rpenmanparker 

Let cut to the chase. CKs, DTs, Whites, American Classics... What have I forgotten? You guys can guess how I feel about it in general.

I will admit that I used to buy American Classics when I could get them used or even new but heavily discounted off ebay. For the reduced price the ultra-light weight, simplicity of internal design, reinforced/protected aluminum freehub body splines and more balanced side-to-side spoke tension were strong draws for me. But I never had to pay full price for them. Since discovering Bike Hub Store generic Taiwanese hubs I have stopped looking for the discounted ACs and am down to only one rear at present. I would never pay full list price for ACs knowing what I know about BHS hubs and the neat trick of 2:1 (triplet) spoke lacing to correct unbalanced side-to-side spoke tension. The BHS hubs are all I have used for years.

Your thoughts?

obed7

I think that what something is or is not worth, is a personal value judgement.
What makes something worth anything depends on the individuals own concerns.
If you have found something that you like, meets all your needs, then by all means, stick with it.

rpenmanparker 

Drat! I'm trying to stir up a hornets nest here and all I can get from you is white bread philosophy. Now I know why Socrates committed suicide.

Hey, nobody get offended, okay? I'm just playing with you guys. But some opinions on hubs in general would be interesting to read.

shelbyfv

I'd be interested to hear how any of those you mentioned would be an improvement over Dura Ace with the new, simple bearing adjustment. Those would be my dream hubs. Under $320 at Ribble. Stir it up!

Sy Reene

Powertap G3 hub probably comes close to validating a $600 cost for some.

rpenmanparker 

Does DA come in 20/24 these days?

rpenmanparker 

Yeah, but that's not a fair comparison. You aren't paying that for a hub alone, but for a power meter. Out of bounds for this discussion, doncha think?

shelbyfv

I don't think so. I expect that would be a significant negative for some. I'm not a low spoke count kind of guy.

noodle soup

My front hub cost over $300, and the rear hub cost $1400.

shelbyfv

Is that a positive or a negative?

Sy Reene

Ok.. it's your thread. but you did say "ANY". You could also probably say that if you ARE willing to spend $600 on a hub and don't own a power meter, that a G3 would be much better performance investment than a standard (though pricey) hub.

silversx80

While I really like my BHS hubs, they do leave a little to be desired. Mine were extremely inexpensive, and have Enduro bearings, so major win. The hub shell, however, has questionable strength. Before I bought them, I researched as much as I could, and found that some people were having issues with the flange failing with radial lacing patterns. That's not a big deal to me because I laced mine 2X front, and 3X rear (24f/28r). The dishing issue is there on the rear (a minor annoyance) and the NDS tension is very low, however not enough to zero out tension under load. Doing it again, I may go with 2X, or 1X on the NDS.

I LOVE the freehub with its 6 pawls. It makes a helluva racket... loud freehubs FTW!


Now, going with a more expensive hub (and I plan on T-11 for my next build) will bring improvements in fit and finish. There is likely more testing data to stand behind the product, and I'm willing to bet manufacturing tolerances are tighter (but don't have proof to back that up). Research and development costs need to be recovered, as well as other overheads that BHS does not have for many reasons.

When you buy a product like a White Industries, American Classic, Chris King, etc., you are buying the name. You are also buying a product with a name that has a reputation to keep.

Is it worth it? I don't know, but cyclists have spent more money on products with even less of a marginal gain.

noodle soup

they aren't my hubs actually but rather a friend's Rohloff 14 speed internal gear rear hub, and a Schmidt SON 28 Dynamo front hub. Both are great for touring and commuting if you have a large income.

rpenmanparker 

Good analysis. Thanks. But Bitex is a pretty big name too. My guess (just a guess) is they make more hubs than all of the other companies named here, combined. And even though it is not stamped on every on of their hubs, it is widely known who makes them. And they have to satisfy their customers, the distributors and retailers who won't be happy if lots of hubs come back for warranty service. I have never heard of radial spoke problems and have used radial spoking on all my Taiwanese hubs without issue. Also on many wheels I have built with them for others. The assumption inferior QC and QA is totally without any legitimate basis. No offense, but I think that many of the concerns are really based on cultural bias. I won't say cultural or racial bigotry. That is a little too severe. Let's just leave it at bias.

RJM

White Industry hubs aren't 600 bucks for the set...more like $460. They are nicely made with titanium freehub body, which is a nice touch.

Industry Nine sells a road hubset for $550 a set, which includes a multitude of colors and 6 degree engagement. Their mountain wheelsets are great but I have no experience on the road side of the things. The mountain wheelset features 3 degree engagement, and that can be felt when riding singletrack....great wheelsets.

