goldfishin

just wondering what a good, strong, and fairly light set of hubs would be that would make a good $300 wheel set. what other than shimano is out there that you approve of? this wouldn't be for loaded touring... more like loaded grocery getting.

gorshkov

I know you said "other than Shimano", but I run Parallax hubs on my touring bike, and I have had no problems with them after two years and about 5000 miles. Plus they were fairly inexpensive - the wheelset (Mavic 317 rims, built at LBS) cost about $250.

goldfishin

i should note i meant mountain hubs.

NoReg

I haven't used them but the wheelsets by Velocity Dyad have a good rep. Another option might be something like wheels built on a Surly front, and a Shimano Gearhub rear. Really, for what you describe LX would be overkill and perfectly suitable.

gorshkov

edit to my original post: Parallax is a particular kind of bearing technology that Shimano put into their LX and XT (also XTR?) hubs. I think the hubs I have (which were used when I bought them) are LX.

NeezyDeezy

two letters: LX

cyccommute 

I hate to say this...Damn you Shimano!...but there really aren't any. It's hard to beat...Damn you Shimano!...them for price, availability and durability. I wish there were...Damn you Shimano!...but it ain't gonna happen

When you go to the insanely priced hubs, you can give a big middle finger salute to Shimano. But that would be crazy

positron

whats wrong with Shimano? you just established that they make some of the best, and least expensive hubs out there...

I mean I loved Suntour too, but at this point at least Shimano still makes a great product.... they could have killed off the competition then cut costs to the point where the two options were pricey and complete crap.

cyccommute 

It's 'cause they own the market They make a damn fine product but I'd love to see some competition.

Besides, to quote Foghorn Leghorn, "Lookit here son, I say son, that's a joke, son. A flag waver. You're built too low. The fast ones go over your head. Ya got a hole in your glove. I keep pitchin' 'em and you keep missin' 'em. Ya gotta keep your eye on the ball. Eye. Ball. I almost had a gag, son. Joke, that is."

positron

tarwheel 

Ultegra hubs are hard to beat, but I have heard good things about Velocity's standard hubs. I recently got an estimate on some touring wheels from a well-known wheel-maker, and he recommended Velocity hubs over Ultegra because of their sealed bearing cartridges. The Velocity's are about the same price as Ultegra but harder to find.

bwgride

Shimano deore - inexpensive and solid.

seeker333

Just bought some deores from Jenson during a free shipping promotion: $31 R $16 F.

Can't afford xt anymore.

Most mainstream consumer (sram+shimano) bike parts prices have increased dramatically in the past 2-3 years. XT rear derailers, one of your most expensive parts beside shifters/brifters used to routinely list for 50-60 bucks at the discount etailers, now they're 75-90.

The good news is it makes formerly "fancy" parts seem more reasonably priced. DT and Hope hubs and Thomson stems and seatposts seem like less like a luxury and more like a good value now.

To the OP: bear in mind there is more to a good value wheel than just the hub; how you assemble the parts may greatly determine the longevity and ultimate value of that wheel.

dingonan

With progress and technology they should be costing less not more.

goldfishin

you forget the inflation on our trillions of dollars of bailout....

surreal

I don't know if things've changed, but the "velocity" hubs used to be rebadged formula hubs. I've never used em, but i've read bad reviews at mtbr.com.

The simple truth is, there's shimano hubs, there's crappy hubs, and there's what most would consider insanely expensive hubs (some of which are arguably crappy). Ppl dislike the shimanos b/c of loose balls, but i like them b/c they're very rebuildable, very adjustable, and very affordable. Ppl dislike Shimano b/c shimano is the blockbuster/kleenex/dominant evil corp of bicycle componenets, but I stand by shimano b/c they've never given me a crappy product, and everything up to the topline (xtr, dura-ace) is nicely priced. The difference in price between XT and deore is like, really, $60 bucks for the hubset? Supposedly, the bearings in the XT are better than in the lx/deore. They all look the same to me, but whatever. At $115 for the hubset, XTs are cheap relative to other quality hubs. And y'know what? LXs are quality, too, and even cheaper. I have no idea how many miles i have on my LX hubs, which've pulled duty on the tarmac and on sandy trails and rutted, rocky off-road nonsense, over the course of 3 years. Only one rebuild and a handful of repacking. The cones no longer come loose, once i figured out how to adjust 'em properly.

If i was in your shoes, I'd "cheap out" on the hubs and get some strong wheels. prowheelbuilder.com will lace up some LXs or XTs to a solid rim, and they have most of the velocity products in a whole rainbow of pimp colours. If you build with them, though, make sure you spec all brass nips; the alloy nips come in garrish hues, but they make later wheel maintenance a PITA.

hth,
-rob

vik 

If I was building wheels from scratch I'd use LX/XT hubs...just depending on my mood and what was available readily.

Beelzebutt

I'm in the middle of a cross country right now and my lx
Hub crapped out. The freehub won't coast! If I stop peddeling
My chain will rip my dérailleur appart. I had to do a six mile
Descent like that. My legs were cooking! Sucks that it failed but
The beauty of shimano is I can replace the freehub body at
Any bike shop. Which is what I'm doing at this moment. Then
I'm back on the road.

hodadmike

I'm considering a new Shimano Tiagra 36H for a front build. Anyone running these?

The Figment

Lx or Xt because if you need a part they are everywhere

kayakdiver

Not my favorite hub but I have a 36 Tiagra with about 10K miles and it's going strong.