fancy carbon wheels... worth it? not racing

[plugboots]

I used to be on the CK bandwagon, along with several friends, and we've all gone elsewhere after several very expensive failures. Either I9 or high end DT Swiss w/ ratchet upgraded.

Yeah, me too, have a Chris king bottom bracket and when you take it apart you still need to buy the secret tool. So fuck, just buy the scram/scidmondo for $37 and replace it when it’s noisy. Headsets seem bomber, but so what?

[Dantheman]

Holy shit, this. I'm way busier now than I was before this mess.

I am no less or more busy, but now when I finish work AC has been stuck at home with the kiddo all day. It's like going back to the days before school when she would hand him off like a hot potato at the end of the day.

[bagtagley]

I am no less or more busy, but now when I finish work AC has been stuck at home with the kiddo all day. It's like going back to the days before school when she would hand him off like a hot potato at the end of the day.

Haha! We're both working from home, so we pass the boy back and forth throughout the day. He's still a handful, but I feel for folks with little kids.

[jhyatt]

Same here. If you want to go to an XD driver on a 240s hub, it's $80, for CK it's $210.
special tools to do stuff. Love the ring drive, but i9 and dt have fast engagement now too.
I feel like a decade or more ago they were what you put on a high end bike, period. Nowadays there are other great options.

I used to be on the CK bandwagon, along with several friends, and we've all gone elsewhere after several very expensive failures. Either I9 or high end DT Swiss w/ ratchet upgraded.

[bagtagley]

I feel like a decade or more ago they were what you put on a high end bike, period. Nowadays there are other great options.

Hadley weren't as flashy, but they were at least as good and completely bombproof.

[VTskibum]

Hadley weren't as flashy, but they were at least as good and completely bombproof.

I never had any, but also heard they didn't require any proprietary tools either. I'm a huge fan of the DT Swiss for that reason, I think I have 4-5 pair of wheels with them and can swap the high engagement pawls between bikes as needed. Run the good ones in my MTBs, but not in Gravel/CX bikes etc.

[rideit]

Not only that, but you can get ebay replacement 54t drivers for pretty cheap that work just fine. Hadley just came out with a Ti Microspline driver that retrofits, that’s cool.

[plugboots]

Searching for Hadley was fun.

[Pauldotcom]

Same here. If you want to go to an XD driver on a 240s hub, it's $80, for CK it's $210.
special tools to do stuff. Love the ring drive, but i9 and dt have fast engagement now too.
I feel like a decade or more ago they were what you put on a high end bike, period. Nowadays there are other great options.

In my riding group we go through i9's like crazy. Then, i9 sent Hdro's (spelling?). Junk. Kings, if properly maint. are forever. That being said, DTswiss seem to have better luck with then i9, but they feel like crap vs. the Kings. Also, I don't recommend CK BB's. Not sure why, but I've also seem them fail a little more often then they should.

Go buy some carbon wheels!

Everyone has an opinion, I get it. It's cool.

[jhyatt]

In my riding group we go through i9's like crazy. Then, i9 sent Hdro's (spelling?). Junk. Kings, if properly maint. are forever. That being said, DTswiss seem to have better luck with then i9, but they feel like crap vs. the Kings. Also, I don't recommend CK BB's. Not sure why, but I've also seem them fail a little more often then they should.

Go buy some carbon wheels!

Everyone has an opinion, I get it. It's cool.

Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.

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[jm2e]

Curious, what feels like junk about DT hubs?


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[rideit]

Maybe he doesn’t know there are different ratchet options? Or he likes 100 points of engagement?

[toast2266]

I have kings, DT's, and i9's in my garage right now. Kings are the fussiest to maintain, DT's have the worst engagement, and i9's are the least durable. Pick your poison.

For whatever it's worth, so far I've had good luck with raceface and white industries hubs. If I were going to build something from scratch, the white industries might be my pick.

[bagtagley]

No issues with the Project 321 rear hub after 3+ seasons. I'd buy one again if I was building something fancy. Otherwise, I'm going DT. Reliable and so damn easy to work on (Hope too, but I'm spoiled by quiet hubs, and they're loud AF).

