came with bike

poor skewer, bearing failure

Hello

I have a 5 year old full suspension Specialized mountain bike that came with a Specialized Stout hub installed in the front wheel. Because full suspension mountain bikes are expensive to ride I have not put many miles on the hub. This winter, due to heavy snow, I had to use the bike as my regular commuter. After only a month of everyday riding one of the bearings in the front hub locked up so that the wheel would not turn.

Also, to transport the bike I have to remove the front wheel. The skewer supplied by Specialized with this hub really does not work well. The cam and cup are both made of aluminum and so there is a lot of friction. It requires a lot of force to close the lever. If I don't close it very tightly I find that the fork is loose at the end of a ride.

In my opinion, this hub skew combination is not even near the quality of the similar Shimano component.

Pedro

Similar Products Used:

shimano

did not bent under my heavy weight

front hub is not smooth shortly after service

The rear hub wore out pawls after 1500 km. Front hub seems to develop friction shortly after service (bad seals?). Overly not impressed, but it will do in a pinch. If it came on your bike, wear it thin and replace.

Similar Products Used:

DT Swiss, DMR 6 pawl Casette

Rolls well, doesn't need maintenance, it doesn't look like jewelry.

These were included on my bike as is the case with most of us I suspect. I have had no problems whatsoever with this front hub. Specialized decided to use a Shimano M525 SL for the rear on both Stumpjumper and Epic 2009 models, perhaps in response to a freehub issue. I just don't see why else they would have swapped the stout for such a "meh" hub.

Overall though I am very happy with my front hub I do a lot of steep, muddy, rooty and rocky trails and have taken quite a few shots to the front tire from impacts intended and non-intended.

It may make a difference that the guys at my bike store know what they're doing. I'm sure that there are alot of things that suck when not built properly.

Similar Products Used:

Shimano M775, M525

Cheap. Lateral stiffness.

The hums simply do not roll. They come with stock with by girlfriends' Myka. I am using Fulcrum RedMetal 1 and Mavic Crossride. When I speed up on slight descent, These hubs slow her bike. High rolling resistance.

These are simply bad hubs. To be replaced VERY soon.

Similar Products Used:

Fulcrum, Formula

This is an observation on all these comments on the Stout Hub. I am a MASSIVE Specialized fan - I owned an Enduro Expert for 6 years until it was stolen and I cried. Best Bike ever, by miles. However I just picked-up a Specialized Stout hub from a workshop's scrap bin - the rim was totalled and it appears that the wheel has never been used, as if the damage was caused in transit before the bike was sold. What I'm surprised about is that the nuts are far too tight. This hub has been put together badly. If used like this, the bearings would not survive for many miles. A correctly set-up hub should last for years and years, as some of these riders are saying. If a hub goes loose after every ride, it is almost certainly because the (very fine) setting of the contra-rotating lock nuts are not tightly locked or they may be too tight against the bearings, causing excessive wear. If you're Specialized hubs are not giving you trouble free use it is almost certainly because they are not set precisely right. To give you a clue, if you are an amateur bike mechanic, it could take you an hour or two to get the bolts set exactly right - that is holding the bearings in the right place so they spin without any friction; making sure that there is no play or movement (too loose) in the axle and locking the contra-rotating nuts Iron-man tight in this correct position. Many bike shop mechanics are not totally skilled or diligent to get this right, so it is definitely worth checking, unless that is if you have had years of trouble free riding, in which case leave well alone!

Never has caused a problem

Not as blingy as other brands?

My 2001 Enduro came with Stouts front and rear. I have yet to have an issue of any kind with these hubs. The different sized flanges to compensate for disc rotors are a nice touch. The oversize axle and skewer provide a touch of additional stiffness. Not a thru axle by any means, but stiffer than a regular hub skewer combo.

9MM Quick release, Service free, disc brake compatible.

Flanges are different heights.

The Stout came stock on my bike. Used flawlessly for 6 years since 2002. While riding a trail, I bent the rim so far the wheel wouldn't turn in the fork, had to carry my bike out. The rim was beyond repair but the Stout hub was undamaged. Since the flanges are different sizes, the spokes were different length from one side to the other. Asked the LBS reuse the Stout hub with a new rim. Now laced on another rim, and the hub is still working great.

Similar Products Used:

Other Shimano hubs.

Nice looks, nice decals, Good preformer. Kept up with me in DH, Freeriding, XC. Good skewer.

.25 cm lateral wheel shifting when I turn left. This isn't much but my disk brake caliper was a little to the right and it caused disk rubbing. No problems I just centered my disk brake caliper. Could be due to my cheap fork :)

Good, needs proper skewer tighting, and a good fork. No problems whatsoever.

Similar Products Used:

Shimano 475 vans

theyre stiffer than normal hubs, cartridge bearings are nice. they look good

see below

some people say they dont like the non adjustable bearings. they are cartridge bearings and dont need to be adjusted. any hub should be mantained regularly so i dont see why people complain about that. these are great hubs that i reccomend. the only problem is that you can only get skewers through specialized, as no oter companies makes a comparable axle

Similar Products Used:

low end shimano, chris king(friends wheelset)

Smooth bearings, stiff and reassuringly chunky axle, nice finish too.

I've not found any.

This was the hub that my bike's original front wheel was built onto, and that wheel lasted me 18 months of Welsh, Peak, Lake district, South Downs and Quantocks riding before I wrapped it round a tree at Swinley forest. The hub, however, was unserviced and still buttery smooth after all of the above. The front wheel was then replaced with a brand new/second hand wheel which cost less than a rebuild onto the existing Stout hub would have cost me, which means I still have the Stout at home in my bike cupboard, waiting for a new wheel build... I can't wait to see what difference, if any, it will make to my steering and possibly sorting out my rubbing disc brakes when I corner hard. Bring it on!

I can't comment on value, as It was original equipment, but it performed like a trooper for 18 months, so it gets top marks.

Similar Products Used:

Deore and XT hubs