These are also made in the USA products by people employed in the USA. That matters to me a little.

\
I'm currently riding a set of Rolf wheels on my roadbike, which are also USA made. They have been great for about two years now. I don't know what the hubs would cost but the entire wheelset retails for $1050. Worth the money, IMHO. Plenty of engineering went into them, so they aren't generic stuff.

Erzulis Boat 

I have pretty much used all of the available boutique and mainstream factory hubs available.

Chris King- Good hubset, well made, and used to be made in my hometown. No issues, but on my MTB, I didn't like the noise, 'kinda ruined the quiet ambiance of an early morning trail cruise in the mountains.

American Classic- Had 2 sets of those, but that was in the 90's. Nothing special per se.

White Industries. Had the hubs before the titanium body (they were aluminum) and one cracked after 8 years on a commuter. Called White Industries on a gamble, and they sent me a titanium body for free within days. Awesome customer service.

Shimano Dura-ace and XTR. Flawless of course, and the XTR skewers are truly superior articles.

Campagnolo Record/SR- My fave, but I am a Campy snob. Zero issues. And if I did have any issues, I would never say anything anyway...............

DT Swiss- Only front hub experience, never had the courage to gamble on a rear. Not because I feel that it may be inferior, but I have too many known rears to choose from.

Formula- Bike store cheapos, but totally legit. Experience only with SS/FG, but bearings and construction are totally acceptable.

Syncros- Only front, and I think you can't get them anymore anyway.

Hope- Limited experience, wouldn't be fair to make an evaluation.

Phil Wood- Was the cycle tourists choice of yesteryear. The hallmark of a 36 spoke touring wheel when steel ruled the day. Still love Phil stuff.

And some more, but those are the ones I can think of right now.

Are the "fancy" hubs worth it? Generally speaking, I would have to say no, as high end Shimano/Campy is virtually flawless. I still run them though, and CK hubs on your 'Cross bike look and sound rad.

MrCharlie

Yea, interesting no one has talked about Phil, the orginal $600 hubset. Or, maybe not so interesting as the Phil road hubs are quite a bit heavier than hubs, like the WI, that are really only less durable in a theoretical sense. I've got Phil's touring hubs. Durable, of course, but massively heavy.

Looigi

I built a set of wheels around BHS SLF85W and SL210 hubs which together cost $125. Since they meet all the objectives and performance characteristics I was after, spending any more would have been a waste.

rpenmanparker 

I didn't specify in my op that I was really only interested in discussing hub brands/models that came in 20/24 drilling and were supported by the maker for radial lacing, but I do regard this as a de facto standard for high performance road hubs in 2015. That doesn't mean that everybody has to ride wheels like that, but a hub brand/model that doesn't conform to that standard isn't really in the game IMO.

anotherbrian

I've been back into cycling seriously only since 2005, and it was MTBing at the time.

In 2005 American Classic hubs were inexpensive and nowhere near considered premium hubs. They were what you got for budget builds. White Industries was boutique but not premium priced (I have two Eno Eccentric hubs from that era that I got from Performance for ~$125). At the time I dropped a lot of money on Hadley and Chris King for geared bikes and Phil for single speed. Phil's have been trouble free (used with White Industries freewheeling) but the Hadley's and CK's had annoying issues that didn't justify their premium prices.

Now I tend to just buy DT Swiss hubs. They look nice enough, have been exceptionally reliable, are easy to maintain with easy access to parts if needed, and have been convertible to other axle standards over the years. And Swiss chocolate is excellent. I stay far away from DT's rims though.

indyfabz

I got my pair of red CKs for what the rear was retailing for at the time. I spent the savings on a gold-plated bell.

cale

I guess that leaves 6-bolt disc hubs out of the picture. Just when I was getting ready to chirp in. Haha

Why aren't we looking at Alibaba? Seems like everything comes from overseas and cutting out the US distributor is the easiest way to save money...

Here's a nice pair of Novatec A291SB/F482SB in red or black. 1 set minimum purchase, respectable weight 107/277g respectively, accepts paypal..

Just throwing it out there.
Novatec A291sb F482sb Carbon Road Bicycle Hub,Carbon Road Bicycle Hub - Buy Road Bike Novatec 291 Hub,Carbon Road Bicycle Hub,Novatec A291sb F482sb Product on Alibaba.com

I notice, after the fact, that BDop sells this hubset for $125/pair. That's not much more than the $90-120 price spread quoted by this vendor on Alibaba. Wonder what the actual cost would be?

andr0id

You can certainly pay more, but you can't get anything better than Dura Ace hubs.

andr0id

Because most of what is on Alibaba is counterfeit.

cale

I've never heard that. What gives you that impression?