Shimagnolo

- Cartridge bearings: For people who like to spend time *riding* bikes.
- Ball/Cone bearings: For people who like to spend time *working* on bikes.

Flame away.

DScott

I love my Campy hubs, but they don't come in anything but a 32 hole drilling. Not exactly the best for lighter and/or more aero wheelsets.

Rob P.

Actually this whole "angular bearings are better than cartridge bearings" talk is BS. You can get angular contact cartridge bearings in most bearing sizes that are used for hubsets. WHY the mfg's don't use them is beyond my ability to understand but they ARE available.


For this thread, I'm having problems getting past the "best" part of the question. "Best" for one person is not the same for someone else.

If you REALLY want to discuss what hubs PERFORM better, then lets talk about hub design (ie: straight pull spokes vs J-bend vs nipples on hub vs weight vs machining vs bling vs ...) Bearings are non-starters in the "best" category because you can change them.

Ed Holland

I've a couple of wheelsets with Hope Technology road hubs. They have served me well in all weathers, and are available with steel or titanuim freehub bodies. Most importantly, they have cartridge bearings which, as well as being replaceable, seemed to hold up really well in English winter conditions - As yet they have not needed any attention.

Blacklab78

If you actually plan on riding your bike lots - I really feel it's very hard to go past Dura Ace or Record Hubs. Both are bombproof, both spin forever, both are reasonably light and both very rarely fail.

DT240's are excellent also - although they do spin less (in your hand anyway - who knows on the road!)

When it comes to the others - you are either looking at a more boutique build ($$$$) or something different for the sake of being different. Tune/King/Hope/Alchemy etc all fall into this category IMHO

IMO the two best wheel manufacturers in the market are - you guessed it - Campy and Shimano.

patentcad

You just listen to that Psimet kid.

socalrider

Campy Record or Phil Wood..

I also have Chris King and White Industry and they are solid too..

Psimet2001 

Quite the opposite in fact. I build with Alchemy because they make much more sense value wise than Shimano or Campy. Not to mention you're not as limited by spoke drillings like you are with Shimano and Campy.

On top of that the Alchemy ELF flange spacing is much wider and the flange is thicker giving it a much stiffer buildup.

DT is outrageous price wise - even at wholesale.

Grumpy McTrumpy

Who makes the best pizza?

Psimet2001 

Lou Malnattis. This is Chicago remember....

StanSeven

Campy - it's the answer to everything.

Blacklab78

I don't disagree with any of the comments here by Psimet2001. However, if you are in a country town in the middle of Australia (insert far away place here...) and you need a freehub/bearing etc cos your's is cactus - try getting an Alchemy hub part in under 2 weeks (if at all)...shimano however...is probably in stock.

MCODave

A few years ago, I would have been quick to agree that the answer to the question is Campy/Shimano. But those hubs have gotten EXPENSIVE to the point where it really isn't that much of a jump to something like White or Alchemy.

I have both Dura Ace and Ultegra 9-speed hubs, and I swear I used to get them for like $120 and $70 A PAIR. I was looking at the price of the current 10-speed hubs, and that won't buy you just the rear hub.

And Campy is no better. They have basically dropped all of their lower-group hubs to where you have to get Chorus or Records hubs if you want to build you own wheels. I was looking at getting a cheap Veloce group from Ribble, and it would have cost 1/2 the price of the rest of the group just to add a pair of hubs. It was actually cheaper to get low-end wheels than just hubs from Campy.

Blacklab78

MCODave, I think it's actually pretty smart of Campy to drop all but the Chorus/Record hubs. With the price of the lower end factory builts (Vento, Khamsin etc) , why would you go to the trouble of getting a quality handbuilt if all you want is a strong training wheel?

Record and Dura Ace hubs are still up to 1/2 the cost of King/DT/Tune and others...

Psimet2001 

Always a valid point and something to take into consideration when building a wheel. Always build for the purpose.

Psimet2001 

...so that you can get a quality handbuilt that will be lighter and more durable...that's why.

