MTB Rear Wheel Hub Options

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Jun 4, 2003
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The situation:
My MTB is a dual suspension with Reynolds carbon wheels from 2014. The rear wheel has been trouble over the years. First, the rim delaminated, so Reynolds sent me a new one under warranty and I rebuilt it. Next, the spoke nipples corroded on both wheels (never use Al spoke nipples with carbon rims, but that's what Reynolds and other manufacturers do) so I rebuilt both wheels with brass nipples. Next, the pawls in the rear freehub wore/sheared so I had to replace them. Then again a year later. At this point I asked Reynolds for a warranty pawl replacement. They looked at my photos and observed that the pawl pockets in the hub shell (where the rounded end of the pawl fits and rotates) were slightly distorted from wear, and offered a warranty replacement of the hub shell. Their "warranty replacement" offer is I mail them my wheel, they rebuild the rim onto a new hub shell with a new freehub driver and send it back to me with a $200 charge for parts (spokes, etc.) and labor. I asked them, just send me the parts and I'll do it myself, like you did when the rear rim failed. They said they can't do that in this case, so I'll probably source new parts locally and do it myself.

Root cause:
As it happens, this rear wheel has the pawls in the hub body and the ratchet on the freehub driver, the opposite of how most wheels are set up. This turned out to be a flawed design because the aluminum alloy from which the hub shell is made, cannot withstand the stress/force/torque of pedaling, since it's concentrated in the pawl pockets; over time it bends/distorts them. This means the pawls don't line up perfectly against the ratchet; it still works but the pawls wear out faster. So most other wheels that do it the reverse way (pawls on the freehub driver and ratchet in the hub body) are like that for good reason. Having the ratchet in the hub body evenly distributes the stress/force/torque of pedaling.

So I'm looking around LBS and other sources for a new hub shell and driver body. It's SRAM XX1 11 speed, 28 straight-pull spokes, 142mm dropout spacing, 12/15 mm (inner/outer) through-axle, 6902 bearings. Ideally with same hub effective outer spoke hole diameter so I can use the same spokes. But if not, not big deal, spokes aren't that expensive.
 
If you would like as bombproof a hub as possible just get a DT Swiss 350.
I like J bend more than straight pull. Makes for a better wheel in my opinion.
 
Thanks for the hub shell tip. That's what I'm looking for... keep 'em coming.
I'm looking for the cost-no-object best: strong, durable, light, easy to maintain (standard bearings, freehub driver, etc.).
 
Depends...if you are not looking for ultra light and want bomb proof. Bomb proof: Onyx are amazing. I'm on 7 years of all Northeast rock on a Trek Remedy 9. Carbon wheelset.

I'm running 350's on a few bikes and never wrong with them. And not difficult to work on.
 
I can’t say which is “best”, but I’m a big believer in paying a bit extra for a name-brand hub like a DT Swiss, Industry 9, Onyx, etc… Simply for parts support.

My story: I have a Novatec rear hub on mine. Pretty good quality, but parts are a huge issue. I tried to order the SRAM XD driver upgrade kit but the customer service/part dept. was too challenging (they wouldn’t ship outside of Europe, among other issues). I’m Just gonna buy a new rear carbon wheel and hub assembly.
 
I can’t say which is “best”, but I’m a big believer in paying a bit extra for a name-brand hub like a DT Swiss, Industry 9, Onyx, etc… Simply for parts support.

My story: I have a Novatec rear hub on mine. Pretty good quality, but parts are a huge issue. I tried to order the SRAM XD driver upgrade kit but the customer service/part dept. was too challenging (they wouldn’t ship outside of Europe, among other issues). I’m Just gonna buy a new rear carbon wheel and hub assembly.

I use a custom wheelmaker in CO (I'm in NY) for the last decade. 6 Sets of wheels from carbon MTB, Carbon road bike, Carbon gravel bike, and multiple fat bike sets. Amazing guy with great builds.
 
... I’m a big believer in paying a bit extra for a name-brand hub like a DT Swiss, Industry 9, Onyx, etc… Simply for parts support. ...
I feel the same way. I thought that was what I did getting these Reynolds wheels 8 years ago, but apparently not. Whatever I get, it won't be Reynolds.
 
