andre nickatina

Right now I'm running Formula's. They are fine hubs and I swear by them for the most part. I'm in the market to build up a new wheel this week too, and if I had a little more money I'd invest in some Phil's or Dura Ace's, hell maybe some rare NOS Suntours if I could find them. But alas my money only goes so far and while I can justify spending lots of cash on a good frame, it's hard to do so with hubs when there's such a price difference between a $65 pair of Formulas and a $270 pair of Phil's.

So basically for me the options have been Miche, Formula/IRO/Velocity/Harris, and Suzue Promax. Can anyone positively say there's really more than a minute difference between these hubs?

Boss Moniker

All I know is that velocity hubs are merely rebranded formulas. Same with Harris, I believe. Suzue are a little different, and supposedly their loose-ball hubs are pretty nice. Not sure about IRO and Formula.

Basically, if you replace the bearings in Formulas with "Phil spec'd" or similar quality, and maybe replace the axle/nuts, you've got a great hub provided the threads don't strip (use a good cog, and don't ever replace it.. check your lockring often, blah blah blah, and you won't have any trouble). The hub body itself, aside from the thread-stripping problem, is of adequate quality.

EDIT: Oh, take a look at LEVEL hubs (Hubjub has them) if you want really high quality hubs that are different from the rest, although they do cost a lot.

roadfix

With certain hubs, you do get what you pay for......Suzue Juniors among others, for instance.

mander

My guess is no, but i will watch this space and see if anyone corrects me. A cartridge hub is a cartridge hub right? All the good bits are basically the same if you can find nice bearings.

you

Surlys are a super good value. The chrome on the locknuts, suck but they're super solid and pretty affordable.

andre nickatina

Actually, looks like Dura Ace hubs are still available for a decent price (~$160 a pair) on bikepartusa.com/. I may have to go that route, I'm always up for a deal.

Yoshi

Formula hubs are perhaps the best deal in cycling today. The only problem with them seems to be that many people break the locknuts. I have no personal experience with that however.

Boss Moniker

Damn.. that is a nice price.

Retem

get the formula or the da a friend of mine loves his miches but eveyone else I know thinks they suck haven't ridden promaxs but there is probably a reason they don't make em anymore
I own and abuse
formulas mavics and phils

operator

If you ain't going to go brakeless, do hipster fixie tricks and weigh <= 120lbs. Quando ftw!

roadpig2001

That seems to be the case with many brands. I have noticed the rear hubs on Ritchey DS comps look JUST like the rear hubs on FSA rd-400s but are laced differently. Also comapare neuvations , forte titans alx320s and ritchey prorocol front hubs, there are more out there. They all use cartrige bearings most likely abec5 or similar. Much of the time you pay extra for the bling quality of a name brand or saving a few grams in the rims.

Igneous Faction

I love my Miches. How different are they from my Formulas? The difference is really in the quality of the manufacture and that alone. I can't tell you I've had a good or bad experience either way.

nateintokyo

I am very happy with the Dura Ace's I got for $130 in Japan....but $160 in the States sounds well worth it too. Sooouper smooth.

JaredG

not an entry hub per say, but i've been riding the Level Components hubs for about 18 months now, and i absolutely love them. spend your $$ once, and never upgrade again. I'm a firm believer in hubs being the most important component of your bike, while entry level stuff gets you from A to B, you don't want to have to worry about replacing them after several months / a year of hard riding. I was able to build up a wheelset with Level's and Deep V's for less than 300 bucks.

andre nickatina

They're pretty heavy, no? I'm trying to accomplish a pretty lightweight "trackish" wheelset on this build, seeing as I already have the heavy duty one taken care of with my Formula's / Fusions setup. Also I'd like to keep current cogs and not get a new bolt on one...

JaredG

Yes. They are one of those 'if weight is no concern' components.

Ken Cox

I think the cartridge hubs all compare favorably, and on my most recent build I have chosen Surly hubs to save money.

However, for $160, the Dura Ace hubs sound great.

Super good.

andre nickatina

Yep. From everything I've heard they're some of the smoothest spinning hubs along with Suntour ($300 a pair is the asking price for a set from SF on velospace right now) and Campy. I figure I'm gonna have them on my "nice" bike that will stay inside for the rainy days / winter once I get my beater road conversion built back up, so I'm not that worried about constant overhauling/repacking, hopefully.

I just hope the rest of bikeforums doesn't beat me to buying these hubs and they get sold out :-\