Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Please rate cheap track hubs

please rate the fallowing cheap rear track hubs. Cheap to me is less then hundred dollars.
Surly
formula
suzue
atom.
i really want to build my own wheel. is it worth it to keep waiting for a cheaper dura ace or phil to come up on ebay? i have been looking for over a month. I think i am going to resort to buying a new cheaper hub. I am starting to think it might even be better to to just find a nicer, used , pre built wheel. Your thoughts...

ps none of my bike shops in santa barbara stock track hubs or wheels. If you know of any that do in s f please list. Thank you very much.

Formulas are fine hubs. Don't bother to wait for ebay, it's not worth it.

I use IRO hubs, which as I understand it are Formula hubs. Cheap or not, they are great hubs. So far, after a year of usage, I can't see any reason to hop up to a "better" hub for my use.

surly hubs count as cheap?

just go with formulas.

Does anyone use this hub? I think I might have it on my fixed gear, but I can't find a name anywhere on it.

http://mikesbikes.com/page.cfm?PageID=129&action=details&sku=HU1045

Those are more commonly known around here as Nashbar track hubs, and I hear good things about them.

they're not bad for the price. i'm thinking about lacing some up to some old rims in my garage and keeping them around for some beater wheels.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/fixed-hubs.html

Does anyone use this hub? I think I might have it on my fixed gear, but I can't find a name anywhere on it.

http://mikesbikes.com/page.cfm?PageID=129&action=details&sku=HU1045

It's a Dimension hub, no? I just bought one to build up a wheel myself, actually. I hope it's decent because it sure was cheap!

I don't know anything about the atom hub, so I'll ignore that. Otherwise, stay away from the suzue basic hubs. They aren't sealed bearings, which means they will get dirty and wear out faster on the street. I know there are a lot of people here who use them, and they have held up fine, but for the extra $10, you might as well get the sealed hubs. The formula hubs are probably the best for the money. They are the same as the IRO, Harris, and probably a few other hubs. All made by formula, but re-branded. They would be my first choice. The dimension/nashbar hubs are a small step below the formulas. I don't know a lot about the surly hubs other than that they are pretty good, but for the price, formulas are probably better.

My Surlys were fairly bombproof, although the bearing seemed to need regular attention, which was kind of a buzzkill.

IRO 4evr

I've got a set of IROs that are still going strong after a year or so. I built 'em up with Mavic Open Pros to resurrect my beater (Yeah, open pros on a "beater" are probably overkill, but if I ever get the urge to try out an honest track frame I've got a decent set of wheels ready to go.) after upgrading to a better fitting IRO frame for commuting and longer rides.

Granted, they're on a bike that I use just for short jaunts around town, and probably have less than 1k mi. on them, but I haven't had any problems yet.

goddam i never post nothin' , then i'm drunk replying to ****ing every post. whatevs. formula hubs are toatlly great hubs. they work FINE!!! not rare, don't havta worry bout em, work fine. knowhatamean? get them, i would ride them again with no problem.

I just got a wheelset off ebay with sealed cart formulas laced to weinmann dp 18s for my beater for around 140 I think the seller is bicycle wheel guy or something like that I will report back in a month and see how they hold up

when I get them I of course will tension and true them as I wold any machine built wheel but for the price hey can't go wrong

I've built two wheelsets with Surly Hubs...they are good hubs. No complaints. The bearings have held up fine for me. Thats about all you can ask for in a hub...

my bike came stock with black Formulas and they spin like butta

I have formulas. No complaints as of yet.

while we are on the subject... anyone know an OBS where i can get replacement locknuts for IRO hubs? I'm sure tony would send me out a new set free of charge, but i want to get something tougher. thanks

everyone says good things about formula/IRO's, i have no reason to say otherwise. i've run surly's before and can say they are pretty nice too... IMO surly's look a little "beefier" whereas the IRO's look more sleek with the in the center. other than that i wouldn't care which i had.

I just got a wheelset off ebay with sealed cart formulas laced to weinmann dp 18s for my beater for around 140 I think the seller is bicycle wheel guy or something like that I will report back in a month and see how they hold up

when I get them I of course will tension and true them as I wold any machine built wheel but for the price hey can't go wrong

I have that same wheelset, and they've held up great to everything but being run over by a Ford Taurus.

if you go low end, get sealed (iro/formula/velocity, dimension/soma/milwaukee/nashbar, or surly) rather than loose (quando, suzue jr, etc)

I'm pretty sure Surly are loose bearings. I've been happy with mine, but it seems like everyone runs formulas and I sometimes regret shelling out for the Surlys. And I'd rather have loose bearings, unless you're planning on just buying a new hub when you trash it.

