Crappy hubs be crappy...

[Haakon]

So to keep the spendy vaguely under control when building the Orange, I just got the wheels from them and bought their own brand basic wheels. A no name taiwanese hub.

Just put new bearings through the rear hub as the freewheel ones were toast. One out the 4 (!) bearings on the free hub had cracked, and the wheel bearings were rough...

This is where it gets weird. I bought up 70 bucks worth of nice NSK japanese bearings for it, and pressed them all in - and theyre still rough as guts. wtf? And the old wheel bearings felt fine out of the hub...

I'm thinking the bores are not altogether in line with each other and the bearings are slightly askew. The wheel bearings in particular were a real count to get in straight too, the bore felt a bit undersize and way too much effort was required to get them in.

Did the same job on the DT Swiss hubs on the Trance a while back and it was easy peasy. And smoooooooth.

Oh well, its back together at last with all new bearings and not feeling all that much better I'll ride it until it drops and then I see some Hopes in my future. Its probably about time the Orange had some Hope bits anyway.

 

[Dales Cannon]

How easily does the axle slide in? Test out of the frame. If the axle fits easily and then wheel spins sweetly look at drop-out alignment and/or axle tension. I had the same with the Hope rear on the Muru. One bearing was stuffed but replaced all (5 or 6?) And they were wonderful but once in the frame crunchy. Dropped the derailleur off and noticed the axle was being skewed by the drop-outs. Not sure what to do with a Ti frame I tried brute force over ignorance and it was fixed. Probably what killed the original bearing.

 

[Haakon]

How easily does the axle slide in? Test out of the frame. If the axle fits easily and then wheel spins sweetly look at drop-out alignment and/or axle tension. I had the same with the Hope rear on the Muru. One bearing was stuffed but replaced all (5 or 6?) And they were wonderful but once in the frame crunchy. Dropped the derailleur off and noticed the axle was being skewed by the drop-outs. Not sure what to do with a Ti frame I tried brute force over ignorance and it was fixed. Probably what killed the original bearing.

Fair point, ill see if they come good in the frame. Im just spinning it with a finger in each end of the axle and feeling the grinding...

 

[Haakon]

Anyhoo, the Orange customer support bloke suggested they could sell me some discount Hopes... I'll see how these go for now, but might press them on that!

 

[Dales Cannon]

Put the axle in and see how they spin.

 

[Haakon]

Put the axle in and see how they spin.

Spins fine, but cant really tell if the bearing rough when the wheel is in. Meh, it'll ride just fine and at some point it will blow up. Its just going to eat bearings is my guess.

 

[Haakon]

I did notice the bigger cogs on the cassette are a bit wonky. Either a Shimano cassette is not quite straight, or the freehub is off.

 

[Dales Cannon]

When the axle is in the bearings the inner races are lined up. If it spins nicely then the bearings are ok and you didn't fuck it up. Put the wheel in and spin it with the bike on a stand. If the bearings are crunchy due to misalignment then you will feel the vibration in the frame. Spinning the wheel between fingers wont prove anything.

 

[Dales Cannon]

I did notice the bigger cogs on the cassette are a bit wonky. Either a Shimano cassette is not quite straight, or the freehub is off.

Did you replace ALL the bearings?

 

[Haakon]

Did you replace ALL the bearings?

All 6 of them. 2 sets of doubled bearings on the freehub, and 2 wheel bearings.

 

[Haakon]

Seems putting it in the frame closed up all the bearings and made them stiff and grinding. I can feel the vibration of the crunchy bearings in the frame after all... Sigh.

This is partly my fault, getting a bearing jammed on an angle by being careless - thats marked the bore up and i think is now tighter than it should be on the bearing. But the bearings were stiff and grinding before i pulled it apart... Anyhoo, I'll bin it. And remind myself how to lace a wheel up.

Is a discount Hope the best, or are these any "decent" budget options around these days? I used some Novatec on Kirsty's mixte build and they seemed nice, but they live a gentle life on that bike. Dont really want to spend 4-500 on a hub.

