Mountain Biking - Hubs with quick engagement?

I'm looking to rebuild my rear wheel with a new hub and would like to find something that takes less movement through a pedal stroke to engage. Right now I have a good 10-20+ degrees of slack to take up, haven't really measured it. I am looking to keep it as far under $200 as possible, but will go up to that point if need be. I found a good past thread about engagement points and got a couple starting points. Hope seems to be my first choice, I saw some Hadelys, I9, and DT Swiss, but have not had a chance to price any. Can anybody recommend any other brands, or specific hubs that have a decently quick engagement?

I9 (120pts), Chris King (72pts).. Hope is only 24pts.. Dt swiss is still 18 points I think..

stealth, instant engagement

oh, oops, didn't see the 200 limit. you know you can get the i9 in regular spokes but it will still be more than 200

I kind of figured i9 would be out of my price range. DT and Hope are probably my best bets I would guess. Taking a quick look on qbike.com shows some Hope and DT in my price range. Are there any other stand outs? I think 24 or 18 p.o.e. will still give me a markedly quicker engagement over the stock hub I have now. And I guess buying a complete wheel with dt or hope would be cheaper in the long run. Another question, does one usually save money by buying hub, spokes, and rim and building the wheel, or buying a complete wheel with the same parts? I can build it, but will it be cheaper?

I think 24 or 18 p.o.e. will still give me a markedly quicker engagement over the stock hub I have now.

I don't know of any hubs with less than 18 points.. shimano is 18.. and 24 is not "markedly quicker" than 18.

I kind of figured i9 would be out of my price range. DT and Hope are probably my best bets I would guess. Taking a quick look on qbike.com shows some Hope and DT in my price range. Are there any other stand outs? I think 24 or 18 p.o.e. will still give me a markedly quicker engagement over the stock hub I have now. And I guess buying a complete wheel with dt or hope would be cheaper in the long run. Another question, does one usually save money by buying hub, spokes, and rim and building the wheel, or buying a complete wheel with the same parts? I can build it, but will it be cheaper?

like mcoine said, you will probably end up with the same engagement you already have. i think that is what he was saying.

it will most likely NOT be cheaper to build your own wheel

mx

Okay, thanks everybody. So the hope would have the same amount of play as the noname stock hubs I have now? Interesting. What makes them so much more expensive then? What does the extra investment return?

Okay, thanks everybody. So the hope would have the same amount of play as the noname stock hubs I have now? Interesting. What makes them so much more expensive then? What does the extra investment return?

Your hub most likely has 18, since it is probably a shimano freehub.. so 24 > 18.

They are more expensive because they offer sealed bearings, weight savings, a few more engagement points, and a variety of colors.

Your hub most likely has 18, since it is probably a shimano freehub.. so 24 > 18.

They are more expensive because they offer sealed bearings, weight savings, a few more engagement points, and a variety of colors.

New colors? I'm sold. How much faith would you place in a used chris king/I9/Hadely? If the price were right would it be worth it? I want to say it's probably along the lines of used forks; it all depends on the rider and amount of abuse. Are they generally easy to rebuild, or would a wiser use of fundage be to get a new Hope II or DT swiss onix etc?

How much faith would you place in a used chris king/I9/Hadely?

I wouldn't mind buying these hubs used, assuming I can see what condition they are in. I would though, chosse Hadley over King though.

I9 rules at 120
CK and Hadley tied for second with 72.
Ringle Abbah has 36, jenson's got 'em for $150.

Great, thanks for all the information. I think any of these will be a huge improvement over the hub I have now. I've maintained it, but it's just getting sloppy and showing too much wear to be worth fussing over, anymore. I haven't really seen any used hubs on ebay, so we'll see what I can find.