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alloy vs stainless steel vs ti-hope freehubs

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
My Hope alloy freehub lasted one season before it was chewed up. I ran a xt cassette. I just switched to the stainless steel freehub.

Is the stainless going to last longer?
Does anyone know the weights of the SS vs alloy vs ti?
 

daisycutter

Turbo Monkey
Apr 8, 2006
1,651
124
New York City
My Hope alloy freehub lasted one season before it was chewed up. I ran a xt cassette. I just switched to the stainless steel freehub.

Is the stainless going to last longer? yes
Does anyone know the weights of the SS vs alloy vs ti?
its a downhill bike does not matter
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
My Hope alloy freehub lasted one season before it was chewed up. I ran a xt cassette. I just switched to the stainless steel freehub.

Is the stainless going to last longer?
Does anyone know the weights of the SS vs alloy vs ti?
I'm not sure I've noticed any marks on my steel shimano freehubs. Alloy on the other hand...
The steel should last a good long time.
 

roel_koel

Monkey
Mar 26, 2003
278
1
London,England
My Hope alloy freehub lasted one season before it was chewed up. I ran a xt cassette. I just switched to the stainless steel freehub.

Is the stainless going to last longer?
Does anyone know the weights of the SS vs alloy vs ti?
yes the stainless steel body for the Pro II will "last" longer than the aluminium alloy version (that comes stock on the hub or Hope Hoops wheelsets)

the weight is considerably higher, I have sold many Pro II Trials hubs which have the steel body and its a surprise when you hold the Trials and regular Pro II hubs in each hand


however, the damage to the alloy freehub body is mainly cosmestic and can be remedied by using a flat needle file to smooth off the bite marks and always install the cassette to the body with a good coat of Shimano anti-seize

I've sold and used alot of Hope hubs over the years, and the old BULB hub with its titanium alloy freehub body never had this issue even if used with steel-cog stack cassettes

the Pro II was made lighter (and more affordable as the Ti body on the BULB was real expensive) with the aluminium-alloy body and generally if using a spider-style carrier cassette like your XT or SRAM PG-990 you don't get bad chew-up

as long as you can get the cassette off the body when doing a clean-up, any 'damage' to the aluminium alloy freehub body is irrelevant

sometimes the gentle use of a flat-blade screwdriver can assist in removing the cassette from this hub ;)
 

davec113

Monkey
May 24, 2009
419
0
^I agree. The cassette can be a PITA to get off but if you can, just file down the freehub and remount the cassette. I had a Hope Bulb and the Ti body does not get chewed up (same can't be said for the engagement mechanism...), steel shouldn't either.

I've seen American Classic hubs that use an alum body with small steel inserts on the leading edges of the slots that engage the cassette... pretty good idea IMO... durable but without the huge weight penalty of steel or the expense of Ti.
 

roel_koel

Monkey
Mar 26, 2003
278
1
London,England
No. Hope no longer make parts for bulb hubs either as i found out this summer when my bulb free hub died.
this might be an issue with your country's distributor?

we have had no problems getting old parts from Hope for Bulb and XC hubs

as Hope is basically a high-end CNC / machine shop they just change the programme on the machine and pop a slightly different freehub body out of the machine

everything Hope do is essentially "made to order" with UK shops paying up front (no trade credit) before orders are processed and goods manufactured


I would give hope a call here in the UK directly and explain your situation (they are super keen to assist riders using their products), they take credit card payments and can make you a part and ship it to you ;)
 

p-spec

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2004
1,278
1
quebec
Found that statement quite funny.
stainless steel has less of a tendencie to "dig" into the freewheel.

and lol at program change for material.

only the bits change bro,and sometimes not even,generaly they will change the bit from metal to metal.
 

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
stainless steel has less of a tendencie to "dig" into the freewheel.

and lol at program change for material.

only the bits change bro,and sometimes not even,generaly they will change the bit from metal to metal.
I was a Tool and Die maker in Aerospace and defence, now a Manufacturing Engineer. The statement still stands as amusing, especially to someone with my experience.

I also got you into a BTAC show once....
 

roel_koel

Monkey
Mar 26, 2003
278
1
London,England
Found that statement quite funny.
funny how?

of course they change the metal (from aluminium-alloy to cromoly steel) being loaded into their CNC machine, but its not a big issue to load the CNC programme for the Bulb freehub body, instead of the CNC programme for the Pro II or Pro III freehub bodies?
 

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
funny how?

of course they change the metal (from aluminium-alloy to cromoly steel) being loaded into their CNC machine, but its not a big issue to load the CNC programme for the Bulb freehub body, instead of the CNC programme for the Pro II or Pro III freehub bodies?
This is about steel vs alu machining correct (assuming the old bulb was steel vs the new one being alu)? It's not as simple as just popping in a program and popping out a part. It’s the wording that made me chuckle a little. Not that it’s a huge involved process, but it’s not that simple. I'd rather not get into the nitty-gritty of how to do it properly, but the basics re steel and aluminum include:

-Tool paths should change to reflect lighter cuts which entails an entirely different program
-Program feeds and speeds changed to reflect the different material, as well as chip load, etc
-A more rigid set up is required over aluminum
-Cutting tools are different (3flute is ideal for aluminum, whereas I like a 6 flt for steel; the helix is substantially different; and while you can get away with TiN coated HSS for alum you should be using a coated carbide for SS)
-cutting tool life is substantially reduced, even with carbide, so checking offsets often has to be taken into account.
-If you’re really picky, there are coolants better for each material

So, not a huge deal, but not exactly ‘popping’ in a different material and just changing the program. I don't think you're silly or totaly wrong, just the wording was funny.
 
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