Originally Posted by
cp43
I have 2 sets of the Hope Pro2 hubs. One on my MTB and one on my winter commuter. They are great on my MTB, but I don't think I'd put them on a touring bike.
I have a set as well, on my cyclocross commuter. They are very nice for the cost, but definitely not as nicely built as the Kings. I've known more people who had issues with them than Kings, as well (mainly cracked shells and freehubs assemblies). Hope has great service and took care of everyone affected, but obviously thats an issue on a tour.
They are also a horrible choice if you care about noise; they are
extremely loud. They basically sound like a Shimano with a bullhorn held up to the freehub.
Originally Posted by
Peterpan1
My number one choice are the Phil, they are serviceable, they make actual touring hubs, they didn't start with MTBs in mind. They have cool features like all the spokes on your wheel can be same length for front and back.
For what its worth, I built all 3 of my King wheelsets and was able to use the same length spoke for both sides, front and back. The length only varied a millimeter or two. I just bought a complete box of the average size and built them up.
Originally Posted by
Peterpan1
Sheldon says that one should avoid all these billet hubs, that the grain alignment in barstock makes for a greater likelihood of torn out spokes... Then he says Phil's are probably the best hub. Bit of a head scratcher. Still, it may be true that the Shimano are really the best because of cold forging, and other stuff only a big company can pull off.
I'm pretty sure that most high-end machined hubs are heat treated after machining, which solves the grain problem. I've put my Kings through some serious stress (I have a set on my downhill race bike, which routinely hits 10+ foot drops and charges through incredibly steep rock gardens at high speed) without an issue. Over time, I've trashed rims much stronger than your typical touring rim without damaging the hub whatsoever (Mavic 729 or 823).
I'll also add that I have two sets of Phil SS hubs (on my mtb singlespeed and commuter fixie) and they are also a
very high quality hub.