Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - attention cheapskates, or why i hate suzue

i know, old news, right? but it seems that suzue hubs are the cheapest option available to the poor bicycle converter. sadly, they are garbage, which i discovered after a recent tune-up. the mechanic told me that he had tightened my front hub a little, and my back hub A LOT (and he had shown me before fixing it so i know he's on the level). he said that a lot of people at his shop converted bikes using suzue hubs last summer and they all had the same problem.

next time i'll spend more money on better parts, saving that money on later tune-ups.

Tighten? In what way? The cones were loose?

I don't get it. Your hubs needed adjustment, as do all cup/cone bearing hubs, including $100 durace track hub, and that makes them a POS? ???
It was probably just the bearings and cone breaking in.

so, should I stay away from this brand? Will it be able to take some good wear n' tear, and still go the distance?

Boy, sure does suck to have to do regular maintainance. My damn chains keep rusting and I have no idea why...

so, should I stay away from this brand? Will it be able to take some good wear n' tear, and still go the distance?

Stay away from the "Jr" hubs, the Suzue ProMax hubs are fine I've been riding a set daily for like six months now without issue. Basically, it's a case of 'you get what you pay for'.

so, should I stay away from this brand? Will it be able to take some good wear n' tear, and still go the distance?
suzue sil-sp's (aka basics, juniors, etc.) are the cheapo ones with poor bearings, cones, and races. in general, suzue makes some great hubs. their pro-max hubs are super nice.

if you put some nice chromium bearings in the sil-sp's it will make a world of difference.

Should last a while if taken care of. Just make sure the cones aren't too tight (there should be a tiny bit of play that will go away when the axle nuts are tightened) and the bearings are well greased. And get better bearings like suggested above.

I have the Basic, Jr, whatever the cheap one is. I replaces the axel and the bearings after 6 months of use and haven't touched it since. The only reason I replaced the axel was from my mistake of over tightening and stripping it. But if you are looking for a cheaper hub try the IRO. They are sealed which will make a huge difference in maintenance.

here's an idea
go cartridge bearings. Surly.
now, go drink something.

Should last a while if taken care of. Just make sure the cones aren't too tight (there should be a tiny bit of play that will go away when the axle nuts are tightened) and the bearings are well greased.

spend the cash, its pain in the arse to fiddle with these things, and then you have to pullem out cleanem repackem, and again and again and again.

buy the higher quality hubs dont waste your time(havent ridden them but assume the Suzue promax are ok), you will appreciate your ride more and like riding more overall.

so they're not idiot proof?
(sorry)

ProMax's are good, that's what I have now but I've ridden the "basics" too and I didn't feel much difference. Of course I weigh 135# and am not very abusive to my gear.

The GT use to sport Suzue Jr on MA2s till I swapped in a pair of DA / Open Pros. They were solid troopers if you maintained em. They're now rollin beneath the newly built up Purple Mistake although the rear hub is gonna get swapped out for a ProMax.

i still like cup and cone, call me a masochist, but i like being able to adjust load, replace ball bearings etc. theres a reason you can buy pro max hubs with cup and cones, a reason why campy record track hubs have cup and cones,
as with any machined part, tolerences get larger the cheaper the part is,
a campy or promax will have extremely tight tolerences on the bearing races, best surface finish to prevent wearing the bearings, everything is precision. don't expect a miracle with a 25 dollar hub, the bearings need to be replaced soon, get some nice swiss cromiums as isotopesope suggested.
if you really want to make it better, replace the axle and cones with high quality ones,
polish the inner hub races with metal polish.
once you get through a complete overhaul of a JR hub, you end up with somthing half decent for the track, not so good for sloppy weather,
and if you don't have the parts laying around, the cost can add up to somthing close to a low end sealed hub.
you can still make the hubs serviceable. and they shouldn't be discarded because they need some maintenance every once and a while.
just my opinion

Consider THIS (http://www.businesscycles.com/thub-suz.htm)!

I would say bottom line, if you are not riding on the track or just begining, i would go for a sealed hub. Gotambushed makes a good point, but if you are commuting, one day of rain can force you to take your Suzue Jr. hub apart to clean them, say it rains again on the second day, guess what you might be doing again that night.

If you just want to ride hassel free, sealed hub, if you are into Zen and art of Bicycle maintenance, cup cone hub.

I don't really think the Suzue Basic is as bad as a lot of people make it out to be. I've had one on my rain bike for over a year and it does the job pretty well.

Do they need to be serviced often? Yes.

Should you be skidding with them? Probably not.

Do they spin as smooth as a more expensive hub? Not even close.

Do I recommend them to someone who is looking for a cheap wheelset? Nope. Spend the extra $ IMO.

Should you ditch yours if you already own one? No way.

They do the trick and they do hold up to sloppy weather pretty well in my experience but there are other hubs out there that are a little more expensive that are a MUCH better value.

My $.02

I'm abusing my Suzue... maybe because I know I'm just awaiting rim tape for my new rear wheel and then I'll be gravy.
I've been riding brakeless since october, I skid (although not too often) and skip even less often, zero maintenance on the hub, and I haven't had a single problem with it. I'm sure it could use a repack, but thats going to wait a bit longer. Maybe I'll just wait until it dies or explodes.

Knock on wood.

Would I have bought something else if I could do it all over again? Yes.

I'm abusing my Suzue... maybe because I know I'm just awaiting rim tape for my new rear wheel and then I'll be gravy.
I've been riding brakeless since october, I skid (although not too often) and skip even less often, zero maintenance on the hub, and I haven't had a single problem with it. I'm sure it could use a repack, but thats going to wait a bit longer. Maybe I'll just wait until it dies or explodes.

Knock on wood.

Would I have bought something else if I could do it all over again? Yes.

I have had a similar experience. My suzue jr's are fine (knock on wood), and I ride most often in the rain. The hub has not loosened. In my experience with non-sealed hub bearings, they will take a lot of wet weather riding, so long as you put enough good grease in at the outset. I am generally cheap and lazy when it comes to bike maintenance, though. Now, the sun machine built rims surrounding the hubs are another story. POS if there every was one. The darn spokes can't seem to stay tight.

I've had problems with the cones chronically coming loose. Not immediately, but over a 2-3 month period. Used the hub two years, just overhauled it a week ago. Not a great hub, but so far it's worked well for me.

well, i shouldn't be surprised to have put my foot in the proverbial mouth again.

thanks to those who set the record straight...

of course i understand that a bike needs maintenance (e.g. chains rust, thank you very much), but in the end, i don't think i have what it takes to be a cup/cone guy. for now i'll take the swiss chromium bearing advice, and thanks for it, but i don't want to have to be overhauling my stuff all the time, because i ride in some sloppy minnesota weather quite a bit, and just don't have time. maybe i wish i did, i don't know, but then i think, why not use sealed cartridges? now i know for next time.

also, i know that it probably wasn't surly's fault. thanks to captsven & business cycles for reminding me that i really didn't know anything about surly beyond my limited experience; thanks to 165 for reminding me to go drink something, and thanks to thechamp for reminding me that i'm an idiot.

I dunno... The truth is that if you're willing to spend some quality time with your bike, you can get anything from the latest sealed bearing carbon fiber hub to ancient steel Sunshines with cups and cones (see my bike) to work. The hardest part is keeping from losing the bearings.

I can see how sealed is a good option if you're in the buying position though, and I think when I get around to actually buying a wheelset, it will have sealed bearings.