[climberevan]

I've never had a problem with any hub. It's prob because I weigh 140# and have been riding for 25 years, so I might not abuse stuff so much, but all of the hubs getting wrecked stories baffle me a bit. Bitex is just fine for me, though the 3.5 degree engagement would be nice. I'm not going to spend $500 more on hubs just for that though.

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[gravitylover]

I have kings, DT's, and i9's in my garage right now. Kings are the fussiest to maintain, DT's have the worst engagement, and i9's are the least durable. Pick your poison.

For whatever it's worth, so far I've had good luck with raceface and white industries hubs. If I were going to build something from scratch, the white industries might be my pick.

White Industries is the shit! Bike jewelry for sure.

[Tech Tonics]

So many posts but the answer is to put Chinese rims on your 350s. Buy the rims then find a local shop to lace them.


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[rideit]

Or just let Jobst Brandt be your guide. Building with carbon rims is like cheating.

[mmmm...pow!]

So a bunch of you are suggesting cheap Chinese. A quick search and I came across this https://www.diycarbonbikes.com/produ...BoCfMEQAvD_BwE
No idea about the hubs. I've never had super high end stuff on my bikes, I just want stuff to work and take some reasonable abuse. Kinda along the lines of SLX/XT level. A few options to customize, and a warranty, and assembled in the US so hopefully if warranty is ever needed it's not a pain in the ass. Thoughts?

[rideit]

Well, don’t know anything about the rims, but in general, novatec hubs suck ass.
At least in the past they did. OEM junk prone to freehub failure.

[VTskibum]

Agreed on the Novatec, have seen lots of failures, though been a few years since last time I saw them.

Also on the CK hubs, having flashbacks of taking a 1.5 or 2mm allen and using it to crank down the hub/bearing as that often came loose, especially when single-speeding.

[Canada1]

So a bunch of you are suggesting cheap Chinese. A quick search and I came across this https://www.diycarbonbikes.com/produ...BoCfMEQAvD_BwE
No idea about the hubs. I've never had super high end stuff on my bikes, I just want stuff to work and take some reasonable abuse. Kinda along the lines of SLX/XT level. A few options to customize, and a warranty, and assembled in the US so hopefully if warranty is ever needed it's not a pain in the ass. Thoughts?

I have a diamond back I purchased for a child. I understand their hubs, while house brand are Novatec. They were coming loose and I finally resulted to loc tite to keep things right. (Freewheel attachment is unique and was the issue). Since doing that, I have never had a problem. About a year into this bike, but it is ridden probably a hundred miles a week. There is a bunch of info on MTBR about this. I looked there and saw diamond back branded rim discussion and that the Novatec's are identical. One guy who claimed to be a shop guy recommended the loc tite as a fix.

I have had a lot of hubs, and have never had issues keeping them tight. The fact that I had to do this probably says something about the design being a bit on the poor side.

[Pauldotcom]

I have kings, DT's, and i9's in my garage right now. Kings are the fussiest to maintain, DT's have the worst engagement, and i9's are the least durable. Pick your poison.

For whatever it's worth, so far I've had good luck with raceface and white industries hubs. If I were going to build something from scratch, the white industries might be my pick.

Good post and true.

[Pauldotcom]

Curious, what feels like junk about DT hubs?


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Have you ridden any other hub? i'9s feel pretty smooth, up until the bearings go bogus. Kings are super smooth, like silk. DTs are durable, but my least favorite when it comes to feel. Hard to explain. Just not as smooth, ratchet feels like metal on metal, I dunno.

I am looking hard to NOBL for wheels right now. Good price, good warranty. I might pull the trigger today...With Kings of course.

[HAB]

I have kings, DT's, and i9's in my garage right now. Kings are the fussiest to maintain, DT's have the worst engagement, and i9's are the least durable. Pick your poison.

Haven't had Kings in quite a while, but currently have 240s, I9 Hydras, and Hadleys. The I9s are new enough that I have no thoughts on durability yet but all that stuff you said is consistent with my experience with the older ones. Hadleys are kinda heavy, but bulletproof.

Re: hub engagement, I think it's pretty easy to get caught up in thinking you need absolute maximum POE. I'm not saying it makes literally no difference, but anything about 36 or higher I'm fine with, and once you're past 72 or so it really starts becoming a case of diminishing returns.