Jexbrah

Was thing about parts for a current project. I wanted to use a dura ace 8 speed group and was wondering if I was restricted to dura ace hubs? I was considering the mavic 500 series hubs or campy chorus hubs but not sure if they work with the group....can anyone shed some light on this? Thanks,

Ex Pres 

There are 2 types of 74xx series 8s hubs, the 7402, which is Uniglide only, and the 7403, which is Uniglide and Hyperglide compatible. Don't pick a 7402 hub and you'll be fine. 7402 will work, you'll just have more issues. Conversely, any other 8s/9s & most 10s Shimano compatible hub will work, but not freehub 8s Campy hubs - unless you want to monkey around with it. The Mavic 500 - is that a freewheel hub or Mavic's proprietary freehub? You should probably stay away from any freewheel hub at the 8s width.

miamijim

For 8S cassettes:
Campy: NO, not compatible with Shimano cassettes
Mavic: Maybe, some had a screwy spline pattern which means a Shimano cassette will not fit.

For 8s freewheels (yes, there is such a thing):
will work with either Mavic or Campy threaded hubs. This is NOT recommended because the axle needs to really long for 8s and gets very weak and prone to bending,

repechage

Yes, that is what happens when one bearing is almost at the wheel centerline. Six speed wheels were bad enough.

Dave Mayer

You can use 8-speed Dura-Ace shifters and derailleurs (must be together) with any Shimano 8/9/10-speed cassette hub and a SRAM or Shimano 8-speed cassette. A Tiagra or 105-level hub (as good as anyone needs) will put you back $40 or less. Modern Hyperglide-style cassettes will shift far better than the older cogsets, and will cost you less than $20.

You do NOT want the compatability headaches and parts-sourcing problems of the 7402 or 7403 hubs. Trust me - I have several of these hubs. You definitely do NOT want any freewheel hubs with 8 speed. A Campy cassette hub will work, if you make some mods to the cog spacing. Leave this to the deep experts.