Best DH Hubs

[SthFRider]

Looking at upgrading my hubs. Seems like there are four major players in the hub department. Chris King, Hope, DT, and Hadley. What hubs do you run or suggest. Any company's hubs better than the other. Any info would be great. Cheers

[William42]

or king, hadley, and i9 (their jbend hub is still one of if not the best hub on the market if you're not partial to their alu spoked wheels).

Hope workhorse 'nice' hubs, dt uses nice bearings and a rock solid star ratcheting system, and both are some of the lighter hubs on the market. Hopes are a little cheaper, and a little lighter, but both are pretty top notch for longevity.

King also makes top quality stuff, although it tends to be a little more maint (as far as their hubs go). If you're looking at the 150mm spaced hub, they seem to use a different chainline then everybody else in the industry, so there can be potential problems there. But they're very light (the lightest of the "nice engagement" hubs for the rear), they have really nice engagement (72pt), with occassional maint the hub will last forever and the bearings will always feel good. Other side note is that they're pretty set on being environmentally friendly as possible, and are the most green of any of those mentioned.

Hadley's are extremely well built, they'll last forever like a DT hub, they have 84pt engagement (very good), and they're quite light. They're slightly heavier then hope, king, and dt though).

I9's are heavier then hope and king, but lighter then hadley. They have the best engagement with 108 point. They use a proprietary spoke design that uses straight pull aluminum spokes to build what they claim is a stronger and stiffer wheel at a lighter weight. Since aluminum will fatigue, spokes will eventually go, and there have been complaints of that. Spoke tension is more crucial with them. If you're not a fan of the aluminum straight pull spokes, they make their hubs with jbend options.

These are my experiences and opinions. Others will disagree with them.

Honestly you really can't go wrong with any of them.

[demo 9]

Very well put ^

[igz-]

They're all damn good. I would stay way from 150mm Hopes as the flange idea is pretty stupid imho...

DT 440's are bomb and rock solid. I have the 36pt ratchet in mine, 36 points of engagement is prime for DH, I couldn't see myself wanting anymore.

But as stated above, all damn good hubs.

[demo 9]

Forgot to add, im an industry nine man myself. That is what i would recommend.

[ianjenn]

The new Profile hubs look pretty nice as well! All the ones you listed are great BTW.

http://www.profileracing.com/news_full.php?id=930

"The Profile Elite hubs are not available now, and will not be until approximately February 2010. They use a totally new 6 pawl driver, with 204 points of engagement. This is a more expensive hub for us to manufacture, because it required to design and build all new ratchet rings, pawls, springs, and drivers, as well as another hubshell.




Availability February 2010

Instant acceleration

Completely new driver design with 6 pawls and springs

Cassette hub has 204 points of engagement

Photo is of prototype. Production hubs will have matching cones and volcano bolt covers

Colors have yet to be determined

Pricing will be higher than the Mini and Totem hubs."

[Hacktastic]

HADLEY - but keep in mind I sport an erection for Hadley hubs. 72pt engagement option and awesome construction/quality keeps me coming back to them, and is plenty of engagement for DH. Minimal weight penalty. If that really matters to you at the wheel hub, move along.

Hope's and DT's can be unreliable with less engagement, but they're light. Hope's are the cheapest of the bunch price-wise. Loud too if that's your thing. My 108pt Hadley sounds cooler though heh heh...

King engagement is awesome, but from what I've seen they can be finicky to keep tension on, and bearings are "hella" expensive.

The I9's traditional-spoke hubs intrigue me, but not enough to ditch the Hadleys for. I'd love to check them out.

Those Profiles really have my attention.

[snowskilz]

I've been running hope hubs for 5 years now. I tried Ringle and Dt swiss and found no difference. the hope 150's build up a sturdy wheel, i had one last 3 seasons.

[Zark]

HADLEY - but keep in mind I sport an erection for Hadley hubs. 72pt engagement option and awesome construction/quality keeps me coming back to them, and is plenty of engagement for DH. Minimal weight penalty. If that really matters to you at the wheel hub, move along.

Hope's and DT's can be unreliable with less engagement, but they're light. Hope's are the cheapest of the bunch price-wise. Loud too if that's your thing. My 108pt Hadley sounds cooler though heh heh...

King engagement is awesome, but from what I've seen they can be finicky to keep tension on, and bearings are "hella" expensive.

The I9's traditional-spoke hubs intrigue me, but not enough to ditch the Hadleys for. I'd love to check them out.

Those Profiles really have my attention.

Hadley....you nailed it.

I have a set of I-9's for AM use, and I love them. The quick engagement and stiffness are aweome. The I9's worry me for DH though. Alloy can work for a spoke, but too much sh*t can happen in real DH to destroy a wheel.

[norbar]

They're all damn good. I would stay way from 150mm Hopes as the flange idea is pretty stupid imho...

So as long as they work they are still stupid because of their flange idea? I'm quite sure I don't ride mine on paper. They hold up great even with DT revolution spokes though I'm light so it may be thanks to that.

[toodles]

My Hadleys have been nothing but trouble. Going back to something more reliable and 1/3rd of the price - Hope Pro 2s.

*cue fanboy bashing*

[Dox]

+1 on Hope. Run my pro 2 all summer in 150X12 and they held up great with DT Revolution too. The engagement is not the best (24 pt.) but for the weight and price i think that they are tough to beat.

[jonKranked]

My Hadleys have been nothing but trouble. Going back to something more reliable and 1/3rd of the price - Hope Pro 2s.

*cue fanboy bashing*

Not gonna bash you, but I am going to mention one thing. Every single Hadley I have PERSONALLY seen with problems was a result of lack of regular maintenance. Hadley's need fairly regular service, not unlike a fork or a shock (but not as frequent, I clean and lube my Hadleys 2 or 3 times a year depending on how much I am riding, more if something goes wrong - I needed some extra maintenance on my rear DH hub this season... after 5 years of use the pawls needed to be replaced). FWIW I have 3.5 sets of Hadleys - the oldest is now 8 years, and they are all still going strong with no major issues (pawl replacement was the most major thing I've done, and I have 2 of the older 108pt freehubs).


That being said, I don't really think the OP could go wrong with any of those choices - they are all great hubs.

[monkeyfcuker]

Ah man are we doing this again?!

[rigidhack]

Perhaps it should just be a sticky?

I just did a ton of research and ended up narrowing it down to the usual suspects: Hope Pro 2, Hadley, I9. I decided to not consider CK because of the issues with the 150mm hub.

Hope - highly regarded, light, inexpensive. Only 24 pt engagement, but it is solid engagement. Possible issues with cassettes scoring the aluminum freehub shell. 135 and 150 hubs have identical flange spacing, which could make for a slightly weaker wheel than with the wider flanges of other 150 hubs. Loud. No, wait, LOUD.

I9 - super high number of engagement points. Expensive.

Hadley - superb customer service. Excellent engagement. Easy to service. A bit heavier, a bit more expensive than Hopes. Easy to service. Lots of anecdotal evidence of these things lasting 7-10 years.

In the end, I am going with Hadley.