I am looking for a set of really nice 28 hole road hubs to build up a pair of Stan’s Alpha ZTR 340 rims that I have. I want to build a really sweet set of light, strong wheels - but not break the bank. The DT Swiss and Chris King’s seem overpriced to me, and I had been considering either American Classic Micro 58 front / 205 rear, or some White Industries H3’s. I don’t want to pay the money for some super exotic carbon hub just to save the last 5 grams. Suggestions, feedback, experiences with either of the hubs I identified? What about spokes, what would you use? I was looking at Sapim Lasers. Finally, where do you get your wheel building parts? Best prices?
No such thing as “best for the money” and “best high end”.
Shimano DA are really sweet, and reasonably priced. Ultegra are much cheaper and 99% as nice. Aftermarket I like the White Ind H3s.
best bang for the buck, lots of oriental CNC’d hubsets are out there that are lighter than any of the above and function just fine for $100 a pair. I doubt they have the durability of the above, and don’t look as nice, but they are 25% of the cost or some of them.
I just picked up a Halo Spinmaster from Universal Cycles. Reviews are good, and it’s priced at Ultegra level.
I have the 28 h AC hub built into a cadence aero rim for training on tri and road bike. The front is the AC micro but 24 h. The wheels comes in at 1500 grams and I used DT double butted spokes. I weigh 210 with absolutely no noticeable flex and they are bomb proof. Love them. I know at least 4 others with the same set up in my area and they all give the wheels a “thumbs up” for what its worth.
I’ve got some White Hubs on a set of wheels, and they seem to spin great compared to the other Ksyrium and Reynolds wheels I have. I have no comparison to other OEM hubs, but don’t think I’ve ever heard anything but good stuff about White. Heard very good things about Alchemy hubs if you want to shell out the dough.
For Shimano/SRAM: Shimano Dura Ace or Ultregra
For Campagnolo: Campagnolo Record
For some reason these hubs seem to last and are very durable.
I love White Industries hubs. Have been running them on training wheels and race wheels for 3 years now.
I get my wheel products from www.prowheelbuilder.com
They are not the lightest, and the are expensive, but Alchemy elf and orc hubs are freaking amazing. I have a set of cross tubulars built around these hubs, and their performance has been stellar.
I have had zero maintence issues, it spins like a mofo ( I know it is not a watt- measurable performace upgrade, but it is cool flying over the barriers and your rear wheel is still spinning at speed) and it is just provides an efficent stiff wheel. I have a couple wheels built with similar rims and spoke counts, and I can actually feel the differences between the orc rear and a shimano ultegra hub. Would those be as noticable while road riding, I don’t know.
Maybe not best for the money, but Tune hubs are super sweet 
http://www.cyclingtechnology.com/tune-mag-150-rear-hub-1.html
Sapim CXray spokes always the best - strong, light, ?aero. Bit pricey, but worth it. Back to reality with hubs … not a White Ind fan. For the money (whatever that means to you), I’d get some Shimano Ultegra hubs. Light enough, super durable, smooth and quiet. I personally hate the Chris King can of bees sound.
So I’m guessing when you say DT’s are too expensive you mean 240s. Those run $550.
American Classic used to have durability problems, but I really don’t hear much about that any more. White Industries hubs get great reviews.
A couple of suggestions if you don’t mind a little extra weight:
~$250 - DT Swiss 350 (240 internals with taiwan machined shells, ~400 grams(my front was 140 grams, rears are ~265)
~$400 - Dura Ace ~385 grams
Sapim Lasers make a lot of sense, no need to pay for cx rays on a non-aero wheel and no need to go beefier on a 28 spoke wheelset(for most people).
check over at weightweenies.com and use the search function, some hubs such as circus monkey and novatec seem to be a good compromise of all factors (weight, cost and quality). Of course, alchemy is the way to go if you want to spend the money.
Kings are worth the money, and so are alchemy’s. If you can’t swing those get dura ace. Simple.
I am looking for a set of really nice 28 hole road hubs to build up a pair of Stan’s Alpha ZTR 340 rims that I have. I want to build a really sweet set of light, strong wheels - but not break the bank.
If you are really looking to optimize, I’d pair a 20h front with a 28r. I think the WI hubs are a good compromise of light, durable, good dimensions, not too pricey, US made. The BHS hubs are really cheap and also light, so you might want to give them a try (I have no experience with them). The dimensions for the rear hub are a little screwy (not enough DS offset, too much NDS offset)… might want to lace the DS 1x heads in with heavier spokes to help compensate for this.
What do you think of triplet lacing in general?
Take a look at the C4 hubs. For a comparison I’d say they are closest to DT240. However the C4 are lighter, less expensive and use a much nicer bearing.
What is BHS?
Bikehubstore?
Okay, I just checked out bikehubstore.com… Holy carp! A rear hub at 211g for $65? And the “ultralight” in carbon at 197g for $120…
I wonder about longevity. Because we all know that components come this way: Light, cheap, durable – pick two.
that’s the one. I have spoken to Brandon at BHS, and his service is quite good as he’s knowledgeable and up front. Basically said that the bearings probably won’t be as sturdy as the ones you find in WI, DT, and CK, but if you are lacing them into a wheel that you don’t ride day in and day out ( (i.e. non-rainy day race wheels), they should be good.
Also, another vote for White Industry. The one in my front wheel has 12k miles on them, and haven’t needed to touch them other than to adjust the preload after 12k miles. Bearings are still buttery smooth, and this was with quite a few miles riding in rock salt from January to March 2011… Weight weenie parts don’t last, unless it’s über expensive hubs like a DT 240, CKR45 or Alchemy, but then you pay dearly for them. I actually have a R45 hub, and i like the sound of angry bees.
What do you think of triplet lacing in general?
I think it is a viable alternative due to insanely wide cassettes in 130mm dropouts… which Campy is currently pushing the boundaries of… but so far not Shimano/Sram. If you get a conventional hub that is well designed to take a S cassette and use all the DS offset it can, and have ~2x as much NDS offset, then it works very well. Alchemy is the ultimate in this respect… Jeremy understood that it was a very important aspect of hub design.
Triplet puts a high lateral point load on the rim, plus the rim goes very wonky if you break one of those spokes. Plus you need a fairly stiff center-drilled rim… and to really get the best out of it you need a hub with a extra wide NDS spacing.
Thanks for the info. I wonder, if the bearings were replaced with a higher quality, would they last much longer? I guess I’m meaning this: Is the longevity issue in the bearings or the design of the hub?
(this all assumes we’re talking cassette bearings, not cup-and-cone)