Submitted by
Vince Underwood
a Cross Country Rider
from Sac-Town, CA
Date Reviewed: February 13, 2004
Strengths: Cartridge bearings, tried and true Bonty rims.
Weaknesses: I'm not a fan of minimal spoke count....I'd rather see a 32H instead of 28H
Bottom Line:
I'm impressed with Bontragers quality for the price point of these wheels/Hubs. I'm actually selling them because I'm going back to V-Brakes. I just like the weight savings and ease of set up. But would buy another set in the future.
Submitted by
Willie Bohner
a Cross Country Rider
from Dallas
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2003
Strengths: Asthetics
Weaknesses: Cheap Bearings, Heavy Hubs
Bottom Line:
Good for beginners, but they require alot of maintenance and dickin about. I had to adjust the hubs about twice a month. Finally the front one started making strange noises when turning so I junked it. Do not take apart these hubs as the bearings will fall out. I've never seen bearings as cheap as these. Stick with cartridge bearing hubs, you will be much happier. Still the mustang rims are solid and the dbl butted spokes are nice. Overall its a decent package considering the price.
Submitted by
JEREMY
a Cross Country Rider
from DALLAS, TX, USA
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2002
Weaknesses: Front hub just seem poorly constructed and needs constant attention.
Bottom Line:
Come on Trek...move on to something else. Front hub started loosening up after the third ride. This time I have almost 1/8 inch of play in the hub. This hub sucks! I am bringing it to Plano Cycle to have them work on it again...just because I can't replace all the Bontrager parts at once. Thank God those guys know bikes.
Bike Setup: Trek 6700, Bontrager hubs, wheels, seat post, seat.....you get the picture. Replacing those parts as quickly as I can afford to.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2002
Strengths: -Rolls smooth -Dust Seals work well -Good Looks
Weaknesses: -none
Bottom Line:
This review is for the front hub only. I've used it for about a year now and havn't done any matinence and it still rolls as smooth as new, it looks good (especially with a radial laced wheel). As for the rear one, it sucked. Got dirt in and in 5 min. it was toast, also the 12mm freewheel sucks as well because they are heavy and cheap. Use the front, ditch the back.
Bike Setup: Barracuda A2R custom built w/ Rock Shox Judy SL, Shimano LX/XTR mix, Avid v brakes
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Scott Hubbell
a Cross Country Rider
from Franklin, Massachusetts, USA
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2002
Strengths: They work as hubs and are fairly light. Have not completely failed with heavy duty abuse.
Weaknesses: Can't get replacement inner replaceable bearing races from Bontrage or trek. Very poor customer service and follow through to make a hub with replaceable bearing race / cups and then not make the replacement parts not available.
Bottom Line:
Very aggravating to need a replacement part that Trek sales rep and Trek Tech Support cannot provide spare / replacement inner bearing race / cups. All they can give is the axle and cones, as well as seals. Some of the internals were stamped "Formula" had to subtract 2 Chili's because of lack of follow through with parts availability. Really is a bad reflection on parts dept. of Trek / Bontrager.
Similar Products Used: American Classic, Rolf, Specialized.
Bike Setup: Changes all the time, but these were originally on a Bontrager Race frame and wheels by Trek.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Andy
a Cross Country Rider
from Chicagoland
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2001
Strengths: at least it is shaped like a hub
Weaknesses: free hub body, berings, seals, QRs
Bottom Line:
came stock on my Fisher in '99 and were poor from the start, after first ride, had to re-pack it with grease because they didn't use any/enough. regreased free-hub with this cool little gizmo I picked up a long time ago and it lasted for another month without making much noise. Ten it just got bad, the dust caps are inneffective and I've been constantly cleaning and regreasing the internals, especially in the rear. When I tried to remove and replace the freehub body I found that it was not compatible with other systems so I finally tossed the wheel. The free-hub body comes off with a 12mm allen wrench (which nobody makes) and about 4000 ft-lbs of torque, which nobody can exert. I finally got mine off (just for fun) with an eight foot cheater bar, a full can of liquid wrench, a propane torch and a vise that had to be clamped to the I-Beams that support my house to supply enough opposing force. needless to say I couldn't use that hub anymore even if I wanted to and I definitely don't want to. I'd never sell anyone a bontrager rear hub and I'd have issues with even giving one away for free. They are significantly more hassle than they are worth.
