which one is the most burly? i am in need of a new hub soon and i like the woodman ss, also like his 15mm slotted axle cassette hub.....what other options are there for the most burliest (is that a word?).....?

BoyBoy · May 5, 2004

the PX and the WOOdman seem to be the same hub. they don't get much burlier. The only other hub in that price range that i'd consider is the Dirt Jump Planet X ones, but they use BMX free wheels and don't have disc compatability. bummer, cause they look nice.

anyway, on the PX disc hub: I am pretty sure you can run three gears, if you wanted. thats pretty cool.

They have a super wide dishless flange, which builds a STRONG wheel--after a year of beating the crap out of mine (24" TrailPimps... 36 DT swiss DB spokes) i have yet to even need to tension them. still striaght as new. seriously, that is no lie. repeated 5 foot high speed drops to flat concrete, stairs, wipeouts, bad landings off big wall rides to concrete... learning to 180 from a bunny hop (read: lotsa sideways landings!).... still like new. (due in no small part to UnrealCycles SICK wheel builds!!!)

bottom line... the hub's structural integrety is bomb proof, and i have had no problems with the pawls.

of course, the Hadleys are super pimp and BUILT... i am going to get a 26" wheel set built this summer with those. but thats $$$

the king, though a beautiful hub, is not meant for hard street riding. i am sure it'd handle it for a long ass time, but if you really want a bike that you can throw in the back of a truck, or ditch it out from under you without feeling guilty, i'd save the 200+ bucks and get the PX.

BoyBoy · May 5, 2004

You know, Phil Wood and Paul components are not meant for hard riding.

-dustin · May 5, 2004

i don't think you'll be able to run 3 gears on that.

i was running a Full Monty for a while. that thing is solid. not disc, though, so it doesn't really matter.

CowboyLeo · May 5, 2004

Boyboy's right the planet x disc hub is burlishous (yes its a word if I say it is) Ive got the same awesome Unreal cycles wheel build 24 trailpimp and DT db spokes had it for more than a year

Let me tell you that wheel has seen some serious S*^T, big stairaps(and big cases) tons of big drops to flat and even nasty sideways crashes at the DJ's and it's still going strong oh and i weigh 175 lbs

maintaining your wheel is important though I checked and adjusted the tension after every ride and gave it some minor truing after a few months of beating

sweet hub :thumb:

BoyBoy · May 5, 2004

Originally posted by the Inbred

i don't think you'll be able to run 3 gears on that.

i was running a Full Monty for a while. that thing is solid. not disc, though, so it doesn't really matter.

I know what the hub looks like!! hahaha

But really, i am pretty sure you can.... there is more space in there than it looks. I run three spacers, and the lock ring threads down pretty far on the barrel. i really think you can run three gears...

but what ever. the hub still rocks...

heres a better pic, showing the room on the pawl body... i tell ya what... i'll just check to see if you can fit three gears on it and i'll post back.

(see? i think they are the same sub... and the woodman is cheaper!)

squirrelonabike · May 8, 2004

Forget about all the fancy shmancy sh#t! Redline sells a single speed wheelset. Its built on Alex dh rims, and they are heavy and tuff as hell. The best part is you can probably buy two sets for the price of just one of the hubs your looking at.
The old saying is lite,cheap, or strong, pick two. I always pick cheap, and strong!

freerider215 · May 10, 2004

I would say the Woodman. It really is burly. It just so happens I have a Woodman SS hub laced to a 26" trailpimp. The wheel was ridden 3 times. It's in awesome condition, not a scratch. Now you could buy the Woodman hub for $90 from Unreal or you could by my complete wheel for $100. The wheel is hand built w/ either DT or WS 14 db spokes (i forget). Wheel is all black. Sorry for the spam fellas. Oh, yeah i'll also include a brand new Woodman Rockster S stem. Now that's a deal!!!!

unusualpunk · May 11, 2004

whats so bad about freewheel hubs?

-dustin · May 11, 2004

i just think freewheels are a bitch to change. my last hub was freewheel (PX Full Monty), and i gotta say, the King SS is much easier to deal with.

unusualpunk · May 11, 2004

Originally posted by the Inbred
i just think freewheels are a bitch to change. my last hub was freewheel (PX Full Monty), and i gotta say, the King SS is much easier to deal with.