Hey yo what happened to Bikophile? Thier website is closed now. They had a design for a hub w/a bolt-on cog instead of a screw-on so it can't strip and no lockring is required. How come nobody is making cassette-type single-cog hubs (except for BMX)? How about a flip-flop fix/free cassette hub w/a cassette freehub and a machined fixed splined hub body?

there's a ton of stuff "they" could be making... multi-speed planetary geared fixed hubs. inexpensive bolt on cog hubs. tons more handlebar options. a single chainring crank that doesn't cost $175+ and isn't ugly... yadda yadda yadda

I'm pretty sure Surly are loose bearings. I've been happy with mine, but it seems like everyone runs formulas and I sometimes regret shelling out for the Surlys. And I'd rather have loose bearings, unless you're planning on just buying a new hub when you trash it.
Surlys are sealed. And you can always just replace the cartridge bearings.

how about the nash bar hubs?

I'm pretty sure Surly are loose bearings.


Your way off. I have 2 pairs of Surly's and I can assure you that they are sealed.

IMO, all sealed bearing hubs (IRO,surly,miche,formula,nashbar,etc.) are essentially the same, with minor variation- flange size/appearance, color, etc.

Nashbar's the same as Dimensions. I picked up a few sets when ever they get deep discounted at Nashbar. You can catch them there for $25 or so for the rears, and less than $20 for the fronts. Mix that up with their coupon codes, and you've got yourself a few sets of hubs. I haven't built mine up yet, so I can't comment on their roadworthiness, but you will want to change the lockrings.

Until these
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=257227
are out of stock, I see no purpose in talking about any other inexpensive hubs. Smoother than Phils, in my expeience too.

Stay away from Quando hubs, for whatever that's worth.

Nashbar's rear hubs are 32H and double fixed (they don't seem to be up on the site right now). I've been running mine for almost 4000km, stock lockrings, without any issues. 36H would be nice though, I've wrecked a couple of (well built) rims in that time.

I've got something like 6000km of agressive street riding/commuting on my Nashbar (dimension?) hubs, and the cartridge bearings are still glass smooth

Oh yeah.. and stock lockrings too..

I've got something like 6000km of agressive street riding/commuting on my Nashbar (dimension?) hubs, and the cartridge bearings are still glass smooth

Oh yeah.. and stock lockrings too..

Whoop de doo...

$133 formula/cxp22 wheelset:

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/product_info.asp?f_c=Wheel&f_c2=Track&cp=1&p=01%2D99W1114

That's about the price of a pair of IRO hubs from my LBS.

Does anyone know who makes Bianchi's Pista hubs?

I rode mine for a year, hard, before I upgraded to my Cane Creek Volos Track wheelset.

Anyway, my Bianchi hubs served me well.
I changed cogs frequently, experimenting with different cog and chainwheel combinations.
And, I weigh 235 all up.
No problems.

I can't imagine Bianchi actually makes these hubs themselves, nor that Bianchi paid one cent more than they absolutely had to spend.
Same-same Nashbar?

Does anyone know who makes Bianchi's Pista hubs?

I can't imagine Bianchi actually makes these hubs themselves, nor that Bianchi paid one cent more than they absolutely had to spend.
Same-same Nashbar?
For some reason I was under the impression that they were loose-ball hubs for a long time. Just the fact that they are cartridge bearing has elevated the Pista to new heights in my eyes. I'd have to bet that they are Dimension/Nashbars.

Until these
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=257227
are out of stock, I see no purpose in talking about any other inexpensive hubs. Smoother than Phils, in my expeience too.

If those came fixed/fixed I'd be all over them.

If those came fixed/fixed I'd be all over them.
They do. bikepartsusa for some reason don't stock the fix/fix rear or the lowflange rear for some reason.

while we are on the subject... anyone know an OBS where i can get replacement locknuts for IRO hubs? I'm sure tony would send me out a new set free of charge, but i want to get something tougher. thanks

No, he won't. They're six dollars. Don't.