abdon 

I'm talking 8~10 speed hubs. Conventional wisdom was that a mountain bike hub was much stronger than a road hub and thus that's what you wanted. Well this winter I want to lace a 27" wheelset for my vintage bikes and im pondering if there is anything significant to gain from going mountain.

djb

I don't really have much experience with road hubs, but I can say that over the decades, I have always been impressed by the seals on good mtb hubs, XT specifically. When I do periodic regreasing, it seems to me that the seals do a very good job of keeping the grease clean.
Others with road hub experience can probably give a better opinion on the comparison.

Of course, what I am referring to is very much dependant on if you never ride in rainy, gritty conditions, which to my mind is what mtb hubs are specifically designed to deal with.
With all bike stuff, rider and bike weight is always going to be a big factor. I'm a lightweight so parts have a much easier life than someone who weighs 100 lbs more than me.

Without the specifics of what you'll be doing with the bikes, how much riding etc etc, you're always going to be better off going with really good quality hubs, and if they are ball bearing hubs, making sure they are well greased and cones properly adjusted yourself, if you have experience with this.

tcs

Cold setting the OLD, of course. Going to that level of effort, I'd probably move to 700C rims, too, but hey! It's your project.

staehpj1

That may of may not be an easy fit. Existing brakes may not reach. Other brakes may or may not resolve the issue. Longer brake reach may hurt brake performance if they are too flexy. Borrow some 700c wheels from another bike to try before committing. Try both front and rear they may not both be the same for brake reach.

700c will allow a much wider selection of available tires now and probably more so in the future. So it is a nice upgrade if it works out.

abdon 

I do have brakes that would reach just fine. And I do have bikes that I have moved to 700c tires. I just have bikes where I'm perfectly satisfied with the tire selection of 27" tires so I want to have my cake and eat it too; a stronger hub on native rims.

JoeyBike

Well...what is there to lose? If you're doing fully loaded touring the weight of your hubs and a few extra spokes are just a drop in the bucket and IMO well worth the lower risk of hassles on the road.

That said, I toured self contained on Sansin cartridge bearing road hubs back in the '90s for roughtly 15,000 miles without a single hiccup. Also American Classic hubs after that.

In "Modern History" I have been riding on Shimano XT hubs. Never a problem. In fact, the only two times I ever considered servicing them after about 5 years of mostly everyday riding they looked so good upon inspection that i just put them back together and rode them some more. The grease looked like I had just serviced them yesterday. Of all the hubs I mentioned I have never broken any of them.

Short answer: Yes. Go with MTB hubs. Nice ones. Do not have to be Gucci (Chris King etc.) although if you love spending money, why not? King headsets are hard to beat.

abdon 

My trek 720 is on XT mountain hubs. If I was to overload that would be the mule I would use. And yes, it is amazing how little tender loving care those things need.

Basically I have a small stable of vintage touring bikes with free wheels and 126mm rear triangles. Having a wheelset with sealed bearings will let me throw them in any of those bikes and not have to worry about when was the last time I repacked the grease on the axle. A 130mm axle would not even require me to resize the rear triangle, it would take just a bit more effort installing the tire.

I must say 36h road hubs are not as common as they used to, specially on cassette hubs

Steve B.

If the frame can accept a 135mm QR hub, then you gain those 5mm of room, assuming current is 130mm. The wheel might be slightly stronger.

abdon 

Most are 126mm, the norm during the mid 80's quick resurgence and subsequent quick fading of touring bikes in the US marketplace. You can get a 135mm hub to fit but it requires a modicum of stretching. Easy enough but best if you are doing that permanently. A 130mm hub can be made to fit a 126mm triangle with just a modicum of cajoling but with no permanent effect on the frame.

Yan 

Mountain hubs are wider than road hubs. You need to choose based on what your frame can accept. Everything else is irrelevant if it can't even fit your frame.

I'm not sure why you think mountain hubs would be stronger than road hubs. On Shimano hubs, for example, the guts of their mountain and road hubs are identical. I have not had a problem with touring on their road hubs.

abdon 

First of, going from 126mm to 135mm is perfectly doable, stretching a steel triangle the extra 9mm is trivially easy. Aluminum and carbon are a whole different conversation. And if you look at the post title that's a question, not a statement.

Early on mountain bike hubs were indeed stronger and with better seals. The way Shimano keeps improving, I don't know anymore. Heck even on the mountain bike side you get to choose between grams and durability; XT vs XTR.

The biggest issue is that 36h road hubs are not as common as they used to be. I would want to find a silver 36h road hub with sealed bearings instead of loose balls.

cyccommute 

The only real difference between road and mountain hubs is width. In the late 80s and early 90s, mountain bike hubs went to 130mm width while the road hub was still 126. Later the hubs widened to 135mm while road hubs widened to 130mm. In the mid2000s, 142mm and wider started to make an appearance but the road hubs stayed at 130mm. The seals on both types of hubs are pretty much the same.

LesterOfPuppets

It wasn't uncommon for XC racers to run Campagnolo Record front hubs back in the 8-speed rim-brake days.

abdon 

I'm of the age of 130mm road, 135mm mountain. I'm in need to update my knowledge base which is why I started the thread, not to advocate for one over the other. Although 36 hole road hubs are uncommon on 8~10 cassettes and forget about finding a higher spoke count.

I'm going to try and hunt down a Mavic 571 36h hub. Not common but they are out there.

imi

I have had a number of bikes cold set from 130mm to 132,5mm so both road and mtb hubs will fit.

cyccommute 

Cannondale made their touring bikes with 132.5mm OLD so that either 130 or 135mm hubs could be used.