Best DH Hubs
- Thread starter SthFRider
- Start date
Pictures? I had my rotor bolts break out of a ringle SOS rear hub on my demo once. They didn't pull out but rather broke the hub apart. I sourced some longer rotor bolts and still use the hub on my p1 with a 6 inch rotor.
No pics but the shell cracked between each disc tab and twisted apart. Formula rotors that were perfectly straight. AmClassic says it should be okay with rotors that have more material connecting the mounts but I say they need more material around the hub's tabs to be safe with 8".
I switched to DT 240. Same weight and engagement but lots more $$ and the axle doesn't spin very easily. I'll try adjusting its bearing preload.
I switched to DT 240. Same weight and engagement but lots more $$ and the axle doesn't spin very easily. I'll try adjusting its bearing preload.
this thread is a like a bank vault of almost good information. I'm proud of you ridemonkey.com, but a lot of this is still pretty full blown wrong
Edit: I bet dropmachine.com's write up was good, but i can't read it because it is not up anymore.
Edit: I bet dropmachine.com's write up was good, but i can't read it because it is not up anymore.
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whoa guys, the expert is here.
about to order an Industry Nine 150x12 J-bend!
what oil should I use on the pawls to make them sound like a Vuvuzela?
what oil should I use on the pawls to make them sound like a Vuvuzela?
biwp.
Ok, I will have my people contact R. Kelly.
Phil Wood Tenacious Oil. It's probably just repackaged 50w motor oil but works great in freehubs.
just have them send you oil when you purchase the hub
Did you check their website? ; )
Go-ride. They have a pretty fair price on them too. And you can actually call them and talk about what you need.
You can try larry at http://ghisallowheels.com/ I've gotten a few hadley wheels built by him and he orders directly from them. Or you can call hadley directly, 909 946-6780.
they still do not have a website
One thing worth mentioning that makes Hadley even more attractive is the fact that they save you money on spokes, and simplifies wheel building..... You can just buy one box of spokes all the same length. I build all my own wheels so this is huge to me. Pretty sure Hadley designs them this way intentionally. Every wheelset I've built with other hubs required at least two spoke lengths. This in addition to how smooth, durable, and easily user serviceable makes them the best in my opinion. If someone has already mentioned this I apologize.
I agree with you Ian, this is an excellent point. I think they design hub spacing and flange diameter to achieve this.
When buying spokes for the I9 classic I just bought I was pleased to find it also has equal length spokes!
The AmClassic, DT240, and Pimplite hubs I've built recently used the same or 1mm different (can use the same) spokes. Years ago I remember having to use different lengths but perhaps this is something that most companies have taken into account recently.
just ordered hadleys (red) to lace to the stans flow ex rims as well as king hubs (black,got a good deal)...
As a follow up to others and and longevity I still have 2 sets of hadleys going strong no maintenance yet in 2 years, a buddy has them on his bike now (1 set) and my I9s are still going strong 3 years later 1 bearing set buddy just slapped in them.
I was going to build up the hope pro II evos BUT the drag was quite a bit on them, I replaced bearings checked spacing and drag... Wasnt bad when it was off the bike and each bearing by themselves but when all together combined with the dust seal on rear non driveside there was some chain pull drag going on.
I replaced bearings to see and same thing had some drag that was pretty hefty, smooth bearings but sluggish.
Pulled king/hadley and a hope out of the box brand new over at bling to see how the drag was right off the bat and in order hadley/king then hope granted they werent broke in but the hope new felt about as sluggish as mine which the hub is 3 months old.... my hadleys are super smooth and spin easily, unfortunently cant check my kings they are in the NW now with another buddy getting beat on still (4 years later and a set of bearings)...
So now I have I9s, Hadleys and kings Ill run side by side i sold the hopes today... Good hubs but wasnt comfortable with the drag, I went through them completely to see if it was bad alignment or a side load that torqued them.
As stated several times cant go wrong with any of them I couldnt decide so I added king/hadley and Ill build them up ride them then one or the other will eventually find another home...
I will add
Hadleys had a set of bearings go BELLY up on the hadleys after 1 snow ride and took them in, turns out there was a bad batch of bearings that made there way to them and mike swapped them asap... No issues since.
I9s had a set of bearings go belly up but they saw alot of abuse and no repacking or maintenance, not had spoke issues with them I did rip a bunch when my rear der. ripped off and played whack-a-spoke with the rear whell.
I cant speak for otheres drive relaibilty but I havent had any real issues I did change springs in I9 on 2 pawls as I lost them from desktop aside of that not had any issues with them.
I think dropmachines review was pretty spot on.......was a greeat resource of side by side.
As a follow up to others and and longevity I still have 2 sets of hadleys going strong no maintenance yet in 2 years, a buddy has them on his bike now (1 set) and my I9s are still going strong 3 years later 1 bearing set buddy just slapped in them.
I was going to build up the hope pro II evos BUT the drag was quite a bit on them, I replaced bearings checked spacing and drag... Wasnt bad when it was off the bike and each bearing by themselves but when all together combined with the dust seal on rear non driveside there was some chain pull drag going on.
