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Hadley Hubs: Does the new design suck?

rosenamedpoop

Turbo Monkey
Feb 27, 2004
1,284
0
just Santa Cruz...
For years Hadley made some the nicest, most reliable, serviceable, and great feeling hubs out there. About a year ago (or perhaps as long as 3 years!) they released a newly designed hub to replace the existing one. I haven't seen or used a new one yet, and I have heard rumors of horrible problems with it. It seems weird (as in unlikely) that a company that made such good products for so long would suddenly introduce something crappy and then stand by this new product in the face of documented and repeated failure.

What's the word?
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Nothing wrong with em.....

I ran the SDHR5.0 (in 108pt, ti-bolt) for almost 2 years of hard DH, and it was nothing but a joy - to use and work on. Very easy to change bearings on (I did it once), and the freehub mech was great. Just passed it on to my friend, still running great.

My only "complaint" if anything is that they don't switch to an alloy freehub body to save weight (like hugi, king, and hope have done).. and the lack of a website/email for such suggestions.

Given their price to weight ratio, I probably wouldn't buy one again (just kitted out my new bike with Pro II's) but they were a quality product with impeccable attention to detail. Don't let a few rare/uncommon problems put you off.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I've had my 108pt on my trail bike for about 6 mo with zero issues.

Some people did have issues. Hadley replaced the ratchets with the time tested 36pt design for no cost. I believe they gave up on the 108s.
 

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
i've had a 108 since it came out, still running great. also purchased another 108 before they stop making it. then aquired the single speed. again, just maintain it and it'll keep working great.

i've also only heard rumors of their new stuff. nothing to report. would like to see and hold it in person before i say such things about it
 

boone

Monkey
Jun 27, 2005
362
0
I had last years hubs, the 108 ones. After about 6months of riding, the rear broke down. Sucked cause I was about 3 miles out :(
Hadley was great through everything. I called them, they took my wheel back and repaired everything for me and had it back to me in a week!
They had a bad batch of bearings that they ordered from an outside source. The bearings were sslightly off tolerance that made them basically explode inside the hub.
Some hubs had these bearings and others did not. Since I had mine repaired, I have had no issues and I have been punishing them pretty hard (riding hard plus really poor conditions)
I would not hesitate to buy another set today. Funny story- after my hub was serviced I called them about 4 months later to order a 12mm axle, this was there exact response "ohh Mr Boone I remember you." How often does that shiote happen :)

Booner
 

Kornphlake

Turbo Monkey
Oct 8, 2002
2,632
1
Portland, OR
Funny story- after my hub was serviced I called them about 4 months later to order a 12mm axle, this was there exact response "ohh Mr Boone I remember you." How often does that shiote happen :)

Booner
You must be one of the only people who has needed warranty service so they remembered you.:shocked:
 

rosenamedpoop

Turbo Monkey
Feb 27, 2004
1,284
0
just Santa Cruz...
...basically you've taken us from "I've heard rumors" to "they make a hub that sucks" in 20 words or less.

Impressive.

:biggrin:
:huh: Whoa, calm down. Let me clarify: I currently have two older Hadley rear hubs and I have had five rears total over the years. These hubs are and have been awesome. In addition Hadley customer service is second to none. I have always enjoyed my interactions with Hadley as they are consistently friendly, respectful, and thoroughly knowledgeable.

When the new hub design was released I was stoked. My assumption was that the high level of quality I had become accustomed to would carry over into this new and possibly improved design. My existing Hadley hubs have worked so well that I haven't needed a new hub for three seasons, but I have held the idea that when the time comes I'll buy another Hadley. Then the rumors started filtering in.

The purpose of this thread is in no way to bash or slight Hadley blindly. I posted this thread to get rider feedback about my favorite hub company's new product.
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
:huh: Whoa, calm down. Let me clarify: I currently have two older Hadley rear hubs and I have had five rears total over the years. These hubs are and have been awesome. In addition Hadley customer service is second to none. I have always enjoyed my interactions with Hadley as they are consistently friendly, respectful, and thoroughly knowledgeable.

When the new hub design was released I was stoked. My assumption was that the high level of quality I had become accustomed to would carry over into this new and possibly improved design. My existing Hadley hubs have worked so well that I haven't needed a new hub for three seasons, but I have held the idea that when the time comes I'll buy another Hadley. Then the rumors started filtering in.

