[Gary]

Any reasons to avoid this?

Not especially.
a couple of tiny things to consider though...
it's not a particuarly quick engaging freehub mechanism if that matters to you.
and in order to move the D/S flange outwards Hope recessed their 8-11spd HG freehub body it into the hub shell so it's designed to be used with cassette sprockets and a spacer/spacers behind them or a SRAM 7spd DH cluster (which includes SRAM's spacer) . I never understood why they didn't simply use their shorter and stronger trials freehub body instead of recessing the standard one.

Does anyone make a genuine SS DH hub yet?

 

[iRider]

Reverse makes a 7-spd DH hub:

Downhill 7-Fach | Reverse Components

Reverse Components Downhill 7-Fach

reverse-components.com

 

[Gary]

cheaper, lighter, better design and 3x faster engagement?
Erm... Yeah. I'd go with that.

 

[Jm_]

Does anyone make a genuine SS DH hub yet?

IDK, but seems like that would pair well with an XC dual crown.

 

[Gary]

how much SS DH have you ridden?
I know this place loves the idea of a gearbox but if you're not racing there are very few downsides to ditching gearing from a DH bike altogether.

 

[Jm_]

how much SS DH have you ridden?
I know this place loves the idea of a gearbox but if you're not racing there are very few downsides to ditching gearing from a DH bike altogether.

Just when my derailleur busted and I was locked in one gear.

I'd have to be a bloody steep mountain I'd think though, with so many sections often requiring you to pedal up to speed and gears too high really hurt that.

 

[Gary]

Nah. you just need to find a gear ratio that's not too tough to pedal out of flat corners but high enough that you're not spinning out before you reach 20mph (36x16 was pretty sweet on 26" for me). On most decent DH tracks, gradient and momentum should do the rest.
I rarely ever change gear on a descent even when I do have gears.
Proper SS can be a lot nicer for many reasons. eg. less to think about. no chain device required so quite a bit lighter, waaay less mud build up and silence from the drivetrain.

 

[Jm_]

I rarely ever change gear on a descent even when I do have gears.

I agree with that. It's never the E13 9t either, that's just too high. It's usually 1 or 2 up from that, but I've noticed when it "seems" like I could be going faster with more pedal resistance while pedaling...I'm not.

 

[Kurt_80]

I've got one a 26 wheel, and pretty much echo what @Gary has said.

I actually ended up squeezing 8 10 speed cogs on there at one point. Maybe you could almost get 9 if they are 11 speed, but I'm not sure how 11 speed cassettes break down.

I'd also agree that they've lost an opportunity to use the trials hub, and following on from that, they really should have been more courageous with widening the flange spacing. Make it a true 7 speed, and hell, make a true single speed. I would have thought that's the beauty of smaller companies.... more freedom and easier to do your own thing.

Quality is fine though, and I've never had any issues with the non-infinity points of engagement.

Kurt

 

[HardtailHack]

Nah. you just need to find a gear ratio that's not too tough to pedal out of flat corners but high enough that you're not spinning out before you reach 20mph (36x16 was pretty sweet on 26" for me). On most decent DH tracks, gradient and momentum should do the rest.
I rarely ever change gear on a descent even when I do have gears.
Proper SS can be a lot nicer for many reasons. eg. less to think about. no chain device required so quite a bit lighter, waaay less mud build up and silence from the drivetrain.

When I raced at a really easy and pedally DH track single speed I ran within a second or two of my geared PB, the bike felt scarily light though.
I was running 32-13 with 26" wheels but it was on a HT.