I replaced bearings to see and same thing had some drag that was pretty hefty, smooth bearings but sluggish.
Pulled king/hadley and a hope out of the box brand new over at bling to see how the drag was right off the bat and in order hadley/king then hope granted they werent broke in but the hope new felt about as sluggish as mine which the hub is 3 months old.... my hadleys are super smooth and spin easily, unfortunently cant check my kings they are in the NW now with another buddy getting beat on still (4 years later and a set of bearings)...
So now I have I9s, Hadleys and kings Ill run side by side i sold the hopes today... Good hubs but wasnt comfortable with the drag, I went through them completely to see if it was bad alignment or a side load that torqued them.
As stated several times cant go wrong with any of them I couldnt decide so I added king/hadley and Ill build them up ride them then one or the other will eventually find another home...
I will add
Hadleys had a set of bearings go BELLY up on the hadleys after 1 snow ride and took them in, turns out there was a bad batch of bearings that made there way to them and mike swapped them asap... No issues since.
I9s had a set of bearings go belly up but they saw alot of abuse and no repacking or maintenance, not had spoke issues with them I did rip a bunch when my rear der. ripped off and played whack-a-spoke with the rear whell.
I cant speak for otheres drive relaibilty but I havent had any real issues I did change springs in I9 on 2 pawls as I lost them from desktop aside of that not had any issues with them.
I think dropmachines review was pretty spot on.......was a greeat resource of side by side.
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I hope this means your doing a website for them,it can only help business...
Would have liked to see another one transpire but alas communication issues... Sosad.. Ohwell
PMd ya...
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A friend of a friend is making these things.
http://www.project321.com/products_bike.php
They're pretty badass. Don't know the engagement count but a few buddies have been building up wheels with them and they're tight. They might be a little lighter than hadleys.....
That's from a longtime happy hadley user. I'm hoarding my 102pt hubs like a fiend.
http://www.project321.com/products_bike.php
They're pretty badass. Don't know the engagement count but a few buddies have been building up wheels with them and they're tight. They might be a little lighter than hadleys.....
That's from a longtime happy hadley user. I'm hoarding my 102pt hubs like a fiend.
That's cool woo they are using the i9 cassette mechanism, can't wait to see long term usage.
I think they need to do a bit more like 2 texture another for the logos or something to set them apart at that price point titanium cassette body or something. The engagement is worth it but look wise it seems to be aesthetically plain.
Weight is good, between king and hadley, glad to see new products.....
I think 120 pt engagement is about the top of the heap with the trials being the exception for free ride/dh/am/xc its more than good. I think 72 is great less can get a little irritating when manualing or slow weird technical climbing pedal popping to keep moving...
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They last. They've only been for sale for a while but they've been around.
That's cool...I like that they took an already proven design for engagement no false claims to fame or new and never seen design and built off of it...
no 150x12 axle?
No mention of Tune hubs? I'd love a Tune Kong Mk but damn they are dear.
I have a Hadley and I don't maintain it, I had to loctite a thread on the axle to stop the thing unscrewing itself. That being said it has gone for a few years on my hardtail and has been laced to four rims that I can remember, there may have been more.
On my DH bikes I have Nukeproof and Hope, Nukeproof are cheap and light but the engagement skipped from new, I don't like the flange spacing on the Hope rear hub and I have snapped two axles but their new design has that sorted.
I have a Hadley and I don't maintain it, I had to loctite a thread on the axle to stop the thing unscrewing itself. That being said it has gone for a few years on my hardtail and has been laced to four rims that I can remember, there may have been more.
On my DH bikes I have Nukeproof and Hope, Nukeproof are cheap and light but the engagement skipped from new, I don't like the flange spacing on the Hope rear hub and I have snapped two axles but their new design has that sorted.
I have used Hope Bulb, DT 440 and Hadley over the past 12 years. THe Hope Bulb died two years ago. My DT 440 cracked; was replaced by DT Swiss free and is still running. My Hadley just runs and runs no issues at all.
Oh snap! Good catch. He doesn't have them up. I wonder if he's just focusing on the trail bike stuff right now.
321 does a lot of aftermarket lefty stuff. They were the first, and I think now the only people to do the 1 1/8" steerer conversion. I think they started doing hubs after the fact for leftys. Then they got their rear hub. I think most of their business probably comes from people who want a rear hub to match their lefty front hub. I imagine most of their business is coming from trail bikes then.
Nothing but good reviews though, and quick email responses when I needed help.
Nothing but good reviews though, and quick email responses when I needed help.
Early tunes for dh had durability problems, don't know about now.
What would really help business is keeping up with production/inventory
Well the website increases flow the extra flow gets them to hire another hand the additional hand allows for faster production. Keep it smaller for employee cost reasons but learn to streamline a bit...
I think a website would build a presence for them aside of die hard multi year hub users...love there stuff.
