# Beware of Hope Pro 2 Hubs fellow Clydesdales



## DmacBmac (Sep 28, 2006)

I cracked the housing on my Hope Pro 2 rear hub. Sent them a picture of the failure and they offered up nothing in regards for a replacement. I understand it was out of warranty, but wouldn't you at least offer a replacement at a good price? Moving on to Onyx!


----------



## Vespasianus (Apr 9, 2008)

I have been running Hope hubs for years and never had a problem. I can honestly say, I have never seen anything like that!


----------



## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

Vespasianus said:


> I have been running Hope hubs for years and never had a problem. I can honestly say, I have never seen anything like that!


It's not like it happens every day, but I've seen a few dozen of these in the past ~decade.


----------



## the mayor (Nov 18, 2004)

They haven't made Pro 2s in, what?... 4 or 5 years?
Bummer....but it happens...especially to big guys.
I've seen just about every manufacturers hub fail in some way.
I'm 170 lbs...and have broken a few big name hubs.


----------



## DmacBmac (Sep 28, 2006)

Thanks for the feed back guys!


----------



## MartinS (Jan 31, 2004)

I had a Hope 2 for 3 months when they first came out after having success with a Bulb for a while. Bearings collapsed in a few weeks, free hub body #1 cracked week 5, 2nd free hub body cracked week 8, hub shell cracked week 12. On the plus side everything was warrantied very quickly. 
Mentioned it on mtbr and got roasted by Hope fanboys. BTW, I'm a marginal clyde at 205lbs at the time.
Within a year most of my buddies that were running Hope's all had issues.


----------



## Nubster (May 15, 2009)

Must be a Hope Pro 2 thing. I have hundreds of miles on a Pro 2 EVO and thousands on a Pro 4 and hundreds on another Pro 4. Zero issues and I'm a super clyde and the Pro 2 EVO and one of the Pro 4 are on single speed bikes. The bearings are even still good on all three. Sorry about your bad luck.


----------



## Biohazard74 (Jul 16, 2009)

I'm using the hope pro 4 straight pull 
and I crank hard at 230 geared up. No issues after 500 miles.


----------



## mport78 (Feb 22, 2013)

Happened to me too. They did replace mine for me but after breaking the hub shell and going threw more freehubs than I can remember I went to dt350 and had zero problems with them.


----------



## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

There have been 2 replacement models since that hub. 

At some point the warranty expires, and you kind of just have to take ownership of your item. Kind of hard to knock the company when you're so many years past the warranty expiring. 

I have a pro 4 and honestly I dont love the hub. The stock bearings went gritty in 3 months and all in all, its just not a great hub... but I think its asking a bit much to expect anything from hope for such an old hub, especially for a drive side spoke-hole crack. Thats the highest stressed point of the hub.


----------



## Tony (Jan 20, 2004)

From the department of "old guy butting in without being asked" ... My 30 year Personal Hub History:

Suntour:
* Freehubs Broken: 2 in the early '90s, moved to Shimano

DT Swiss Onyx:
* Historically terrible hub, broke freehub on first outing, rebuilt with Shimano "silent" LX

Shimano:
* Freehubs Broken: Too many to count in the 90s, but recent hubs are pretty stout
* LX Silent roller clutch: never broke but slipped so badly it was really annoying

Kore Hub:
* Broken freehub and hub outer race, destroying hub

Hope Pro 2:
* Broke 2 aluminum freehubs
* Broke 1 steel freehub
* Broke 1 hubshell

Chris King (I've owned 4 sets of Chris King hubs):
* Water in ring drive froze up, would not engage
* Broken first generation ISO hub axle
* Destroyed aluminum freehub on ISO hub, replaced with stainless steel
* Nearly spun cassette cogs on R45 hub, replaced with carrier cassette, no SS option for R45

Novatec on TRS e13:
* Broke freehub <100 miles from new, replaced with "HD" version, was ok for 150 more miles until replaced with DT-Swiss 240

DT Swiss 240S (I've owned 3 sets of these)
* twice chipped teeth on 36 point ratchets, would not engage, replaced with 18 point and have had no more trouble

Hubs with zero problems:
* None, all hubs have issues at some point with some riders

Favorite Hubs:
* DT-Swiss 240S since they are light, rebuildable, quiet, and much cheaper to change to new standards than Chris King.
* 2nd favorite: Chris King since they are rebuildable and durable if you take care of them, but more work to keep running than 240s


----------



## Alias530 (Apr 1, 2013)

I wouldn't ride Hope if they were free. I've seen too many posts of clydes breaking them. I'm sure they're fine for smaller riders but they seem to prioritize looks over durability. DT for me. I have ~20k miles across a few sets and no issues whatsoever.


----------



## OCVeloMan (Aug 19, 2009)

What's the verdict on the Pro-4? I had a set of Pro-4 laced to Stands Flow MK3 with DT DB spokes in 32H and have been crushing them on my 2019 Stumpjumper in all styles of enduro riding (rock gardens, drops, jumps, etc.) without issue but it's only been a few hundred miles.

Just got a new Levo for the local goat-trails I ride and opted for the Hunt Enduro Wides on that one for the 32/36 and 33 Rim width and was lamenting not grabbing another set of Hopes until i stumbled on this thread.