Why is it such a pain? You thread it on, and you thread it off. Right? whats the thing people hate about them?

D.E.T. · May 12, 2004

From my experiences with freewheels they don't always come off that easy, unless they have only been on a few months. My friend had one that he had to take to the bike shop and it took two guys to break it lose.

BoyBoy · May 12, 2004

here are some pretty solid reasons, other than the fact that the MTB setup is simply a much better display of engineering:

free wheels are also expensive to keep a collection of, if you are considering experimenting with different ratios. with a cog its very easy/cheap.

freewheels crap out more easily. you will wear down the teeth on a good hub many times before the pawls crap out. I wouldn't be surprised if a freewheel died on the same bike 3 times a year in wet riding.

they are not available is as wide a variety as cogs are. you can take any of the sizes available for a cog set and go single speed.

unusualpunk · May 12, 2004

does anyone know how fast that woodman ss hub engages?

freerider215 · May 12, 2004

i'm not sure how to quantify how fast, but it's fast. never had any problems.

been_jamin · May 14, 2004

My Surly is burlified. I run it flip-flop with ACS freewheels, so I get two ratios with a simple wheel flop.

The ACS freewheels engage faster than Sh_tmanos 'cause they have more ratchets and pawls (same argument as for Chris King hubs' near instant engagement... just few less of each, but they cost a lot less, too). "Fast" means very short crank travel before you are putting the power down - WAY less than a Sh_tmano Deore or LX cassette hub - which I know isn't saying much. (I'll try my "new" XT this weekend and report back).

Surly hubs are wiiiiide and can be built into strong wheels. They roll fast and quality sealed bearings.

You can even get a converter thing for running disks instead of a second freewheel.

I like 'em.

--Been
been mashing on a Surly rear hub for 3 years

unusualpunk · May 15, 2004

Originally posted by been_jamin

been mashing on a Surly rear hub for 3 years

That is all I wanted to know, thanks dude!

been_jamin · May 17, 2004

I'm gonna hang a Singletrack on my Surly front 1x1 hub and run it on my Specialized P.2. I use it for dirt jumping with a non-20mm fork. The solid steel axle should stiffen up the front end. Rolls fast, too. Then my jump bike will be bolt-on all around, since I just converted an XT disk rear hub to solid axle.

I use a Park "peanut butter" wrench, but have always coveted the Surly Jethro Tool.

--Been
been recommending Surly hubs for 2 years (riding 'em for 3)

CouchingTiger · May 18, 2004

I've been using an old Surly rear freewheel hub for a few years now on my Chameleon MTB SS. Bearings are still fine. I would prefer the allen head bolts though, so you don't have to carry a 15mm (or adjustable) wrench. I use BMX chain tensioners so the allens should clamp the axle to the drop just fine.

I will say that BMX freewheels suck a$$! A couple rides and they're sticky and gunky and need a repack. Not fun. I've used ACS and Shimano, neither of which are sealed. Haven't tried the White Ind but I don't really trust that their engagement system (pawls) can handle the torque of a SS given the performance (or lack there of) in their old MTB freehubs.

-Couch

-dustin · May 18, 2004

the White Industries freewheel gets rave reviews, disregarding price. the fact that it's sealed would have me seriously considering one if i had to repack a Shimano every 3 - 4 rides. they believe in it so much, they made a trials version, too.

been_jamin · May 18, 2004

One cool tip about ACS freewheels: use a needle fitting on a greasegun (like a football inflation needle) and refresh the grease through the 2 holes in the BACK of the freewheel. Much like a Manitou fork or Greaseguard headset, you can push out the muck with fresh grease. One drawback: you do have to remove the freewheel to find the holes.

--Been
been riding the same, un-repacked ACS freewheel for over a year

unusualpunk · May 20, 2004

Originally posted by BoyBoy
(due in no small part to UnrealCycles SICK wheel builds!!!)[/i]

yeah, bens wheel builder kicks ass!

SS mtb rear hub..which one?

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