Good Budget Touring Hubs?
04-07-18, 08:24 AM
#26
Senior Member
I agree with the posters who've had good things to say about the VO touring hub. It's dead simple to take off the freehub if you pop a spoke. No need for a hypercracker. Also easy to lube and clean the pawls if they get contaminated.
I personally wouldn't use Shimano hubs but I get the appeal. They do last a long time and they're cheap, but once the freehub fails it's a toss up whether a bike shop will have the right one in stock. The axles do break too. And servicing them requires cone wrenches, which I wouldn't want to lug around on a tour.
My wife's rear Shimano hub started making scary noises in the middle of our 5-month Euro tour. We stopped by a couple of bike shops in Geneva. No one would service the hub. Instead we bought a new wheel. I was miffed but the wheel was cheap (another Shimano hub) and it lasted the rest of the trip.
I personally wouldn't use Shimano hubs but I get the appeal. They do last a long time and they're cheap, but once the freehub fails it's a toss up whether a bike shop will have the right one in stock. The axles do break too. And servicing them requires cone wrenches, which I wouldn't want to lug around on a tour.
My wife's rear Shimano hub started making scary noises in the middle of our 5-month Euro tour. We stopped by a couple of bike shops in Geneva. No one would service the hub. Instead we bought a new wheel. I was miffed but the wheel was cheap (another Shimano hub) and it lasted the rest of the trip.
-Ive never had a freehub problem
-Ive never had an axle break
-if serviced properly, greasing, proper cone tightness, locknut tightness, a good hub will go for many many many thousands of kms without issues. I do my own hubs, which means I know thier condition and adjustments, which is a big help in terms of knowing how they are and what to expect in the months to come.
-depends on the bike store, could have been fancy schmancy stores that look down on/dont ever work in ball bearing hubs. OR they didnt want to get into a mess of a screwed up innards of a hub with knackered bearings etc, so avoided the trouble--without feeling the hub myself, and opening it, I can only speculate. Even here in Montreal, it depends on the shop you go into , but the point that a hub makes scary noises is usually pretty far gone, and could be avoided by knowing your hubs well, but I realize not every one likes doing this stuff or has the knack for it.
thats too bad that happened , but Im glad you were able to find a solution, albeit having to buy a new wheel.
that said, the positives you mention of the VO hubs seem pretty neat. Ive never even seen one in real life.
04-07-18, 09:33 AM
#27
Senior Member
to counter some of your statements with my experience using them over the decades.
-Ive never had a freehub problem
-Ive never had an axle break
-if serviced properly, greasing, proper cone tightness, locknut tightness, a good hub will go for many many many thousands of kms without issues. I do my own hubs, which means I know thier condition and adjustments, which is a big help in terms of knowing how they are and what to expect in the months to come.
-depends on the bike store...
-Ive never had a freehub problem
-Ive never had an axle break
-if serviced properly, greasing, proper cone tightness, locknut tightness, a good hub will go for many many many thousands of kms without issues. I do my own hubs, which means I know thier condition and adjustments, which is a big help in terms of knowing how they are and what to expect in the months to come.
-depends on the bike store...
Having worked at a bike shop the past four years, I've seen my share of broken Shimano axles. It does happen. Glad it hasn't happened to you.
I also serviced the hubs on my wife's bike before the trip. It's easy to do. I just don't want to lug along the tools to do it on the road. After a few thousand miles, including many wet miles in Ireland and the UK, I'm not surprised her Shimano hubs needed some servicing. It's just too bad the two shops we visited weren't able to help. On the other hand, when my VO hub started making noise, I just pulled off the cassette and freehub, added some lube, and was good to go for the rest of the trip.
Shimano hubs are a great value. I just prefer the VO Touring hub because it's easy to service on the road without tools.
