contango 

Have any of my fellow heavy riders got any experience of these hubs?

I trashed my rear wheel a few weeks back, my LBS kindly lent me a wheel to keep me on the road but it's about time I got myself a new wheel sorted out.

I'm debating getting a pretty regular Shimano 105 hub but wondered if it was worth paying the extra for a Hope Pro 3. They look very pretty, they are about 3-4 times the price of the 105, and they make a loud noise.

I'm still hanging around 240-250lb - hoping to get that down but making slower progress than planned. Riding is mostly road, small amounts of gravel paths but nothing particularly lumpy or bumpy. Obviously there's always the chance I'll hit a pothole or some other road obstruction but I'm not planning on banging around on it like I would on the MTB. Sometimes I'll put panniers on the back and sometimes I'll do 100+ mile rides, usually with a small amount of stuff in a pannier. At some point I want to do longer brevets - 300k and maybe a 400 or 600k.

If anyone has used these as a heavy rider, especially if you've used them over long distances, I'd appreciate thoughts on whether they are as good as people say.

jsigone

If you can afford the Hopes, then get them. They are awesome and fully rebuildable. I have a set for my singlespeed 29er...who needs a bell when you have a freewheel like that

chasm54

As good as people say? Don't know what people say. But I have them built into two sets of wheels and have done many thousands of miles on them. Once you have got used to the impression that when coasting you are being pursued by a swarm of bees, they're fine hubs. As jsigone says, they are very serviceable, you can replace bits (as I did when after very many miles I trashed the pawls) rather than having to get a whole new hub. I like them. I don't see that your weight is an issue.

bigfred 

I hope you don't coast much.

Fastflyingasian

hope makes good stuff. i have run their stuff on my mtb's without issues for years. my lbs pushed me into the white industries ti hubs for my road bike build. the fred in me heard ti and i was persuaded into the white industries hubs.

contango 

I can afford to buy them, I just prefer not to spend more money just for the sake of a bit of bling. Looks like they'll be money well spent though, thanks everyone for your thoughts.

bigfred 

I have a reasonably good friend that runs Pro2's on his mtb. They do look nice. And apparently aren't as expensive as Chris King hubs. The freehub ratchet is loud. Depending on your durability expectations, you may want to consider the steel freehub option instead of the stock alloy.

chasm54

They are a LOT less expensive than Chris Kings. You are right about the steel vs alloy freehubs with regard to durability. Over time, The cassette tends to dig into the alloy spline under hard use. But I've stuck to alloy for weight. And iirc the steel ones were more expensive, but I may have made that up as a post-hoc rationalisation of my choice.

bigfred 

I think the selling point for the Chris Kings would be the star rachet and instant engagement vs standard pawls. It's been a long time since I road a CK hub, but, I remember remarking on how I never realized how much slack there is in a standard Shimano freehub until I experienced the opposite. Apparently the newer CK's can be lubricated to minimize their swarm of bees. I'm not sure if you can silence a Hope hub. They make a racket.

When it comes to weight savings, I'm all about focusing on rotating weight over static. But, in the case of freehubs, being very close to the center of rotation, I don't know if I see the advantage. As a clyde that climbs a reasonably amount and one who has previously stripped or jammed up freehubs, I would lean toward the steel component.

contango 

Just checked prices.

The 105 I was originally going to go with retails at £45, the Hope Pro 3 at £150 and the Chris King R45 at £375. So the Hope is just over three times the price of the 105 and the Chris King is over twice the price of the Hope.

I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the money on the Hope at first although what people are saying about it leads me to think it's money well spent. The Chris King would seem like massive overkill for my purposes.

contango 

Decision is made, a blue Hope Pro 3 rear hub ordered today

jsigone

what are you going to lace them up to?

Fastflyingasian

even my buddie with a industry nine hub was bummed when my hope hub was louder than his some like it loud.

contango 

A DT Swiss RR465 rim with DT Swiss Competition 14/15 gauge spokes.

chasm54

I have almost that exact wheelset, just my rim is the previous generation. Nice.

contango 

I must admit I'm a little apprehensive about the whole thing. My LBS lent me a couple of wheels with trashed rims and a truing stand so I could strip them down and relace/retension them, which I did a couple of times. As far as I could tell I had them in as good a state as I was likely to get given the rim damage, but it's a different thing to build a wheel for real knowing I'm going to be putting my fat self on it and actually riding it, and that this isn't going to be a pretty thing to look at just to admire my handiwork.

jsigone

You will need a spoke tension tool. I think the Park version is around $65 + some sort of nipple cream. Or just pay the LBS $35 to lace them up for you (what I do)