Bicycle Mechanics - Are Sovos hubs dangerous?

The front hub on my 84 Trek is Sovos and I found this when looking them up.

Do I need to start looking for a replacement wheel or hub ASAP?


Sovos hubs suck, from my experience. Never had them on a fixie, but I did have them on entry-level Treks and Cannondales I used to have. The bearing races lasted less than one season after light to normal use. The problem is the softness of the metal they use which causes pitting. These hubs are no good.


They may cause you a whole lot of HARM in the process of breaking. (and you should take that to mean anything you want it to, b/c I think all senses of the word apply.) I know of someone who had one who had some serious issues with Sovos (and be aware that's all I know...I don't know what his issues WERE but I know they caused him HARM, and as a result he bought a nicer SURLY hub...)

If you are a real worrier, Take it to a Professional Bike Shop for visual inspection.

that cannot be done here.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Sovos hubs and the second posting you quoted seems a lot more hysterical than factual.

But if yours is original to the bike and hasn't been maintained properly, I'd have it inspected and overhauled if it need it. As fietsbob noted, it can't be done here.

If your bikes bearings are properly adjusted and tightened and the wheel spins freely there's no great chance of the wheel magically locking up. Poor bearings may wear faster than better quality bearings, but wear makes them looser not tighter.

If your hubs seem OK, they are. If they're sloppy, noisy, make grinding sounds, or don't spin freely have them checked

BTW- Sovos hubs have been used as original spec. on hundreds of thousands of bicycles, where the rules for tracking and reporting failures leading to injury are much stricter than the aftermarket. If there were any issues, we'd know about it by now.

Okay cool. Yeah, theyre not behaving in any way that indicates any type of damage. So I will just keep it in mind that they are known to wear out faster. Thanks.

It seems like the Matrix Strada & Mallard wheel in the back is original, and the Sun Rims M14A & Sovos in the front is a replacement.

Okay cool. Yeah, theyre not behaving in any way that indicates any type of damage. So I will just keep it in mind that they are known to wear out faster. Thanks.

Not to nitpick, but known to whom, and faster than what?

In all fairness, "rumored to wear faster" might be more appropriate. I'd be surprised to find that they wore any faster than hubs comparable in cost or overall quality.

Not to nitpick, but known to whom, and faster than what?

In all fairness, "rumored to wear faster" might be more appropriate. I'd be surprised to find that they wore any faster than hubs comparable in cost or overall quality.

Yeah. I was only worried to the extent that I didnt know if this was a type of hubs that was commonly known to fail often.

You have 27 year old bike with OE hubs, that have no indication being a problem and your worried that it has may be rumored to fail frequently.

I think that your experience has shown that this is a quite durable hub.

You have 27 year old bike with OE hubs, that have no indication being a problem and your worried that it has may be rumored to fail frequently.

I think that your experience has shown that this is a quite durable hub.

Well I got the bike for free from a friend just three months ago. I have only ridden it four times so far.

Well I got the bike for free from a friend just three months ago. I have only ridden it four times so far.
Well, they got this far and after 26+ years, if they were going to fail catastrophically they would have before now. They will eventually "fail" by wearing out and pitting the cones or races but that's normal, not dangerous.

I could see if the hub flanges were prone to cracking/braking but simple bearing and race pitting is common in any wheelset/hub in the sovos price range. I have built sovos wheels out of used sovos hubs with confidence in their durability.