The Bulb Hubs are Hope Technology's answer to the battle between weight and strength. These hubs can be used for DH or dual slalom, but are also light enough for cross country. They can easily be changed from 20mm through-axle to QR in minutes. At only 170 measly grams, this hub is perfect for the finicky cyclist.
Bike Setup: Azonic DS1 hardtail. Pitbike. Azonic frame small. Atomlab trailpimp 26 inch front, 24 inch rear. Hope Big 'Un front hub, Hope Bulb rear hub. Hope mono mini brake 140 mm disk F/R. Intense Zero tires 26"F/24"R. Ringle headset, ATC Z-6 Dual crown fork at 4 inch travel. Redline BMX handlebars. 9 spd shim XT,Azonic crank 32T chainring with bashguard.
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Submitted by
PJM
a Cross Country Rider
from Park City UT
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2007
Strengths: Looked good, and seemed a bit less pricey than hubs that cost as much as entire bikes!!!!!!!!!!!
Weaknesses: It kept breaking. Probably not meant for the harder-core rider who rides alot of miles, climbs alot, or who may be LARGER....
Bottom Line:
This hub I have reviewed below through the last 3 yrs. Check em out. I broke TWO of these rear hubs. The first within the 1st yr of riding, and this second one went out last month after 1.5 more yrs. I do carry 215lbs but almost never leave the ground. The ratchet ring teeth were the culprit BOTH times. Seems that in certain situations, (panic jamming on the pedals in weird trail transitions) one of the pawls catch just right on one of the teeth, and busts it off. Then the piece of tooth that busted off starts grinding all the other teeth down within minutes of pedaling, permanently wrecking the rest of the hub. Even if you notice it,and field-service the ratchet to remove it, you are still doomed...Believe me, I have done it. Unless you ride just a little bit, not really recommended. Lo siento mucho...
Similar Products Used: Just about every hub I ride I seems to fail. (except Bullseys, or shim.xtr's) Have not ridden Kings because of the affordability.
Bike Setup: Kona Dawg frame built into an xc-oriented bike with a light build.
These things simply won't stop spinning. They've ridden through everything and I've neglect to follow the factory recommended service at the appropriate times. It doesn't matter - they're as smooth as they were on day one.
I've had a bulb front hub in use for over a year now. The hub continues to be issue free. I must admit I don't do anything to the hub (no grease no adjustments, etc). I believe I paid a little bit more than for a shimano, but less than the super high end (CK, Hadley) hubs. But I may have gotten it for sale. Bottom line is no issues on the front end. I may try a rear pro2 someday based on this hub's non issue.
Submitted by
Adam
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque, NM, USA
Date Reviewed: October 5, 2006
Strengths: 36 point engagement, easy maintainance, Ti freehub body, convertible from QR to 20mm
Weaknesses: A bit expensive, although not King expensive.
IT BROKE!
Bottom Line:
I paid a little extra money and sacrificed some weight to get the Bulb because it was supposed to be 'Bomb Proof', and for the 36 point engagement. It worked flawlessly for 11 months, and then it started having trouble freewheeling. A week later it wouldn't freewheel at all. It turns out a tooth broke off of the ratchet ring, and this problem is not fixable, so I need to build a new wheel. The customer service at Hope is excellent, and they are sending me a new Pro II hub for a replacement (although I want more than 24 point engagement, so I may sell it). That service greatly increases the value rating in my book, so I'll give them 4 chilis there. However, I'd rather not NEED to deal with their customer service, and not have to deal with the downtime and expense of needing to build a new wheel around the replacement hub. This is advertised as a stout hub suitable for tandems and freeriders, and has had many years of production to sort out issues. I'm a 175 pound XC/Trail rider who never does drops over 1 or 2 feet, so this should've lasted me for years. Therefore, overall I'll give it 2 chilis.
Bike Setup: Blur classic. - all around trail and XC riding.
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Submitted by
Ken
a Cross Country Rider
from Bath, PA
Date Reviewed: March 17, 2006
Strengths: Cost
Weaknesses: Freehub
Bottom Line:
This is a follow up to an older post. I broke the freehub mech. twice. Hope fixed it both times for free, but I had to remove the hub from my wheel and send it to California. I sold the hub to my much lighter brother who loves the hub. I bought a King HD a year ago and have had not one problem with the hub at all.
My last review of this I gave 5 flames, so to make it average right I will give it ones this time.
I think the hub is decent, but not if you break freehubs.
Similar Products Used: wtb laser v dh....................sucks ass!!
Bike Setup: Weyless 67 with spv 4way coil shock, pike race, hope front and rear with singletrack rims, thomson front and rear, michelin all mtn ex tires, avid 8" mech discs, wtb saddle, sram drive train (x9) and other kit.