----------



## OCVeloMan (Aug 19, 2009)

Alias530 said:


> I wouldn't ride Hope if they were free. I've seen too many posts of clydes breaking them. I'm sure they're fine for smaller riders but they seem to prioritize looks over durability. DT for me. I have ~20k miles across a few sets and no issues whatsoever.


Cracked the spoke flange on a set of 240s (rear 32H) on my road bike and swore off the DT for good that day. I won't consider any product made by them after spending that amount on a wheel build to be turned down on warranty over an obvious defect in materials.


----------



## Nevada 29er (Nov 12, 2007)

I cracked a Hope Pro 2 rear years ago. Hope did replace the shell, but the actual value is very low since you need to rebuild both the hub and wheel. 

Onyx FTW


----------



## yzedf (Apr 22, 2014)

OCVeloMan said:


> What's the verdict on the Pro-4? I had a set of Pro-4 laced to Stands Flow MK3 with DT DB spokes in 32H and have been crushing them on my 2019 Stumpjumper in all styles of enduro riding (rock gardens, drops, jumps, etc.) without issue but it's only been a few hundred miles.
> 
> Just got a new Levo for the local goat-trails I ride and opted for the Hunt Enduro Wides on that one for the 32/36 and 33 Rim width and was lamenting not grabbing another set of Hopes until i stumbled on this thread.


Not that great. I'm 200 pounds and the pro4 rear on my singlespeed has been problematic since day 2. The pro4 rear on my downhill bike has been perfect since day 1.

I tend to break the cheaper Novatech stuff, sometimes in one ride (2 demo bikes).

My dt Swiss 240 I destroyed the drive side bearings and my local shop broke their tool trying to get it apart! Definitely not as user serviceable as the Hope hubs.


----------



## Knight511 (Nov 26, 2010)

YMMV is appropriate in this thread. 

I have been punishing 2 sets of Hope pro4s (1 for 4-5 years and the other for about a year now) on 2 of my bikes (Hightower has my old Camber's 29er wheels and my Monkey has a set of 27.5+). 100% flawless.

I have a set of Novotac D541SB/D542SB that I ran on my Monkey for 2 years before that (and still have to use as my 29er or gravel wheels) which were flawless.

My Domane (road) has a set of King Classic hubs on it that I have had to take apart and service more than any other, but they aren't broken and have been flawless. 

There are FAR too many variables with a hub failure to just blame the ENTIRE company of any hub. All hubs can and will break.  Hubs have been great, but I have sheered many spoke nipples, spokes, and have even folded the teeth of a cassette over on itself... but the hubs on all of those didn't blink.


----------



## chasejj (Sep 22, 2008)

Been through all of it. 
Chris King is all you need to know. Spend the money and be done with failures.


----------



## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

King isnt immune either. They're fantastic hubs that rarely fail, but everything can fail. All brands are using aluminum flanges which are pretty thin, and pretty heavily loaded, especially by big guys.


----------



## chasejj (Sep 22, 2008)

One Pivot said:


> King isnt immune either. They're fantastic hubs that rarely fail, but everything can fail. All brands are using aluminum flanges which are pretty thin, and pretty heavily loaded, especially by big guys.


I suppose anything is possible. But I used to destroy free hubs that cracked hub flanges from drive torque. Admitting that was long ago. Since I went to CK I have never had a failure or even required actual maintenance! 
CK drive is pretty unique and once greased is virtually silent.


----------



## matt4x4 (Dec 21, 2013)

You get stuck somewhere or you find it in time or what?


----------



## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

I've had the Pro 2 both front and rear on one bike for about 10 years, put it through plenty of abuse with my 250 pounds and aggressive riding. I broke the rear axle a few years ago which was luckily easy to replace. Luckily never broke a body like that.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk


----------



## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

chasejj said:


> I suppose anything is possible. But I used to destroy free hubs that cracked hub flanges from drive torque. Admitting that was long ago. Since I went to CK I have never had a failure or even required actual maintenance!
> CK drive is pretty unique and once greased is virtually silent.


I hear you, they're definitely good hubs. It just happens, seemingly randomly for some people.

But us bigger riders, or harder riders, or sometimes both, really should just keep an extra eye on all their gear. Checking and maintaining a hub a few times a year can save it long-term or help catch a potential major fail before it strands you.

I dont think I've let a hub go more than a year without a complete service. Its just pennies in grease and lube, and I enjoy playing with bikes in the garage anyway. Usually flange failures as seen in this thread happen over months and can often be caught in the garage.


----------



## jonshonda (Apr 21, 2011)

One Pivot said:


> King isnt immune either. They're fantastic hubs that rarely fail, but everything can fail. All brands are using aluminum flanges which are pretty thin, and pretty heavily loaded, especially by big guys.


Is that the front hub from a rim brake road bike? Props to you for finding one of the FEW pics on the entire interwebs of a broken CK hub. Not that I care too much, but I'm gonna just throw a guess on that out of tolerance spoke tension had a lot to do with that breakage.

Anywho, back on topic. I am not a fan of hope hubs, broke the ones I rode and despised the ones by buddies road cuz they were so damn loud. Something about cheap China bearings just doesn't sit or play well with me. I am a huge fan of Chris King, and for good reason. Their hubs are top quality, made in american, and have a fantastic reputation for reliability. Onyx is another solid choice, and really cool guys to do business with as well.


----------