I use a custom wheelmaker in CO (I'm in NY) for the last decade. 6 Sets of wheels from carbon MTB, Carbon road bike, Carbon gravel bike, and multiple fat bike sets. Amazing guy with great builds.
I've built all my own wheels since the 1980s. That's why I'm just looking for the right hub shell and compatible freehub driver so I can build everything else.
 
I've built all my own wheels since the 1980s. That's why I'm just looking for the right hub shell and compatible freehub driver so I can build everything else.
Chris King Hubs are top notch, but iirc, requires proprietary tools to service.

White Industries hubs are also up there in the top price/quality/performance hubs also.
 
At the top end, looks like $400+ for a rear hub and $200+ for the front. Wow, good hubs are pricey. Reynold's $200 warranty offer to rebuild the rear wheel on a new hub, is better than I thought. Not that I want another Reynolds hub...

The search continues... I'll check the LBS.
 
More info...
Reynolds' warranty offer requires me to mail the wheel to them, which costs about $125 due to the size. So total price will be $325 plus tax.

To do this myself, DT Swiss hubs (complete with axle, bearings, and freehub) for my bike that would be exact fits:
  • model 350
    • rear: H35PNDDRR28SA9013S; 219 gr; $310
    • front: H35PADIXR28SA9003S; 137 gr; $113
  • model 240
    • rear: H24PNDDRR28SA4949S; 204 gr; $478
    • front: H24PADIXR28SA3351S; 111 gr; (?? can't find pricing)
Those prices are mailorder, but same as the LBS. The 240 is about 50% more expensive, and 7% lighter, just a few grams. If the 350 is just as durable & reliable, that's an easy choice. If I'm lucky, the hub spoke offset/effective diameter will be the same as the current shell, and I can reuse the spokes. Either way, much cheaper than buying a new carbon wheelset!
 
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Why spend 200 on a front hub? I always buy DT swiss for the rear and Bike Hub Store (Bitex) for the front. Front hub is a tube with bearings in it. Who cares if it says something on it?
 
Why spend 200 on a front hub? I always buy DT swiss for the rear and Bike Hub Store (Bitex) for the front. Front hub is a tube with bearings in it. Who cares if it says something on it? ...
I'm not! The price of the DT Swiss 350 front hub is only a few bucks more as the one you linked.

PS: the front hub quality does matter. The reason I need to replace this OEM Reynolds front hub is that it's developed a bit of play that no amount of preload will remove, due to metal fatigue and deformation of the hub shell where it mates with the axle caps. Bearings, freehubs, pawls, etc. are wear items but a hub shell should be a lifetime part...
 
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BTW, the DT Swiss hubs require a special tool for service. They make an entire special tool kit, but you only really need 1 special tool to remove their unique ratchet from the hub; everything else is standard. DT Swiss charges a ridiculous sum for that one tool, but there are good quality aftermarket tools that you can easily find.

The DT Swiss has interlocking circular ratchet rings that looks more robust than the usual pawls & ratchet that most other hubs use. This is important to me, since the pawl & ratchet in my current hub has broken and stranded me more than once over the years.
 
This morning was the shakedown ride on the resurrected wheels. They're great. Even though the play in the old front hub was so small it was barely perceptible, the bike did feel more solid & precise on the new hub. I didn't expect to feel any difference. Also the DT Swiss rear hub doesn't have pawls, it has dual engaging ratchets. This should be more robust than pawls, but it does have just a bit more drag when coasting. Noticeable when free spinning the wheel, not so much when riding. The older versions of the 350 rear hub came with 18-point ratchets; this is the new version and it came with 36-point ratchets.

The DT Swiss hubs have a smaller offset/diameter for the spoke holes, than the old Reynolds hubs (both are straight-pull). A flanged hub with that big a difference would require longer spokes for the smaller hub diameter. But straight-pull hubs seem less sensitive to spoke length. I had no problem reusing the same spokes. I did use new spoke nipples, just to be safe - DT Brass of course.

With any luck these wheels should be good for life now. No more worries about the pawls wearing out every year. the hub shells distorting or axles breaking, stranding me in the middle of nowhere on long rides.
 
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