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Dura-Ace on the Street

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Dura-Ace on the Street

Old 03-17-06, 12:19 PM
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Dura-Ace on the Street

I'm going to be building a new wheelset with my tax returns this year, and the hubs in the running are Phil Wood low flanges, and Dura-Ace low flanges.

I would like to hear some comments from people who ride Dura-Ace hubs (high or low flange) on the street. I did some searching and found a lot of contradictory statements. I'd rather not hear the argument that loose bearing hubs just aren't for street use. I'm not afraid of repacking and adjusting traditional bearings every thousand miles or so.

Mostly I'm concerned about the durability of the DA hubs. The durability of Phil hubs is pretty much undebatable.

So...given proper maintenance, will DA hubs last on a daily rider?
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Old 03-17-06, 12:21 PM
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yes. i ride hi-flange ones, and they're fine. it's not a daily rider, but it gets out a couple of times a week.
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Old 03-17-06, 12:22 PM
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We'll I've been riding them on the ****ty streets of SF since the end of jan, every day, in all sorts of weather and they're holding up quite nicely. I'm really happy with them. I think I've probably put about 500-600 miles on them by now. No complaints.

FWIW I have 32h ones, not 36, and my rims are not deep or anything at all.

edit: High flange.
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Old 03-17-06, 12:25 PM
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i had a set for a few months and they were great. nice and smooth. passed them along to a friend and he has been on them for the better part of a year - no complaints yet and he hasn't done any maintenance. a good courier friend of mine has had da h/f for the past 2-3 years, abuse and heavy daily riding on bad sf streets. tip-top shape.

it sounds like you are all good with the maintenance part of it, shouldn't be a problem.
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Old 03-17-06, 12:32 PM
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What about specifically the low flange version? Does anyone have any information relating to how they hold up, strength-wise?
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Old 03-17-06, 12:34 PM
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Old 03-17-06, 12:46 PM
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i commute a ton on my road bike, which has a d-a 7700 rear and a d-a 7800 front. both are amazing hubs. the rear was used, but i've had the 7800 since it was new for about a year now. they hold up great, are INCREDIBLY smooth, and i've found they keep dirt out super well.

i think as long as you stay alert to maintenance issues and aren't afraid to do so, they'll be fine. so many people are the set it and forget it type, so cartridge is the best for them...
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Old 03-17-06, 12:51 PM
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lets hear about the threading and flange strength, you can always replace bearings...
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Old 03-17-06, 12:52 PM
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Well I havent stripped it and I havent snapped it...
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Old 03-17-06, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by juvi-kyle
lets hear about the threading and flange strength, you can always replace bearings...
one of the nice things about DA is that i can get a DA cog, and a DA lockring, so in theory they would have nearly ideal compatibility. if that setup stripped, i would be shocked.
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Old 03-17-06, 01:03 PM
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i dont know how great of a comparison this is, but my suntour superbes have always reminded me of the da h/f. the threading seems to be on the same level and the flanges look about the same. i think the superbes are known to be "finnicky" and "fragile" as well as far as reputations go...

mine have been slotted for bladed spokes, and have held up for the 5 or 6 years i have had them (without the need of performing a stitch of truing or maintenance) and they were ridden heavy by the prior owner for about that long too. so thats 10 years strong. the threads, even if they are delicate, shouldn't be a worry too much so long as you take precautions like getting matching da cog/lockring --which you would. proper installation, and problems are forgotten.
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Old 03-17-06, 01:07 PM
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Are the cups and cones replaceable on the dura ace track hubs?
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Old 03-17-06, 01:09 PM
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You could also ask HereNT. He's had the low-flange version up until recently and ran them through Minnesota's winter(s).
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Old 03-17-06, 01:10 PM
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i have a low flange wheelset that has survived a couple minnesota winters with little care aside from a pre-winter packing with marine grease and a spring cleaning.
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Old 03-17-06, 01:19 PM
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i have ridden a low-flange back well every day for about a year now. about 3 months ago, i think some sand got into my hub because they began making more nice. but they kept on going, really smooth with a bit more noise. the hub checked out just fine. so i would say do it up.
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Old 03-17-06, 01:25 PM
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Originally Posted by absntr
You could also ask HereNT. He's had the low-flange version up until recently and ran them through Minnesota's winter(s).
I'll post later. Gotta get to work. My rear is pitted, but that's my own fault.
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Old 03-17-06, 01:28 PM
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Currently riding 32h hi-flange DAs in a lovely maritime canadian winter. Lots of slush, snow, salt, water, muck, etc and the hubs are running smooth. I will want to repack them in a month or two when the weather clears up, but I have no complaints whatsoever.

Again, since you seem more than competent/willing to do the maintenance, and sensible enough to grease a cog and lockring before installing them, you shouldn't have any serious issues.
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Old 03-17-06, 01:36 PM
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I ride high DA high flange 36 hole track hubs front and rear in Philadelphia everyday. I have ridden them here through 3 winters and they are fine. They are my favorite hubs period. I've ridden low flange and they are good, too. If you get them new I suspect you would not have to overhaul them for at least a year. If someone has stripped them, I suspect that the lock ring and cog were not installed properly.
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Old 03-17-06, 01:39 PM
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it's all good, but only if you pronounce it "du-RA-chay."
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Old 03-17-06, 01:46 PM
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Old 03-17-06, 01:49 PM
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doesn't dura-ace just seem like the product of a bad japanese translation? they must not have had a good marketing person in their US division when they invented that name.
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Old 03-17-06, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by ink1373
doesn't dura-ace just seem like the product of a bad japanese translation? they must not have had a good marketing person in their US division when they invented that name.

hard and number one, nothing wrong with that.
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Old 03-17-06, 03:16 PM
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Originally Posted by ink1373
one of the nice things about DA is that i can get a DA cog, and a DA lockring, so in theory they would have nearly ideal compatibility. if that setup stripped, i would be shocked.
You can do the same with Phil as well, and it seems like you could damn near lace the wheel with poison acid laced eel spokes, 12 cross and they'd still warantee it for any type of use.

edit: I know, you're asking about DuraAce, but its Phil, they're a small company, and I'd rather support them, so ....
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Old 03-17-06, 03:19 PM
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Yes, but we're not talking about Phil.

FWIW I have a phil cog on my dura ace as they dont make dura ace cogs with enough teeth.

But its not like anything else on my drive chain matches anyway.
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Old 03-17-06, 03:22 PM
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I've got a pair of LF DA hubs that I ride occasionally. Built them up maybe 8 months ago and ride them on the street 2-3 times/month. No problems so far, but hardly enough riding to judge from. I'm around 215#, hubs are 36 hole.
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