Hadley for me too, weight is rotational if you want to get fussy about a few grams between hub manafactures get lighter rims in DH thats where it counts but so does strength impact resistance, resistance is futile, rocks DH terrain can punish a rim.
Everyone can unfortunately have a bad experience with a product and or brand thats life.
Ive run Kings 3 sets over the last 12 years all on XC AM bikes, recently I bought an Enve King set 15/142 being a DH rider I tore off down a trail on my Stumpy EVO in top gear full hammer suddenly exploding OTB into the trail for no apparent reason.
I dusted my self off cleaned up what was left of my knee cap before the pain set in, the one F*****g day I didnt wear my evo knee pads then checked the bike.
The problem turned out to be the CK hub slipped, I could hand back pedal then forward engage and get the hub to slip a full half turn, After 2 months this should not imo have happened to such a hub. The King ring drive is supposed to engage the harder you pedal its biggest adavantage over other brands not fail under load.
Chris King never even responded to my emails for help in diagnosing the problem, I since did a self-service, i'm still not confident in the hub and got my LBS to do a service using CK fluid instead grease it runs smoother free wheels drag free as a King can which is pretty good, I"m no longer 100% confident and it does affect my pedalling performance now under loads where I would normally hammer it.
So **** can happen.
Everyone can unfortunately have a bad experience with a product and or brand thats life.
Ive run Kings 3 sets over the last 12 years all on XC AM bikes, recently I bought an Enve King set 15/142 being a DH rider I tore off down a trail on my Stumpy EVO in top gear full hammer suddenly exploding OTB into the trail for no apparent reason.
I dusted my self off cleaned up what was left of my knee cap before the pain set in, the one F*****g day I didnt wear my evo knee pads then checked the bike.
The problem turned out to be the CK hub slipped, I could hand back pedal then forward engage and get the hub to slip a full half turn, After 2 months this should not imo have happened to such a hub. The King ring drive is supposed to engage the harder you pedal its biggest adavantage over other brands not fail under load.
Chris King never even responded to my emails for help in diagnosing the problem, I since did a self-service, i'm still not confident in the hub and got my LBS to do a service using CK fluid instead grease it runs smoother free wheels drag free as a King can which is pretty good, I"m no longer 100% confident and it does affect my pedalling performance now under loads where I would normally hammer it.
So **** can happen.
Hadley experience!
3 sets since 2005
135/20mm
150/20mm
One wheelset 5 years running no new bearings twice serviced lubed thats it gillette smooth never failed ridden to & like hell.
No failures on the other 2 sets either, Stone Cold Steve Austin reliable.
My last DH set have been getting a pounding since 2009 Ive gone through four different rim sets haha, just cleaned lubed thats it probably twice in that time.
Totally reliable, Chuck Norris couldn't have had my back more.
Which is why Ive never lusted after i9s same goes for XO vs XX!
XO has always performed for me never let me down (also riding on since 05) XX1 however lol for my Trail bike?
Ummmm.
I wont talk about features done already speak for themselves IME.
3 sets since 2005
135/20mm
150/20mm
One wheelset 5 years running no new bearings twice serviced lubed thats it gillette smooth never failed ridden to & like hell.
No failures on the other 2 sets either, Stone Cold Steve Austin reliable.
My last DH set have been getting a pounding since 2009 Ive gone through four different rim sets haha, just cleaned lubed thats it probably twice in that time.
Totally reliable, Chuck Norris couldn't have had my back more.
Which is why Ive never lusted after i9s same goes for XO vs XX!
XO has always performed for me never let me down (also riding on since 05) XX1 however lol for my Trail bike?
Ummmm.
I wont talk about features done already speak for themselves IME.
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I didn't find the Hadley to be amazing.
I bought one brand new a few years ago, and after the first wet ride (within a week of purchasing it) the freehub had seized up when I went to ride it again. The needle bearing is very sensitive to water intrusion and it seems the seals weren't good enough to protect it. Once you grease it it's fine - and maybe they come better greased from factory now, but apart from engaging fast I didn't find it offered that much. The stock main bearings didn't last that long before starting to feel a bit rough either. The replacements I put in lasted much longer (still going in a friend's bike).
If I wanted to spend that amount of money again I'd spend a little more and get a King. For now though, Hope rears are lighter, more reliable (esp. in wet conditions), and much cheaper. Engagement takes a hit but honestly made no difference to my riding, just doesn't sound as cool.
I bought one brand new a few years ago, and after the first wet ride (within a week of purchasing it) the freehub had seized up when I went to ride it again. The needle bearing is very sensitive to water intrusion and it seems the seals weren't good enough to protect it. Once you grease it it's fine - and maybe they come better greased from factory now, but apart from engaging fast I didn't find it offered that much. The stock main bearings didn't last that long before starting to feel a bit rough either. The replacements I put in lasted much longer (still going in a friend's bike).
If I wanted to spend that amount of money again I'd spend a little more and get a King. For now though, Hope rears are lighter, more reliable (esp. in wet conditions), and much cheaper. Engagement takes a hit but honestly made no difference to my riding, just doesn't sound as cool.