Deore hubs
 

Didn't know where else to post this, since it's a "mountain bike" piece of equipment on my commuter bike that happens to be a cross bike.

A search of the forums reveals a lot of dislike for Deore hubs. However, a while back when I built my wheels for my commuter, I needed to build bombproof on a budget. I went with Deore M525 disc hubs with Mavic A317 disc rims. DT Competition spokes.

After reading all the negative things about the hubs, it occurred to me that I might lighten up my nearly 2300 gram wheels with a similar 6 bolt hub. A couple of places have the old 6 bolt XT hubs for sale...but to my surprise the weight is listed as IDENTICAL.

And then I found this great review: Bikeradar M525 review.

I think my experience is more in line with theirs, rather than most of this forum. Rolling lumps of durability is right. I won't be rebuilding that wheel after all.

I will be building a second wheelset, with M585 hubs and Open Pro rims...but that's another story.

Anyhow, it's hard to beat for $20-$30 dollars. Particularly when the M756 XTs weigh exactly the same. Sure, the XT bearings might be better...but if the Deore bearings ever wear out, I can just replace those!

FWIW, I have 12,000 miles on the Deore hubs on my Atlantis, and I've never even thought about them. They still run smooth (and I weigh 240). My mountain bike is also Deore, and while I have no idea how far it's gone, I've had it 13 years. No problems there, either.

750/760-series XT has better sealing (and so does Deore LX), but present-day Deore hubs are OK for the money. I'd sure take them over Formula or "house-brand" hubs, at least it's feasible to get parts for Deore. If you want to move up one step to LX, that's usually not too much more money and you get the additional seals at the cones.

I like mine. I'm not too picky about weight (anymore), but Shimano's "low end" hubs such as 2200, Sora Deore, 105, Acera, Alivio, Altus, Tiagra, etc. seem amazing for their respective prices. I remember seeing the Altus or Acera or Alivio for <$6 somewhere once.

Granted, I've never really ridden on super high end $100+ stuff like Chris King or Phil Wood (not that I don't want to), but I am still very impressed by Shimano's hubs. I think Sheldon Brown mentioned that he rather liked Shimano hubs; I believe it was on the Shimagnolo write-up of his that seems to be no longer up.

my Kona Jake came with Deore hubs and Alex rims...the rims wore out after about 5K miles (many in the rain/snow), and I replaced the wheels with Aksiums. Just did a long rail trail ride and got the originals wheels relaced to Salsa Delgado Cross rims...the guy at the bike shop said they have tons of miles left in them. still feel great, no issues, and I'm happy to be able to swap the Aksiums for mainly road riding and the Deore/Delgados for dirt roads, etc.

Just to add fuel to the fire, I'm on my third freehub on my XT hub. I weigh 150, ride normally- what gives?

Those el cheapo Deore hubs have seen some hard commuting duty, and a couple of "Adventure Races" that involved some trail riding and two stream (really, floodzone) crossings. They still run like glass, and so quiet. A friend who I work with even commented on how quiet my bike is as a wheeled it by. (His reference for comparison is some cheap x-mart stuff).

I probably should have used lighter rims with those wheels though. They're, um, tanks.

Near as I can tell, the freehub body on the XT is the exact same on the Deore. So are a great many of the parts. And, as mentioned, the weight is pretty much identical. It's the axle and the seals that differ.

I weigh 155, so I don't really know what gives.

The XT freebody is superior to the Deore and on the Deore hubs- Better seals are one reason but the other is stronger Flanges (The bit where the spoke attaches.)

I ride on XT hubs and have yet to wear one out or damage it. I know I replace my wheels every two years or so but that is because I have worn out the rim and several spokes will be damaged. I find it cheaper to Buy New XT wheels with Mavic Rims from my Wheel builder than to have a hub Re- rimmed.

Sounds goofy to me. Have you checked to be sure that you don't have a slightly bent axle? I'm thinking that would put a lot of stress on the freehub body.

I would have said that Shimano hubs generally are considered good bang for the buck. Not counting the real bottom-feeders they put on Xmart bikes.

I would think a Deore hub is just about right for a commuting rig.

jim