timmhaan

i admit, i've never noticed any performance issues of hubs - whether they are expensive or cheap. They always seem to work and i don't ever think about them.

What does a good quality hub have over something cheaper? Do you notice differences between various hubs?

MichaelW

I had a Shimano Altus hub built up by my LBS into a cheap, effective commuter wheel. I used it hard in all conditions on roads and trails and never had any complaints. It wasnt light but was robust and reliable and would spin as much as freely as any other hub.

Albany-12303

Read my post from today "Reason to carry extra water and/or electrical tape"

I have hub issues.

rufvelo

Hubs are a critical component of the bike. So if you tight on cash, do spend some of it on some very underrated components - good hubs, bottom bracket and headset...

...as opposed to that carbon front derailleur

Retro Grouch 

I've noticed some differences.

1. Cassette hubs are gobs better than ones that use a spin-on freewheel. Bent axles used to be a fairly common problem. Cassette freehubs by moving the drive side bearing outboard have virtually eliminated bent axles.

2. Ultegra hubs, for example, have a more sophisticated sealing mechanism than 105 hubs. 105 hubs, in turn, are gobs better than hubs were when I started. I used to overhaul my hubs three or four times per year and the grease would always have been washed out. Today I seldom feel the need and, even when I do, they still have grease in the bearings.

3. I suspect it's a result of #2, but cones seem to last a lot longer. Pitted cones used to be common, now they're rare.

silversmith

If you just hold the bike up and spin the wheel you might not notice much difference between a properly adjusted and greased low-end hub and a decent hub. But if you take the same mounted hubs and spin then while supporting them between your hands you'll be able to feel the drag of the cheaper hub.

I was just showing this to my wife, taking a just repacked pair of Maillards and comparing them to my Miche hubs in the hope of making her understand my latest e-bay bidding spree.

sigh...

Portlandonian

I can tell the difference between my now almost worthless Ritchey comp or pro hub, which has a freewheel that fills with water and dirt after a few thousand miles (and the bearings aren't very smooth anymore, despite repacking), and my mavic elite wheel which runs smooth forever. My Ritchey pro front hub filled up with dirt too over the winter.

merlinextraligh

Before we discovered aerodynamics and the fact that friction from a hub is about 1/1000th of the force holding the bike back, we used to obsess about such things. I remember taking one ball bearing out of each side of Campy record hubs to get "Trackman's slack."

gcasillo

"It's all ball bearings these days."

Good quality hubs have bearings that have long life and smoothness. Also, some hubs have flanges that withstand higher spoke tensions than other hubs.

But yeah, I've had no problems with several brands of hubs over the last few years. A lot of solid choices.

DannoXYZ 

As previously pointed out, there's not much of a performance difference between hubs. That's because it's at the center of rotation on the wheel, so its weight contributes very little to the overall inertia. Also the RPMs it spins at is relatively low, so the bearing clearances and quality won't make that big of a difference either. Ultimately, the main difference between hubs is weight&strength and durability. Cheaper hubs don't have as good of seals (or any at all) and will require more frequent servicing. I've had a set of Mavic 550 hubs for about 20-years now and haven't even had to adjust the bearings even after 30K-miles. But they're not any faster than my wheels with Ultegra hubs which requires yearly maintenance.