# What lightweight hubs to get? Pros and cons...



## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

I'm building disc wheels for my wife. I'd like to get light hubs for her. She's not hard on components, and is not likely to be riding in the rain, through mud bogs etc., although she is more than capable of riding technical singletrack. No hucking or jumps.

What hubs would you recommend? I prefer hubs for j-bend spokes, as I will build the wheel myself and I prefer building with bent spokes. Preferably ISO-disc, which (correct me if I am wrong) will be lighter than centerlock.

I've used m750 XT, m900 and m960 XTR at various points on my bikes simply because they are durable and user-rebuildable. I've used a Chris King classic hub for my wife's hardtail, but their disc hubs seem very heavy. I've ordered Tune King and Kong for one of my daughters' bike (see here and here) but have not had first hand experience on how they hold up. I run a hope singlespeed hub with 6 cogs from a 9 speed cassette on my wife's Durance, but will be running a 1x10 here.

I'm looking for something light, which needn't be bomb proof. Price is always a factor, although I wouldn't mind spending a little more for quality components. Good weather sealing would be a bonus, for the conditions here in the tropics.

As no thread should rightfully be without a photo, here is one, completely unrelated to the subject at hand:


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## burndtjamb (Oct 14, 2004)

I'm a fan of DT Swiss hubs - the 350 is a good value and the 240 is even lighter but pricey. Both are driven by the proven Star Ratchet design which is easy to maintain and replace if needed without the use of tools. Engagement isn't as fast as others but you can upgrade the stock 18T ratchets to 36T. I don't really ride too often in the elements but they should hold up fine with everyday use. 

I believe centerlock hubs have a slight edge on weight compared to their ISO 6 bolt counterparts, or at least the DT Swiss ones do. I prefer centerlock anyway for their ease of mounting, cleaner look, and ability to run Shimano RT99 Freeza rotors.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

I had never thought about centrelock vs ISO, so that's a fair point - the hub might be lighter. However the rotors are heavier (and perhaps less choice) so that may be a wash.


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## scant (Jan 5, 2004)

I'm going through the same hub decision process as well. I've been using an Absolute Black front hub since august & so far, so good. Its a little lighter than a Dt240 & a similiar price. Purely as they've been utterly reliable, I'm tempted to go DT240S rear & AB front again.


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

Thanks for the suggestions. I see that the AB is only available in QR15 or 142mm axles.

Should I go for a QR15 fork? I'm sure that 9mm QRs are more than adequate (perhaps even lighter?), but I am concerned about being pushed into a corner of obsolescence.


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## burndtjamb (Oct 14, 2004)

joeadnan said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. I see that the AB is only available in QR15 or 142mm axles.
> 
> Should I go for a QR15 fork? I'm sure that 9mm QRs are more than adequate (perhaps even lighter?), but I am concerned about being pushed into a corner of obsolescence.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Depending on what type of bike you're building, your fork/hub options are going to be really limited with 9mm QR. I would go with 15x100 thru axle, unless you're betting on the future and want to make the move to 15x110.


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## lRaphl (May 26, 2007)

I've been running in circle for this same question for the past month...so far Tune King/Kong seems to be the best bang for buck in term of lightness.


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## CuddlyToast (Oct 30, 2013)

American Classic makes some light hubs too. My personal go to for any trail bike has been an American Classic front, i9 rear.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

joeadnan said:


> Thanks for the suggestions. I see that the AB is only available in QR15 or 142mm axles.
> 
> Should I go for a QR15 fork? I'm sure that 9mm QRs are more than adequate (perhaps even lighter?), but I am concerned about being pushed into a corner of obsolescence.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Further to burndtjamb, there are many 15mm options out there, and they can get plenty light anyway. Given your expenditures on the kid's bike (that's a great thread BTW), I don't think you'll balk at the price:
http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weeni...rks-stumpjumper-ht-935429-2.html#post11529853


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

Anyone have any thoughts about using a Chris King R45 disc hub with a 135mm axle on a mountain bike?


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## (807) Recordings (Sep 19, 2009)

joeadnan said:


> Anyone have any thoughts about using a Chris King R45 disc hub with a 135mm axle on a mountain bike?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I was thinking similar for my wife bad boy. Love my king ISO though on mine. Lots of bad stories on the Tune rear hubs from riders over here. Rim is the more important part to loose the weight if possible


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## xcbarny (Jun 10, 2009)

Would be good if King could make a 142 thru axle conversion for the R45 rear.

Based on how strong the ISO hubs are, I'm sure an R45 hub would be strong enough for XC.


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

(807) Recordings said:


> Lots of bad stories on the Tune rear hubs from riders over here. Rim is the more important part to loose the weight if possible


I've seen those stories, and as far as I was able to ascertain:

1. They relate to pre-2010 hubs. I've not seen any recent hub failures. I am sure that if the hubs continued to break, we would be hearing about them here.

