Originally Posted by
Super D
So here's a bit of a perhaps unanswerable question...If all other elements are equal, who makes the fastest-rolling HUBS?
The follow-up to that is, has anyone tested track hubs fairly, eliminating variables and narrowing performance down to the hubs themselves?
I now have wheels with Mavic track hubs, Zipp track hubs, DA track hubs, FFWD track hubs and Onyx track hubs...curious to know which would actually roll the best----if all other elements were equal.
I bring this up, because in my experiences with road wheels, those with DA hubs seem to roll better/faster than anything else I've owned. Not standing up for DA as the best, but sharing empirical evidence (I generally seem to coast faster than most riders around me since switching to wheels with DA hubs. I didn't change anything else, so I'm thinking the hubs must be a factor.)
As a broadly generic statement, anything with cup and cone will be faster than a cartridge bearing. Cup and cone also makes it easy to change/test/use different lubricants instead of just the factory grease. Grease does break down over time, so any sealed bearing will not just degrade lubrication wise, but as it wears, it cannot be cleaned, leading to further degradation. Whether this is measurable or important to you is up to you. My old race wheels (Zipp 440 rims to DA hubs) were kept squeaky clean and I lubricated with oil. I COULD tell there was a difference. Whether or not that gave me a measurable gain I was never able to figure out, but psychologically, it felt better.