 

[Labcanary]

Novatec, Stans, Nukeproof are all pretty budget and ok.

Bro in law has Nukeproof hubs on his bike and he is not a light or gentle rider, and he is somewhat slack in maintenance.
Might not be easy to get well priced NP now though.

 

[yuley95]

Seems putting it in the frame closed up all the bearings and made them stiff and grinding. I can feel the vibration of the crunchy bearings in the frame after all... Sigh.

This is partly my fault, getting a bearing jammed on an angle by being careless - thats marked the bore up and i think is now tighter than it should be on the bearing. But the bearings were stiff and grinding before i pulled it apart... Anyhoo, I'll bin it. And remind myself how to lace a wheel up.

Is a discount Hope the best, or are these any "decent" budget options around these days? I used some Novatec on Kirsty's mixte build and they seemed nice, but they live a gentle life on that bike. Dont really want to spend 4-500 on a hub.

Hunt wheels are a good 'affordable' option. Having said that, Nukeproof would have been top of my list if CRC didn't implode

 

[Haakon]

Hunt wheels are a good 'affordable' option. Having said that, Nukeproof would have been top of my list if CRC didn't implode

Just after a hub - the WTB rims are fine, and I'm able to re lace the spokes.

 

[Labcanary]

Anyhoo, the Orange customer support bloke suggested they could sell me some discount Hopes... I'll see how these go for now, but might press them on that!

This is a pretty nice option.

Or there's this:

HOPE PRO 4 REAR HUB - BRAND NEW

Brand new - bought for a build that changed tack. 32H / 12mm thu axle / 6 bolt / 142mm O.L.D / Silver / Bee swarm Shimano Microspline freehub I have a brand new silver Son 28 dynamo and an unbuilt...

www.facebook.com

 

[Jpez]

What about these?

Sold - Hope Pro4 hubset boost 32h silver 6 bolts

Item: Hope Pro4 hubs boost (148R, 110F) 32h silver Location: Sydney/Melbourne Item Condition: Used Reason for selling: Not needed anymore Price and price conditions: $350 $300 (+$80 if you want the SRAM XD freehub as well) + postage if required. Negotiable. Happy to sell the SRAM freehub alone...

www.rotorburn.com

 

[beeb]

Seems putting it in the frame closed up all the bearings and made them stiff and grinding. I can feel the vibration of the crunchy bearings in the frame after all... Sigh.

This is partly my fault, getting a bearing jammed on an angle by being careless - thats marked the bore up and i think is now tighter than it should be on the bearing. But the bearings were stiff and grinding before i pulled it apart... Anyhoo, I'll bin it. And remind myself how to lace a wheel up.

Is a discount Hope the best, or are these any "decent" budget options around these days? I used some Novatec on Kirsty's mixte build and they seemed nice, but they live a gentle life on that bike. Dont really want to spend 4-500 on a hub.

Hope is life.

/thread

 

[Haakon]

What about these?

Sold - Hope Pro4 hubset boost 32h silver 6 bolts

Item: Hope Pro4 hubs boost (148R, 110F) 32h silver Location: Sydney/Melbourne Item Condition: Used Reason for selling: Not needed anymore Price and price conditions: $350 $300 (+$80 if you want the SRAM XD freehub as well) + postage if required. Negotiable. Happy to sell the SRAM freehub alone...

www.rotorburn.com

A little beaten up. Also want black... Also microspline.

 

[Haakon]

This is a pretty nice option.

Or there's this:

HOPE PRO 4 REAR HUB - BRAND NEW

Brand new - bought for a build that changed tack. 32H / 12mm thu axle / 6 bolt / 142mm O.L.D / Silver / Bee swarm Shimano Microspline freehub I have a brand new silver Son 28 dynamo and an unbuilt...

www.facebook.com

Orange offered me a new Pro 5 for a bit less than that. Felt exxy when they first offered, am rethinking that now I've seen what their retail is!

 

[Ultra Lord]

Orange offered me a new Pro 5 for a bit less than that. Felt exxy when they first offered, am rethinking that now I've seen what their retail is!

Grab the pro 5. Hub for life.