Originally Posted by DMC707

to offer a counterpoint (but your decision might already be made) higher grade Shimano component hubs are bulletproof --- LX, XT and XTR level hubs are very quiet and will go thousands of miles without a problem unless you are riding underwater all the time

Geoff KAbush (current MTB and gravel pro - former Olympian ) rides XTR component hubs with DT rims on his race bikes - He runs XTR on everything else and could very easilly run the DT hubset if he so chose. A lot of the aftermarket freehubs are noisy as hell and very irritating to ride

One would be correct in saying that a guy like Kabush doesnt have to work on his own bikes , true , but i personally dont care if i have to throw some maintenance at something in 2 or 3 years -- i want the best now and its tough to go wrong with the Shimanos

Current new bike for me does NOT have shimano hubs, -- i purchased a pre built wheelset with Industry 9 hubs and they are ok , but prior to scoring the deal on those, i was shopping hard for XTR or XT hubs to lace to some Light Bicycle carbon rims and long term probably wouldve been happier with those

(i got "bling happy" and scored a set of Enve's with I-9's on sale at a great price , -- but the damn things are so stiff i will be going back to aluminum for everyday riding --- they will rattle your teeth out