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Hope RS4 Centre Lock front and rear hubs
£255.00

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Hope RS4 Centre Lock

The Hope RS4 front and rear hubs are specially designed for road use and could be the last set you'll buy. Hope's legendary durability and parts availability mean they can roll forever with ease of maintenance if required and as the RS4s feature interchangeable end-caps to suit different axle standards, they can be swapped into future bikes, extending their longevity. They've been on a bike for quite a while now and ridden to the dirty end of endurance and back, and they show no signs of wanting to stop.

 

Like all Hope hubs, the RS4 comes in a bewildering choice of versions: rim and disc brake, with the disc variants having six-bolt and Centerlock rotor options; straight pull spokes or standard J-bend; 16, 18, 20, 24, 28, 32 and 36 holes depending on the hub style; to fit quick-release or thru-axle frames; and with Shimano, Campagnolo and SRAM freehubs. On top of all that, they're available in six colour options.

The hubs come with sealed stainless steel cartridge bearings, which have a reputation for longevity in Hope's harder working mountain biking hubs, and should the time come to change them they're quick and easy to replace without the need for expensive or esoteric parts or tools.

The freehub is aluminium to keep the weight down and it doesn't come with any steel inserts that some employ to deter the gouging that a cassette can inflict.

2021-hope-rs4-centrelock-hubs-freehub

The freewheel noise still isn't the stealthiest and lets loose a high-frequency buzz akin to a Chris King but a bit lower in tone and not as bee-like; it's noticeable but certainly not an intrusion on a tranquil country lane.

These have been fitted to what could be called an endurance road bike and it's done a lot of endurance and piled some miles on the hubs through all of the weathers, not just on tarmac but dirt tracks and mild off-road where pointing a road bike down might be considered a bit cavalier, also the odd flood, and there's nothing much to report.