The purpose of this thread is in way to bash or slight Hadley blindly. I posted this thread to get rider feedback about my favorite hub company's new product.
Hey - it's cool - I'm not agitated, if you've had a bad experience with a product feel free to vent. It's O.K. not to like Hadleys.:)

My point is that you were promoting a fallacy - you made the jump from discussing rumors about the poor quality of a product to stating that they actually make a poor product as if it were fact.

All I'm saying is that a rumor is a rumor until it's been substantiated by an individual who has first-hand knowledge of the subject in question. In other words it would be incorrect to make the inference that a company makes a poor quality product based on rumor, which is kind of how you were presenting things.

Just trying to keep the objectivity alive.:biggrin:
 

go-ride.com

Monkey
Oct 23, 2001
548
6
Salt Lake City, UT
I don't know who you are getting your info from, but Hadleys have been the most reliable hubs we've seen, and we build a few sets a week. Out of all the Hadley hubs we’ve sold (100+) I’ve only seen one fail and it was a $2 spring that moves the pawls to engage. It did no other damage to the hub.

The new hubs are a 72 engagement. The material they used on the 3 pawl 108 is no longer available so they went to a 4 pawl 72. Very reliable and it engages as fast as a Chris King.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
He is talking about the NEW hadleys, NOT the 108 pt one
Apart from the fact that the latest hadley runs 4 pawls (with 2 engaging at once instead of 1), the hubs are identical. And these haven't been out long enough for issues or rumours of issues to spread - so i'd say you're wrong, and he WAS talking about the 108's (or the SDH lineup in general - which are essentially the "new" hadley as they are a complete change from the "old" hadley). There was the occasional failure (read above - bad batch of bearings) but most of ours have been going fine under heavy use for years.

And as go-ride said, the only reason for the changeover was that the materials used in the 108 were no longer available. I'm guessing it was a very high grade of steel on the pawls and track to allow bearing the load through a single pawl.
 

davep

Turbo Monkey
Jan 7, 2005
3,276
0
seattle
I'm guessing it was a very high grade of steel on the pawls and track to allow bearing the load through a single pawl.
I was told by mrs Hadley that it was the ti that they could no longer reliably get.

Either way, both of my 108s are in perfect shape one from 04 one from 05. I do like the design of the 72 though, with opposing pawls (ballancing some of the forces) and 72 points is enough I think.
 

Cave Dweller

Monkey
May 6, 2003
993
0
I was told by mrs Hadley that it was the ti that they could no longer reliably get.
Wouldn't surprise me, i have read that the new boeings and airbus a380 are sucking up alot of the high quality Ti at the moment in efforts to reduce weight and increase range.
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
My two year old 108 is still going strong,suppose I should change the oil/greese. The new system would be better as I'm guessing the 108s could slip easier if they were improperly packed with greese retarding the pawls response and catch.
 
I was told by mrs Hadley that it was the ti that they could no longer reliably get.

Either way, both of my 108s are in perfect shape one from 04 one from 05. I do like the design of the 72 though, with opposing pawls (ballancing some of the forces) and 72 points is enough I think.
I just built up a 72 last night, cant say I can tell much of a difference from that and my 108, both seem to be always engaged.

I did have my 108 go out on me once, I think I got one of the bad batch ones from 05, but I sent it to Hadley and they rebuilt it free of charge, and its been perfect since. Only thing with these Hubs (150 floater friendly spacing) is you have to have their special tools to get into them, but now my shop does and there super easy to clean and service.
 

DHS

Friendly Neighborhood Pool Boy
Apr 23, 2002
5,094
0
Sand, CA
don't really need their custom tools. just they have custom spanner wrenches and a couple of bigger cone wrenches. if you have some idea of what you're doing, you can grind down some craftsman wrenchs to work.
but i have a tool kit anyway
 
don't really need their custom tools. just they have custom spanner wrenches and a couple of bigger cone wrenches. if you have some idea of what you're doing, you can grind down some craftsman wrenchs to work.
but i have a tool kit anyway
We actually broke the pins of a Park tool spanner trying to crack into one of them.
Didn't think of trying the ground down wrench trick.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
I have the 72pt hub, built it up in Nov. It came loose after a couple rides. I modded a red Park spanner (little material off the inside of the spanner) and a 19mm park cone wrench (filed out to fit a 21mm flat)

The engagement is nice and the quality is there. I'm happy with them.
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
Does Hadley have a website?
Unfortuntely no. One would think that they would have one considering the number of people who run Hadleys but at this point they're "keepin' it real".....? :)

Hey - I apologize if I came off like I was jumping on you before or if I was sounding like a know-it-all.