Similar Products Used: everything under the sun, Shimano 600, D.A., STXRC, LX, XT, XTR, Chris King, Cane Creek, Mavics, and unfortunately two bontrager hubs that I no longer use.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Andy
a Cross Country Rider
from Chicagoland
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2001
Strengths: at least it is shaped like a hub
Weaknesses: free hub body, berings, seals, QRs
Bottom Line:
came stock on my Fisher in '99 and were poor from the start, after first ride, had to re-pack it with grease because they didn't use any/enough. regreased free-hub with this cool little gizmo I picked up a long time ago and it lasted for another month without making much noise. Ten it just got bad, the dust caps are inneffective and I've been constantly cleaning and regreasing the internals, especially in the rear. When I tried to remove and replace the freehub body I found that it was not compatible with other systems so I finally tossed the wheel. The free-hub body comes off with a 12mm allen wrench (which nobody makes) and about 4000 ft-lbs of torque, which nobody can exert. I finally got mine off (just for fun) with an eight foot cheater bar, a full can of liquid wrench, a propane torch and a vise that had to be clamped to the I-Beams that support my house to supply enough opposing force. needless to say I couldn't use that hub anymore even if I wanted to and I definitely don't want to. I'd never sell anyone a bontrager rear hub and I'd have issues with even giving one away for free. They are significantly more hassle than they are worth.
Similar Products Used: everything under the sun, Shimano 600, D.A., STXRC, LX, XT, XTR, Chris King, Cane Creek, Mavics, and unfortunately two bontrager hubs that I no longer use.
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
L. Lynn Gardner
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, Idaho
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2001
Strengths: Initially a very quite unit, rolls well with little resistance
Weaknesses: Freewheel gave out, wound up track-standing yesterday on a steep section of "Hard Guy" trail.
Bottom Line:
I'm not sure I like them, I have nerver had a failure with a comparable product, I will check out the warranty today.
Submitted by
Nick
a Weekend Warrior
from Costa Mesa, CA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2001
Strengths: ???
Weaknesses: quality control and
Bottom Line:
I got the disc wheelsets when I purchased the Shimano disc brakes. I noticed rear rotor was never true. I thought it was the rotor and purchased a new one. Same thing. Turns out the disc hub is not aligned. In the process of swapping out the rotors, the hub threads stripped. I used to be a mechanic at a bike shop for 6 years, and my opinion on these hubs are low. I can't wait until I can get these hubs replaced.
Submitted by
Tom
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterloo, IA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 2, 2001
Strengths: Smooth rolling, low maintenance, three engagement pawls
Weaknesses: I truly haven't found any, any forged hub that can withstand radial lacing must be good.
Bottom Line:
I bought these as a set, with Bontrager Mustang rims. I am truly happy with the performance of the hubs. After two years of thrashing, they are still going strong. I have had NO problems with the freehub...and I even had an incident with a large twig that took out my derailleur, axle, and skewer...never phased the hub. I will buy Bontrager again, unless I become wealthy, then it would be a set of Kings.
Submitted by
Chuck
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver, WA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 30, 2001
Strengths: Cheap
Weaknesses: Lots of friction wheel does not role smoothly, makes a rumbling noise as though the bearings are dry. The free hub mechanism corrodes very easily. It took two bike shops to remove the freehub assembly so I could exchange it.
Bottom Line:
Dissappointed with the corrossion resistance and the amount of friction inherent in the hub. Would not buy it and plan to change the setup to Shimano or Chris King whichever I can afford at the time. 3 months of service before major overhaul is uncalled for in a mountain bike which must live in a hostile environment to machinery.
Submitted by
Nathan
a Cross Country Rider
from Houston, Texas
Date Reviewed: September 18, 2000
Strengths: Came with bike
Weaknesses: Rear hub is noisy ( droning noise when coasting- in cassete area). Sun & Ski sais it is normal on the hub- I say bull ! Front hubs were too tight and had to be re-adjusted.
Bottom Line:
Cheap Bontrager Superstock wheelset came on bike- OK, you get what you pay for. No way I would pay for these hubs if I needed a new wheelset.
Weaknesses: no seals on freewheel side, but better endurance to water than Deore!
Bottom Line:
Good product at all, will works better that Deore in extreme wet conditions, has to be rebuilt often to keep smooth rolling, freewheel has 3 pins making it grip better. It's a Bontrager product, so, just buy them...
