drotos.toth

I' am looking for a good hub for heavy XC, maraton races. What about the two I've mentioned in the title? Is the XTR sealed enough to use in heavy rain, dirt and mud? And what about the 240's? Advantages and disadvantages?

The rims would be DT Swiss XR 400, DT Swiss XR 4.2d or Sun EQ 21/23...

wheelgrabber

XTR is Shimano's top of the line mountain bike hub. It is specifically designed for mud & rain.

drotos.toth

Yes, I know... "designed". But does it work well?

Do You mean that the XTR is the better choice?

rhenning

XTR is as good as they get. Roger

drotos.toth

And what about the DT 240s? Is that better?

wheelgrabber

I doubt the DT's are better. Those noisy freehubs will let you know when they are dirty. Loud freehubs make you pedal more, which is usually a good thing.

drotos.toth

So... You'd choose the DT?!

phoebeisis

I have both-and both with 517 rims. No difference to speak of.
The 240(disc) are a little heavier than the 517 (rim brake), but it is very very close. Don't have the exact weights written down, but I was surprised that the 240 weren't lighter.

Of course mine seelight duty and rarely get muddy. Kinda doubt there is any difference, since they are both top of the line. The XTR used to be a tiny bit less costly. I would just buy the one that was least costly, or the one that was most attractive. I prefer the XTR looks.

fietsbob

You may get better durability by going downmarket to the hubs that do not use Aluminum Axles, I read that they Fail with some frequency ..

Maintained service in your riding lifestyle?
Overhauling the hubs after a muddy dirty ride will extend the life of any Hub.

and lots of the other bits too

consider a Rohloff hub? they are at their best in situations that clog up Freehub drivetrains.
many a European Marathon MTB race is won on them.

significant weight is saved by all the stuff you don't need :
cassettes 2 derailers, triple cranks complicated Indexed shift/brake levers, etc.

drotos.toth

Yeah, but U need a special frame! And I don't want to build a completly new bike...

wheelgrabber

The major difference is the DT 240's are sealed cartridge bearings. The XTR have loose adjustable angular bearings like all Shimano hubs including Dura Ace. Shimano must really believe that cartridge bearings are not "the greatest thing since canned beer". I knew about the Shimano road hubs being loose, but I figured the MTN would be sealed.

I'm not going to recommend one to you, I'm trying to give you more info.

Garthr

If you value your time, get cartridge bearings. Shimano probably sticks to cups/cones because they have the legacy tooling for it(only Campy does also), and they've worked hard on making good seals

Some people like messing with the maintenance though.

operator

This guy is recommending a rolhoff for XC races. Haha

drotos.toth

And what about this hub? https://www.novatec.com.tw/novatec/en...ow.php?sid=269

fietsbob

'' Yeah, but U need a special frame! And I don't want to build a completly new bike...''

Un true , the Retro fit kit is made by them to do that , includes a chaintensioner , for vertical dropout frames, and a torque reaction arm for the left chainstauy It straps on , no brazing needed ,, Avid makes a 160 disc in 4 bolt pattern too.

OP Did say marathon MTB events .. ever try shifting a derailleur when you are really tired and there is no momentum, you are on a hill, but you are in too high a gear ?
IG hubs will shift at a dead stop.

Al1943

The 240s is a light weight road hub. Based on my experience I would not recommend these hubs for rough pavement or off-road.