It just bugs me when people jump to conclusions w/o being objective and giving something a chance.

My bad.:hmm:
 

rosenamedpoop

Turbo Monkey
Feb 27, 2004
1,284
0
just Santa Cruz...
Unfortuntely no. One would think that they would have one considering the number of people who run Hadleys but at this point they're "keepin' it real".....? :)

Hey - I apologize if I came off like I was jumping on you before or if I was sounding like a know-it-all.

It just bugs me when people jump to conclusions w/o being objective and giving something a chance.

My bad.:hmm:
Hey no worries, I re-read my first post and edited it because it did seem a little harsh. I didn't mean to bash Hadley, I like them a lot. I just wanted to find out what was up. I intentionally posted "does the new design suck" to draw Hadley fans to attention.:thumb:
 

csermonet

Monkey
Mar 5, 2010
942
127
Sorry for the ancient revival. I just scored a new wheelset, Hadleys laced to Mavic823. Was aware of their legendary status, paid $350. I was under the impression they hadn't changed much over the years, is this true? A search indicated the number after the letter "R" on the hub body tells the model year. Mine is a 7 so I assume they are 2007. how many poe doe these have? Are the 2007's reliable? The guy I bought them from had them for 3 years as a backup set and never used them. He claims theguy he bought them from only used them 2 times, which I can believe from the looks of them. I plan on opening them up and inspecting the bearings and cleaning/servicing them.
 

4gnegative

Chimp
Sep 10, 2010
99
0
Orange Curtain
Sorry for the ancient revival. I just scored a new wheelset, Hadleys laced to Mavic823. Was aware of their legendary status, paid $350. I was under the impression they hadn't changed much over the years, is this true? A search indicated the number after the letter "R" on the hub body tells the model year. Mine is a 7 so I assume they are 2007. how many poe doe these have? Are the 2007's reliable? The guy I bought them from had them for 3 years as a backup set and never used them. He claims theguy he bought them from only used them 2 times, which I can believe from the looks of them. I plan on opening them up and inspecting the bearings and cleaning/servicing them.
Terrible wheelset you made a very bad choice. I'll minimize your loss and give you $200 for the set.... j/k sounds like you scored. I've been running the newer hadley stuff for the last few years and haven't had any problems with them.
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
They have changed a bit, but the design is still fundamentally the same. It only crops up as an issue if you try to order an axle conversion kit. Make sure you order the right one.
If you have a question, just call Hadley. They are very helpful. They did change the thread used and they hooked me up with the new parts I needed to keep my old hubs relevant. My 108pt is still running strong after 6-7 years. Just laced it up to a new rim and put a 142mm conversion in it.

To figure out what engagement your hubs are, you have to count. The part numbers on the body are the same.
 

csermonet

Monkey
Mar 5, 2010
942
127
Thanks for the info. Its a 150 x 12 and that's what my bike is set up for. No plans of converting to 157 so that won't be an issue. They've been paid for I am picking them up tomorrow, from the pictures it seems very well bought. Was hoping to drop some weight coming from my Outlaws, will be weighing both set ups. Honestly don't mind a bit of a weight penalty for these bad boys
 

csermonet

Monkey
Mar 5, 2010
942
127
Lol fully aware they don't have an internet presence. Have found plenty of places to get full rebuild/service instructions though, so I am not worried about that aspect. As far as getting the parts to do it, everything I have read indicates they are super easy to deal. If I am not mistaken, I think that I have even gotten the impression that a good portion of users have gotten the parts/tools/grease to do it from Hadley direct, for FREE. Numerous times too. Actually meeting the guy to pick them up in 45ish minutes. Brief inspection will show the true condition. From what I have been told, the hubs should be perfectly fine other than needing some more lube/grease. Probably won't even have to be cleaned.