Unfortunately I agree that this is why the big guys are not as enthusiastic as they used to be about their hubs - they have decided they are wheel builders. Unfortunately I feel that the low end offerings from both sides have made too many sacrifices on design and materials to represent a better value than a set of handbuilts.

Most of the market will never care. They get the low end on their bike as OE and then upgrade to some high end factory wheels when the entry level ones break/fail/ or get boring.

Their high end offerings are great.

It just leaves us wheelbuilders looking for alternatives.

DA hubs have horrendous pricing. Campy makes more sense $-wise at this point.

lukasz

It makes sense for Campy because their lower quality hubs over the years have generally been the same as their Record hubs besides some weight trimming and the oil port.

RichinPeoria

My only problem with the Record hubs is that they are 32 hole. I'm used to 36 3x and at 190-195lbs Im concerned that there will be increased maintenance for me. fyi I would use Mavic CXP33s in the build up. I really like those rims.

CycleBiker

Sturmey Archer.

Fox Farm

King are most likely good but over $300 for the rear hub??? Phil Wood use to be the stuff.

jashgtp

How can you be talking about this with out posting some examples?

tony c

DT Swiss
Shimano Dura Ace
Phil Wood (RIP)

WhyFi

10 years old - good effort, but we saw a 12-year-old bump yesterday.

redlude97

Because they aren't necessary in hubs. The primary reason for cup and cone bearings is serviceability, not for dealing with significant sideloading on wheels

79pmooney

I get a kick out the concept of a "best" hub. Hubs have a job. To support the wheel and in back, be the link between the chain/'cogs and the spokes/rim/tire/road. A lot of hubs do those jobs really well. Good hubs do it with little, straight-forward maintenance. Good hubs last a long time. Best" hubs are also shiny and have little numbers on the scale.

Very good hubs I have owned and ridden - Sanshin Pro-something (stock Fuji Pro hubs 40+ years ago, Campagnolo Tipo front hubs, Phil Woods (I wish I bought them decades sooner), '00s mid-priced Campy 9-speed and front hubs, every Ultegra front hub I've used. "Best"? Probably the Sanshin front hub that was my race wheel 1978, rebuilt as a winter wheel with a Weinmann Concave rim. ( Mangled the dust caps on the rebuild and have been using Campys since. The Campy cones are a touch smaller so I wrapped the cone/'locknut with sailing twine as a dirt seal. 1982. That wheel did a few epic winter rain rides. Took it apart last year fearing the worst. Bearings were absolutely pristine and spun like Campagnolo's best ever. The hub is still in the Weinmann rim, but when the time comes to build an almost race set of tubular wheels, this will be the front.

The other good hub I have - a Campy Tipo front my brother picked up used and gave me in 1986. It's been my winter/rain/city bike hub since then. Ridiculous number of miles. It has not been in continuous use but has a real share of the 27,000 miles my Miyata went and the 17,000 miles of my current Trek. It has had pitting for the past decade. I just pack it with marine grease every few years. (All the grease I can stuff in there.) Works perfectly. No play. Each time I go in there's a lot of that really hard to clean thick grease to deal with but it is barely discolored and the races look exactly like they did last time I looked; same pitting. I don't know how that works. It is my winter wheel and the rims get replaced more often than I do the bearings.

Speaking of good hubs - I have never seen a Tipo hub flange break despite the huge diameter. I have broken two Record track rear flanges, using them as winter road hubs. Campy USA always got me new ones but the rebuild on my commuter was a drag so when I discovered the Miche track hubs I switched. Now those have been good hubs. Sealed so every few years I take the winter/rain./city wheel to a shop and get new bearings. Miche did make some (to my mind) slightly odd choices of threads, etc. but all the Miches I have bought have served me well. (All fix gear so really not applicable to this thread.)

I don't use Shimano rear hubs simply because I run my newest geared bike on Campy standard, older ones as Phil Wood 7-speed FWs and Miches on my fix gears.

Ben