[pauld]

HI,

I’m looking for some recommendations for which hubs to go for for a custom wheel build? I’ve bought some H Plus Son Archtype 20 hole rims and I’m aware that narrows down the choice of hubs.

The build is to be rim brake only and going on my Condor Acciaio.

I did buy a 2nd hand pair of Mavic Aksium hubs, but after a little surfing found that they are pretty rubbish, so before I give the wheel builder the go ahead I’m after recommendations. Are Hope really worth the money?

Thanks in advance

Topic

[Nick T]

Campagnolo 2:1 spoke lacing

Campagnolo 2:1 spoke lacing has 14 driveside spokes, 7 non drive side. Non driveside spokes require a very little tension to do their job, so you don’t actually need an equal number on each side – result is 21 spoke G3 lacing being broadly equivalent to a 28h rim, hence the lack of flex. Zonda have a relatively deep rim, wide hub flanges and have had a heap of r&d chucked at the lot working as a system. Campag don’t really do shallow rims any more, but their old Hyperons and Neutrons had a more typical lacing pattern. 

Spokes weigh very little, like 5-10g, and cutting to low counts typically means using heavier gauges anyway

[Anonymous]

Buy another 24 or 28 hole rim

Buy another 24 or 28 hole rim and sell the spare 20 hole one as someone will have it as a front rim. 
 

Bitex are probably the best of hubs coming out of Taiwan. Very reliable, cheap, easily sourced bearings and are part of more wheel sets than you might think. The new Bitex 314 look really good and are £155 the pair. 
 

[Nick T]

Personally, I’d advise more –

Personally, I’d advise more – like 28 minimum on the rear. But so much depends on rider, type of use etc that you’re best off asking your builder for their input. You’re paying them to build your wheels, this expertise is what you’re actually paying for – actually assembling wheels is piss easy, knowing what wheel to build is where their experience comes to fruit and earns their money

[Mathemagician]

TheBillder wrote:

TheBillder wrote:

How strong are the freewheels in the Bitex hubs? I have broken 2 on my gravel bike despite being as low powered as a watch battery. The OEM Fulcrum Racing Sport DB (which are unpopular for many reasons) and a ProBuild AlexRims / Chosen hub which I bought in a hurry to get back on the road. It’s like underpants – one on, one in the drawer.

So I am quite interested in whose rear hubs are a bit more durable.

Not something I’ve heard much about. My daily grind/winter/commuter wheels are built on rebadged Bitex hubs and I’ve never had any issues from them. Maybe you’ve just been unlucky.

[Mathemagician]

Nick T wrote:

Nick T wrote:

The tension required on each spoke to keep the rim still on a count that low will be astronomical, especially on a relatively shallow alloy rim like those. At best you’ll have chronic brake rub, at worst you’ll be snapping spokes every time you get out the saddle

To my mind this is a slightly outdated point of view…sure, crap rims (i.e. not H Plus Son Archetypes), crap spokes and crap hubs would lead to a crap wheel, but conversely Campag Zondas have a 21-spoke triplet laced rear wheel, and I don’t hear any comments about those being flexy wheels.

[Chris Hayes]

Nice bike the Accacio….it

Nice bike the Accacio….it would ride well with a decent set of wheels, but sadly the 20 spoke H Plus Son in black with Hope 2 pawl hubs are not those wheels.  A 20 spoke rear wheel would need a very good hub, expensive spokes and a good wheel-builder to put together.  

The irony is that a good wheelbuilder would probably refuse to build them (unless you’re sub 60kg and ride at a low wattage).  Additionally, the black anodising on the brake rim will wear off quickly and look a mess (if you’re on rim brakes). 

Harry Rowland has built some very good wheels for me – Mavic Open Pros or Open Pro UST and Kinlins 22ts (which Hope rebrands as its own) if you want a wider rim / tubeless.  With Novatec hubs these come in at around £300-350 from recollection – and come in 24s.  Better hubs like DT Swiss 240s would cost a bit more…

[TheBillder]

How strong are the freewheels

How strong are the freewheels in the Bitex hubs? I have broken 2 on my gravel bike despite being as low powered as a watch battery. The OEM Fulcrum Racing Sport DB (which are unpopular for many reasons) and a ProBuild AlexRims / Chosen hub which I bought in a hurry to get back on the road. It’s like underpants – one on, one in the drawer.

So I am quite interested in whose rear hubs are a bit more durable.

[pauld]

Thanks for the info, so I
Thanks for the info, so I should be looking for a 24 hole count or more?

[Nick T]

The tension required on each

The tension required on each spoke to keep the rim still on a count that low will be astronomical, especially on a relatively shallow alloy rim like those. At best you’ll have chronic brake rub, at worst you’ll be snapping spokes every time you get out the saddle

[pauld]

Thanks for the info, I’ll
Thanks for the info, I’ll take a look.

[pauld]

Hi Nick, is that due to not
Hi Nick, is that due to not enough rigidity in the build?

[Nick T]

I would say to ask your

I would say to ask your builder what he recommends, but if he’s anything like a decent builder he’ll tell you a 20 hole rear wheel is a ridiculous idea and you probably don’t want to hear that. I hope he fixes popped spokes for free!

[Mathemagician]

Hmm…I might be slightly
Hmm…I might be slightly lying about the colour options, I think 20h rear is only available in black.

[Mathemagician]

Hope are pretty good, but
Hope are pretty good, but their reputation for making reasonably priced bomb proof kit is slightly outdated to my mind… Their stuff isn’t as good as it used to be in my opinion. I’m not massively sold on their 2-pawl free hubs, but that’s probably just me liking things to be over engineered.

If you want a really decent and cheap hubset though, I’d go with Bitex. They’re lighter than Hope, and very well made for the price. Bearing sizes are all standard so you’ll be able to source decent bearings at a good price in the future, and the j bend hubs come in a range of colours.

[Author]

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