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Submitted by
PJM
a Cross Country Rider
from Park City,UT
Date Reviewed: December 23, 2005
Strengths: Great disc hub at a reasonable price. Strong, taller hub flanges for wheel-builder-types. Easy to maintain.
Weaknesses: Some early ratchet ring failures...
Bottom Line:
This is my final posting on the Hope Bulb Ti rear cassette DISC hub which I reviewed twice below. I will say some of the hate-reviews below are unfair and reactive at best. The 1st time around, I destroyed the ratchet ring within 5-7 hundred miles of riding. AGAIN, this was due to a bad batch of ratchets in a FEW hubs. HOPE quickly explained why my 1st hub failed, (see below explanation) and sent be a brand new one. My take on the 1st failure is as follows: If the axle ends do not pull off easily, allowing you to service and lube, the hub is suspect of having a bad ratchet ring. I thank HOPE for being honest about this, and were very helpful in getting me back on the trail. The new replaced hub worked flawlessly after 2+K of hard, rough singletrack riding under my big 210lb ass. Anyone who is an avid rider needs to ignore the hate-mail reviews and LISTEN TO ME.... This is a great disc hub at a great price-period. It is not the lightest, but if 3 more ounces of NON-ROTATING weight bugs you, that's just fine. Since you are so smart, then go ahead and pay another $200 bucks for some other over-hyped-out product. (re:King/Hugi) PJM
Strengths: 36 hole for durability, light weight compared to XC hubs (let alone FR hubs), and that EASY conversion.
Weaknesses: none, yet. But I haven't tried to perform any maintenance yet.
Bottom Line:
Front Hub only revieW: I bought this hub for my 29er thinking if I didn't like the big wheels I could get a burly hoop and put the wheel on my FR bike. Haven't done that yet but man is it a smooth roller. Lightweight. Relatively cheap for such durability and of course versatility.
Strengths: Engagement is good enough. Light. Nice sound.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
The sound seems to fit well with the e13 chain device and the twist grips.
Who should buy this hub? People who want decent engagement at a fair price and build their own wheels.
Who should not buy this hub? a)People that would not appreciate the light weight, strength and engagement can be served by a less expensive hub. b)XC pedalers who don't care about engagement should go with a low drag XTR or Cane Creek Wheelset. c)People who need better engagement for whatever reason.
For Technical XC and Freeride this is a good choice. Anyone who uses a chian device?
Bike Setup: STP with e13 DRS and X.0 twist grips. Ritchey Girder SC rear rim... 823 front rim on stout hub.
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Submitted by
pjm
a Cross Country Rider
from Park City,UT
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2005
Strengths: This is a follow up on my recent posting. Hope was very good with fast turnaround in getting me quickly back on the trail by quietly taking care of my hub problems. Hope claims some ot the ratchet rings on certain hubs were not hardened properly and can fail, and that it was not a typical problem. After getting it back, I was actually able to take it apart by HAND! This is really important if you ride alot and do regular maintenance checks. The 1st hub which failed, I could not take apart, even with vice grips. With this replacement hub, I was able to pull off the axle cap ends by hand, then pull the cassette carrier/ratchet & pawl mechanism out of the hub shell! This is a completely different scenario than when I first purchased it. Perhaps they now have this mainenance issue solved along with the ratched hardening problem. Ride on!!
Weaknesses: early hubs
Bottom Line:
A good disc hub if the above problems are really solved. $350 is just too much money for DT's or King's. I will follow up in another yr... pjn
Submitted by
p
a Cross Country Rider
from ParkCity,UT
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2005
Strengths: reasonable price
Weaknesses: none at first
Bottom Line:
Looked awhile for a disc hub to build a new wheel, thinking King/Hugi/DT, but their price too high. So, I chose a Hope based on their other products, as well as the reasonable price. After around 5-700 miles the ratchet in the hub shell lost a few teeth, and began to skip, then began to freeze up. I weigh 210lbs. After first getting them, I found that you could not take it apart, even with huge vice-grips on the end caps. BAD DESIGN. Not really servicable, and for me anyway, suprisingly short-lived. I am sure Hope will warranty, but I will not ride these again. They now scare me.
Submitted by
neil beltz
a Weekend Warrior
from anchorage
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2005
Strengths: color(red), smoothness(bearings)
Weaknesses: lacks side to side play found on generic brands, grease is not bleading out
Bottom Line:
cant go wrong-sure, theyre not made in the usa-but it sets the bike off! speed, precision and reliability are significantly enhanced with these hubs. sure, theres probably comparitive hubs out there, but the red makes envy aplenty.
