Hubba Hubba!

Wheel hubs fascinate me. With the right hub it’s possible to get it running so sweetly that it’s practically frictionless and won’t need servicing for years, yet get something the teensiest bit dirty or out of line and it turns into very centre of cycling hell. There actually aren’t that many to choose from. From Shimano, only Deore XT are really an option for me because Deore can have rough bearings from new, are badly sealed and are weak (I seem to be able to break the freehubs at will). Deore LX hubs are scarce and I’ve no idea whether they are nearer to Deore or XT in terms of quality, and XTR are daft money.

Hope only really offer the XC or the new Pro II, both of which cost plenty and use cartridge bearings which I dislike. Cartridge bearings just don’t spin as effortlessly as cup-and-cone bearings and maintenance involves a hammer, a bin and expensive new bearings which you then hit with said hammer!?! I’ve used both Hope Mono & XC and Shimano Deore XT hubs over the past few years and it’s the XTs that have performed the best. Then there’s the cost - £80 for a new Hope XC rear hub, versus £27.50 for the equivalent Shimano Deore XT which also comes with an excellent quick release skewer. Knock the £7.50 off for the cost of the skewer and the Hope hub works out four times as expensive – overpriced and over-rated.

So it looks like Shimano Deore XT, in which case the choice is between the old 6 bolt IS hubs or the new Centrelock versions. Despite it being part of Shimano’s detestable grand plan to build obsolescence into all cycling components, Centrelock rotors make a great deal of sense. Trouble is, they’re new which means little prospect of discounts, and for compatibility reasons (i.e. all my rotors are 6-bolt!) I probably want to avoid them.