Originally Posted by
wroomwroomoops
The problem I have with everything you say is, you splurged moolah for a Level hub and two cogs. That's a LOT of money. You're tainted by cognitive dissonance - you simply have to defend your purchase.
Sorry, but your opinion is basically useless. I'll listen once you sell the Level stuff.
Actually, I'd say your above statements are useless and your accusation of cognitive dissonance is not based on the facts. To say the guy can't have an useful opinion because he paid for the hub and cogs is non-sense. I assume you'll refrain from posting
any opinions on parts that you've purchased because surely you will be too biased to offer an honest assessment.
Shants has a lot of good points on both the Level hub and the disc cog set up. I have bikes set up with both, and neither has failed. I also have a traditional cog and lockring setup and a suicide hub setup. If I have some time in the future I'll put together some info and opinions on each.
In the meantime, I've put in a lot of time on a Level hub for testing and review (as in, I did not pay for it), so maybe that will satisfy your criteria for a "useful" opinion. I'll let it be known that in general I'm not a fan of proprietary systems. On the other hand, innovation needs to start somewhere and sometimes this is how it comes about. If a proprietary system offers a better design than the current standard, it's worth considering IMO.
The following preface and review was written in Aug. 2005
I am a firm believer in the hub's concept, it is a really cool idea and I now have been riding it for about a year (probably longer, I don't remember right now), so this is long term test data here. Just now replacing the bearings, which seems to be about on par with the schedule for my Surly hubs, so no complaints there. Plus, there's a new version that has the fixed cog interface on one side and a threaded freewheel option on the other so you run that high end White Industries freewheel you ponied up for.
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Level Components Hub Review
The bike industry is full of innovation, many times seeing new creations that don't necessarily solve a particular problem but usually just amount to doing something different. All fine and well from a creativity standpoint, but as consumers the industry tries to convince us we need it. Then, once in a while something comes along that genuinely solves a problem and you smack yourself in the head and say "Why didn't someone else think of this sooner". In that corner, we have the Level Components fixed gear hub.
Standard fixed gear hubs use a threaded cog mated to a threaded body. The body generally being aluminum to keep the hub weight down while the cog is steel for long wear. A second, slightly smaller in diameter, set of reversed threads sits outboard of the cog. A lock ring spins on here and prevents the cog from unthreading when applying rearward forces.
Problem is, those soft aluminum threads can strip leaving your nice fixed hub useless and worse, putting your life on the line. I've done it before when heading for an intersection, light turns red, lock up my legs to skid stop. The crank stops moving but the wheel keeps rolling. It's an unsettling feeling and unless you have another method of braking, it can be quite dangerous. It can also leave you stranded.
The Level hub solves this beautifully with a splined interface called the Eye-To-Knuckle. Three large aluminum knuckles are machined into the hub. The steel cog mates to these and drives the hub when pedaling. The cog is held in place with 3 torx bolts, although you could easily swap to hex if you didn't want to carry an extra tool for emergencies (note: in all the months I been riding this, I've never had a need).
The hub body itself is a satiny machined body, silver anodized with the Level logo etched in it. High flanges allow for shorter spokes for strength and look tough to boot. The whole thing rolls on easily replacable cartridge bearings. The hub bolts on with 6mm allen bolts riding on cup-like washers meaning you can leave the 15mm open-end wrench at home.
The hub has a couple of nice touches. Well thought out design features that earn it a top-notch rating alone in my opinion. First, spacers bolt on to the aluminum axle, one for each side, that also serve as the contact point to the frame. What makes these special is, screw them off and install a different size and easily convert the hub ton any of the following widths: 120mm and 135mm. Next cool feature: the micro adjustable chain line. The cog is asymmetrical and by flipping it over you move the chain line from 45mm to 52mm. The hub is a flip-flop so you can double your pleasure by mounting up a second gear. Drillings available in 32 and 36 hole. The rear hub (tested) weighs 499g with a stainless steel 16t cog.
When the hub arrived it was setup for 120mm spacing. A couple of turns of the allen wrenches and the small spacers were off and the large ones were on. Smooth. Laced this puppy up and dropped it on the Surly Crosscheck and installed the chain. Perfect chain line, ready to rock.
Once on the bike it ran silent and smooth and I soon forgot about it - just like a nice fixed gear hub should be. Flat changes were a breeze with an allen wrench and after hundreds of miles no adjustments were needed. The cog is wearing nicely, which is to say, I can't detect any wear. It's steel and tough and has tall teeth with a nicely tapered point. No play ever developed between the hub and cog interface.
Were there any problems? Nope, not a single one. The hub is a good-looking, reliable product that solves an actual problem with fixed gear hubs.
Everyone that saw the hub thought it was a great idea. The only hesitation I heard was concerns about the proprietary cog. Sure you can't run down to your average LBS and pick one up, but it's not like they break and they certainly don't wear out at a moments notice. The other concern about the cog was: what if Level goes out of business? A risk for sure, but look at the bike industry and many companies that still exist but don't have spare parts from even a few years ago (think shocks and shifters). If you are that worried, pick up a few spares. I talked to Scott at Level about this concern and here's what he had to say: "I have been beating down as many doors as i can with respect to this issue. The worst-case scenario would be if I do go out of business I would give an independent cog manufacturer the specs for the cogs and they (the consumer) would
have a viable source for spares. Best case is that all the manufacturers i have talked with accept what i am doing and start producing cogs". Hopefully that puts any worries to rest.
Bottom line, for the price this is a sweet, solid hub that won't leave you stranded on the side of the road.