evrythngsgngrn

So I'm looking to build up a set of wheels for my wife's new frame and while I'm at it I figure I may as well build myself a set and looking at hubs currently seems to be the hard part.

I'm looking for something with 20, 24, or 28 holes (currently riding on 20/24 Fulcrum Racing 7s), that is in the sub $300 range for both hubs. I don't think I can make the jump up to some WI T11s or similar, as it'll just kill the budget for the rest of the wheels. The wife won't care as much, so unless she wants something fancy, I'll probably stick some 105s (5800) on hers.

How are the BHS hubs? Are there other brands I should be looking at? It seems like unless I increase the number of holes to 32 and go with 105/ultegra I'm looking at BHS or trying to increase my budget for the T11s. Are there options in between?

dtrain

I've heard good things about BHS' offerings. Very similar would be bdop's full build package (or just the Novatec hubs if you have rims and spokes in mind already). Very cheap prices on 6800 or 5800 pairs from Ribble.

rpenmanparker 

To me it seems your choices are either light or heavy. If you want light, then BHS or Novatec hubs for BDOP Cycling are your best bet in the inexpensive category. If you can accept heavy, you can look "down the product line" at WI or DT, not at the top end. The otherwise best choice of all, Shimano Tiagras or 105s unfortunately don't come in low spoke drillings.

My experience is with the BHS hubs and I like them fine. Great customer service, very good bearings, good looking, lots of colors, and the flanges are approved for radial lacing. Also they are available in the 8:16 drilling on the rear that I prefer. That allows me to build wheels with nearly identical tension on the DS and NDS sides. It can be done other ways, but none as cheap as the asymmetric rim drilling.

dtrain

For my middle-of-the-road, commuter wheelset I have some DT Swiss 350's (ratchet system) that roll pretty nicely (28f/32r). But I don't know that the pricing is that great and my cassette has done a number on the freehub body already.

rpenmanparker 

That damage to the freehub body is a problem with all aluminum freehubs except the American Classic one that is reinforced with a thin steel strip. Doesn't Shimano provide a clip of some kind that reduces the problem?

dtrain

If there's a clip, I'd love to hear about it. I think I've only owned aluminum freehubs and I've never seen anything this bad (or develop this quickly).

rpenmanparker 

I know it is very expensive, but the SRAM Red cassette does not damage aluminum hubs, one of many reasons I like it. If you have a damaged cassette, you can file off the raised burrs and reuse it, but of course there is a limit. I have done that a lot right before installing a Red cassette on a hub that previously had Shimano. Good as new for all practical purposes, and they stay that way with Red.

MikeyBoyAz

try the new G3 powertaps. their 11 speed Shimano/SRAM alu hub is like butter. I dug so deep into one I had to use a chain whip to dig the cogs out.

rpenmanparker 

My mistake. It was American Classic offering the clip before they introduced their steel reinforced, aluminum freehubs. I don't know whether they still offer them or not.

BoSoxYacht

+1
If the hoops you have in mind are not center drilled, I would go with Novatec hubs(from BDop). Novatec hubs have a better geometry than BHS hubs, but if you are lacing them 8:16, the BHS hubs work well.

dtrain

This wheelset recently got 'demoted' to my commuter. I had to struggle to get the 10 speed Shimano cassette off and then file the burrs to install a 9 speed SRAM (950 or 970). I haven't looked under the cassette since the switch, but maybe the lower level SRAM stuff is a little easier on bodies as well...hopefully.

evrythngsgngrn

Yeah I was looking there. I was looking at the pair of 5800s. Seems as though the BHS and Novatecs are not much more.

I don't see much down the product line at WI, but maybe I'm missing something. I guess I missed the DT350 when I was initially looking, as it seems to be around the $300 mark for the pair but only available in 32 and 28. Just seemed like there was a big gap where you're either paying < $150 or > $400.

I like the idea of the 8:16 drilling, so I may look more into that, and I'm not set on over spending for the sake of over spending, so I don't mind the price of the BHS offerings, and then the hubs can come in the box with the rims.

evrythngsgngrn

I'm 98% settled on H Plus Son Archetypes for both builds.

BoSoxYacht

He could also lace a 32spoke hub 8:16 by skipping spoke wholes on the NDS.

BoSoxYacht

They use angled spoke holes, so I wouldn't recommend 8:16 lacing. Pacenti SL23s will work fine.

rpenmanparker 

Very true. Been there, done that.

kowalski

i have a front wheel built with a BHS wide flange hub and it's been flawless for the 5k+ miles I've put on it so far. On another note, I was also considering building a BHS/H Plus Son Archetype wheelset recently, but decided to order a set of Flo 30's instead. Can't wait to try out the Flo's.

canam73

Novatec offers their ABG (anti bite guard) freehub as a ~$20 option on most of their hubs.

It works very well for the added 10 grams.

rpenmanparker 

That's good to know. Thanks.

deep_sky

Yeah, dtswiss 350 freehub body gets chewed on pretty easily by cassettes. One time I went to take off my cassette for a cleaning and ended up inadvertently removing the entire freehub body along with it. Took some doing to get the cassette off the body. I have had to periodically file down the burring, but eventually that won't be an option. For this reason I would not buy the hub again. Other than that, it has been a solid hub, if a bit on the noisy side.

mr. peugeot

Origin 8.

Clipped_in

Me too! I have ~15k miles on a set and they've been a great value.

BoSoxYacht

I just looked at Origin 8 road hubs, and the one I saw is probably the worst geometry I've ever seen for a road hub.



That huge NDS flange is going to lower the tension required to dish the rear wheel.

I haven't seen the actual measurements(so I could be wrong), but usually it's counterproductive to have a larger NDS flange.

BoSoxYacht

I like the BHS hubs, but NDS spoke tension is lower than I like. Using 8:16 lacing corrects that, and that's what I do to correct the low NDS spoke tension.

rpenmanparker 

Absolutely backwards. Phil Wood made this mistake many years ago, but abandoned it very quickly. Some folks think you want equal spoke length instead of equal spoke tension.