Hub dilemna

[gravelmuncher]

Hi all - been a long time since i've posted, but I hang around in the shadows still.

I'm taking my first ever trip OS next year, and will be riding from Geneva to Nice through the Alps over some very well known passes. I want to build a set of wheels for the CAAD9 for the trip, and my best mate will be building them for me. Problem is, he wants me to build DT 240s into some Velocity A23's @ 28/28, but the trip alone is pushing my budget to within an an inch of not going. MY thoughts were to build in some HOPE PRO 3 hubs into the A23's @ 28/28, but my mate's a little sketchy - his thinking is that I need a hubset where, in the event of a mechanical, I need to be able to walk into any bike shop in France and source the parts I need on the spot.

I value his advice - he's been in the industry for yonks - but my budget is restricting me to the point where the price of the HOPE's would be my absolute maximum. So, please feel free to lend your experience AND advice - 1) am I on the right track with the HOPE's? 2) Am I silly to use anything other than the DT 240s? 3) I've seen the Taiwanese Superlight things - along with some good reports, but they kinda scare me. 4) The A23's come stock with Formula hubs - are these as good as any in my budget?

I'm going to get down to about 76-77kg for the trip. I'm not chasing WW wheels, but I'm 194cm (6'4") and ride a 60cm with Ultegra 6700, so i'd love to get her weight down into the mid 7kg region before I fill the bottles.

Any and all advice will be tops.

GM

 

[gravelmuncher]

No takers? How about if I throw some DT 370sl into the mix?

GM

 

[alfeng]

FWIW. Although I love the Hügi-designed Star Ratchet mechanism, if I were setting up a rear wheel for Touring then I would want a minimum of 32 spokes, and [COLOR= #0000ff]36 spokes [/COLOR]would be preferable even for light touring through the mountains just because you will more-than-likely be applying more stress on the rear wheel than Flatlander riding ...

• if you are NOT going to carry anything more than you would on a "regular" long ride, then a 28h rear wheel should be fine.

AND, short of the worst case scenario where the flanges are destroyed in a horrific crash, the most readily serviced rear hub would be a SHIMANO rear hub because Shimano hubs use loose bearings AND the Freehub body can be easily swapped with one from almost any other Shimano rear hub.

• An Ultegra rear hub is as good as a Dura Ace rear hub ...
• a 105 rear hub is almost as good ...
• a Tiagra hub is as good as a 105 rear hub ...
• et cetera.

Presuming that FORMULA Road hubs use cartridge bearings ([COLOR= #ff0000]?[/COLOR]) in their Road hubs like the cartridge bearings used in their Single Speed hubs ([COLOR= #808080]vs. loose bearings in their "Pista" hubs which have solid flanges[/COLOR]) , then I reckon that it may be the sleeper value amongst hubs which use cartridge bearings ([COLOR= #808080]if cartridge bearings are your "thing"[/COLOR]), or not!?!

• I recently got a set of Formula Road hubs, but I have not taken them apart to confirm which type of bearings they use ...
• In very limited use, I will say that the Road version ([COLOR= #808080]with cartridge bearings[/COLOR]) of Formula's SS hubs seem to be pretty good.

Regardless, I would hope that ANY relatively new hubs ([COLOR= #808080]less than 5000 km of use[/COLOR]) should be worry free ... the exception would be a MAVIC rear wheel whose Freehub uses a plastic bushing instead of a sintered bushing or bearings ... I presume that it was spec'd to save weight where the presumption was ([COLOR= #808080]originally[/COLOR]) that the rider rarely coasts AND would service the rear wheel on an as-needed basis ([COLOR= #808080]i.e., every 5000 km if you coast frequently ... as when descending on mountain roads[/COLOR]).

 

[gravelmuncher]

Originally Posted by alfeng .

FWIW. Although I love the Hügi-designed Star Ratchet mechanism, if I were setting up a rear wheel for Touring then I would want a minimum of 32 spokes, and [COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)]36 spokes [/COLOR]would be preferable even for light touring through the mountains just because you will more-than-likely be applying more stress on the rear wheel than Flatlander riding ...

• if you are NOT going to carry anything more than you would on a "regular" long ride, then a 28h rear wheel should be fine.

AND, short of the worst case scenario where the flanges are destroyed in a horrific crash, the most readily serviced rear hub would be a SHIMANO rear hub because Shimano hubs use loose bearings AND the Freehub body can be easily swapped with one from almost any other Shimano rear hub.

• An Ultegra rear hub is as good as a Dura Ace rear hub ...
• a 105 rear hub is almost as good ...
• a Tiagra hub is as good as a 105 rear hub ...
• et cetera.

Presuming that FORMULA Road hubs use cartridge bearings ([COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]?[/COLOR]) in their Road hubs like the cartridge bearings used in their Single Speed hubs ([COLOR= rgb(128, 128, 128)]vs. loose bearings in their "Pista" hubs which have solid flanges[/COLOR]) , then I reckon that it may be the sleeper value amongst hubs which use cartridge bearings ([COLOR= rgb(128, 128, 128)]if cartridge bearings are your "thing"[/COLOR]), or not!?!

• I recently got a set of Formula Road hubs, but I have not taken them apart to confirm which type of bearings they use ...
• In very limited use, I will say that the Road version ([COLOR= rgb(128, 128, 128)]with cartridge bearings[/COLOR]) of Formula's SS hubs seem to be pretty good.

Regardless, I would hope that ANY relatively new hubs ([COLOR= rgb(128, 128, 128)]less than 5000 km of use[/COLOR]) should be worry free ... the exception would be a MAVIC rear wheel whose Freehub uses a plastic bushing instead of a sintered bushing or bearings ... I presume that it was spec'd to save weight where the presumption was ([COLOR= rgb(128, 128, 128)]originally[/COLOR]) that the rider rarely coasts AND would service the rear wheel on an as-needed basis ([COLOR= rgb(128, 128, 128)]i.e., every 5000 km if you coast frequently ... as when descending on mountain roads[/COLOR]).

Thanks for the excellent reply. I am now humbly researching the bearing specs which you refer to.

GM

 

[artemidorus]

I second the Shimano hub option - 105s would be just the ticket.

FWIW, a Mavic rear hub could be serviced every night in 5 minutes with just two 5mm hex keys, a rag and some baby oil, not that that would be necessary (every 5,000-10,000km is about right). They're not the best hubs, but their wickedness is over-rated.

 

[gravelmuncher]

Originally Posted by artemidorus .

I second the Shimano hub option - 105s would be just the ticket.

FWIW, a Mavic rear hub could be serviced every night in 5 minutes with just two 5mm hex keys, a rag and some baby oil, not that that would be necessary (every 5,000-10,000km is about right). They're not the best hubs, but their wickedness is over-rated.

If i'm going to be spending 5min every night with a rag and some baby oil, it sure wont be servicing hubs.

I've narrowed it down to Ultegra 6700 (32/32 - 510g / $155 AUD) or DT Swiss 350 (28/32 - 414g / $195 AUD). Both fall under my $200 ceiling, and I figure both (brand new) will see me through 750km of Alps. I feel a little silly admitting this, but the -100g reduction of the DT 350's is the "****le" causing me hesitation. It will give me a 1550g naked wheelset.

GM