2. The failures related to the rear hub, specifically to the freehub body.

On the other hand, there have been reports from users like Acko and Tig who have been happy with their newer Kong/Prince hubs.

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## (807) Recordings (Sep 19, 2009)

According to someone I know and respect the free hub on the 2010 is not so much the issue anymore but more the carbon axle ones. I have a few Tune parts and they are good quality especially the stem out of 7075 alloy. Wanted to try the hubs also but am in no mood to test so I suspect Kings again for myself. But you never know.


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## lRaphl (May 26, 2007)

Anyone ever tried the ASCE hubs?

ACSE : hubs and wheels made in France - MTB hubs and components - AcSe parts


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## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

Made in France??? I'll pass


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

BENKD29 said:


> Made in France??? I'll pass


You mean like Mavic?


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## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

phlegm said:


> You mean like Mavic?


yup, won't buy anything made by them either. I try to buy American made products whenever possible! if it's not an option i look for Canadian, English made products (really any country that's not an A-hole). still not an option? Asian, last resort, but I will NEVER send my money to France.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

Why wouldn't you buy something made in France?

Is there something they've done to personally offend you?


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## (807) Recordings (Sep 19, 2009)

Le Duke said:


> Why wouldn't you buy something made in France?
> 
> Is there something they've done to personally offend you?


Good food and good life I guess


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## _Neo (Sep 19, 2014)

There's a lot of good info in this thread:
http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weenies/lightweight-hubs-wont-break-bank-929694.html
I got the BHS MTB 270 rear and 180 front. I really like them. They are tough to beat for the price. I love the 54 points of engagement on the MTB 270.
Take the money you save on the hubs and get some nice, light rims!


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## Andy13 (Nov 21, 2006)

Cuddlytoast - That is what I went with for high engagement in the rear and lightweight up front. The A/C front hubs are great. My I9 is finally great after they got their spacers/bearings figured out. I would also consider the BHS hubs but their fronts are a little heavy. My next set of wheels may be the BHS rear and an A/C front for less $$ and similar weight. Not 120 POE but better than most (54?). Nothing wrong w/ A/C rear hubs except low POE.


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

Here is a summary of some of the hubs that have been mentioned, in a single convenient location, for ease of future reference:

Prices are approx.

*Rear Hubs*
1. Tune Kong, 213g, USD440
_Previous problems with freehub, now appears to have been fixed._

2. American Classic Disc 225, 225g, USD223
_Good price, light weight. Not sure how narrow flanges are better, except that spoke tensions are more even, making it easier to build a well-tensioned hub._

DT Swiss 240s, 233g, USD430
_Great reliability. Not available in purty colours._

3. AB Black Diamond, 263g, USD386
_Looks bomb proof, but not available in 9mm QR_

4. Chris King R45 ISO Disc, 276g, USD399

5. BHS MTB270, 278g, USD109


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

There is no such thing as a 135x9mm rear MTB hub...

And, AB makes 5mm end caps for their rear hubs. So you can run them 135x5.


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## 06HokieMTB (Apr 25, 2011)

_Neo said:


> There's a lot of good info in this thread:
> http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weenies/lightweight-hubs-wont-break-bank-929694.html
> I got the BHS MTB 270 rear and 180 front. I really like them. They are tough to beat for the price. I love the 54 points of engagement on the MTB 270.
> Take the money you save on the hubs and get some nice, light rims!


x2

I've owned/ridden 3 BHS MTB270's, 1 MTB180. My Bronson and Mason both have MTB270's rear. My wife's bike has the AC 225. It's a nice hub, but the engagement is lacking.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

joeadnan said:


> Here is a summary of some of the hubs that have been mentioned, in a single convenient location, for ease of future reference:
> 
> Prices are approx.
> 
> ...


If you shop around on eBay, you can find complete wheel sets with DT 240s for under $400. Less than the MSRP of the rear hub alone. Not to mention, I see rear DT 240s go for under $250 all the time.


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## lRaphl (May 26, 2007)

I was looking around last night for other alternatives and found out the Syntace hitorque MX hubset. Front 15x100 is 99g and Rear 12x142 is 225g (saw a picture somewhere with a real weight of 218g).

A bit cheaper than the Prince/Princess combo and with a 36T star ratchet (340EUR rear / 172EUR front). Only thing is that I'm still unable to find the hubs dimensions to compare it with other hubs (flanges height, distance between flanges, etc).

I don't know if anyone ever tried them?


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

Le Duke said:


> There is no such thing as a 135x9mm rear MTB hub...


You are right of course, although I suspect you (and anybody else reading this thread) understood what I meant.



> And, AB makes 5mm end caps for their rear hubs. So you can run them 135x5.


Thanks. Now I understand what they meant by 135x5. I saw the video, and was very impressed by the simplicity of the design, with just a single moving part. I can't help but wonder if a weight weenie version of the hub would sell well.

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## tatankainlondon (Apr 4, 2004)

Tune Prince + Tune Princess


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