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Submitted by
Steven
a Cross-Country Rider
from Torrance, CA
Date Reviewed: September 21, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Sullivan Canyon, Santa Monica Mtn | | Duration Product Used: |
more than 3 years | | Bottom Line: | Update: Like the J.D. Powers' 2000 mile status report on the performance, durability, and maintenance of the 1987 Chrysler K-Car, my status report on the health of the replacement UN-Hub provided by KP is equally gloomy and disheartening (see my previous inputs below under the name Steveo). I had installed the new hub on my Corso MTB, logged a few thousand problem-free miles, and then handed over the keys to my wife. Her cycling is limited to bike paths, parking lots, and the front lawn of neighboring homes. The Corso serves double-duty as an enigmatic mood piece/art object in the den. A few weeks ago, I had noticed the Corso listing to one side. Thinking someone had loosened the front wheel, I flipped the bike on its back, gave the front wheel a spin, and experienced a complete sense of déjà vu. Fortunately, my wife was not riding the bike at the time of the failure (the hub had actually failed spontaneously while parked). Had she crashed, I would have wept real tears over the scarring of the near-pristine epoxy black paint job and composite material of the frame. Is the third time really the charm??? I love the gold UN-Hub for its simplicity, novel bearing approach, and lightweight. I despise the gold UN-Hub for its apparent fundamental design flaw(s). Two failure events, a single failure mode, and the testimonial of others do indicate the need for a revised recipe.KP, come clean! Provide me with a replacement hub that feature the corrective design solutions touted in the e-mail messages below, and in doing so prove to me that KP is a company worthy of our attention, support, and patronage. Garner respect one consumer at a time - let it begin (continue?) with me! As I did with the first failed hub, I will gladly forward the second one to you for your failure analysis team to analyze. Brian or Ryun, please e-mail me at the address provided above, and let me know how I can reach the skipper of your boat. Thank you,Steve
| Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stephen Zak
a Cross-Country Rider
from Arlington, VA
Date Reviewed: April 13, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
porc rim | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
lightweight
large flange diameter | | Weaknesses: |
Bearings need to be packed regularly
(this is harder than most conventional hubs-----the wheel does not have to be
f'ed/w if your clever) | | Similar Products Used: |
none | | Bike Setup: |
fat city yo ---'94
judy sl ----'96 | | Bottom Line: | great wheel till it broke----seems that the tension and more than 6 months of moderate to hard riding fatigued the spoke flange and it broke in half like a krispy kreme doughnut. I needed 8 stitches on my forearm. This happened in Phoenix in april 1997 | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bryan B
a cross-country rider
from Provo, UT
Date Reviewed: October 11, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
UPDATE: The new shell will be a filament-wound graphite composite tube. It will still be available for free to all current K.P. hub owners, and retrofits easily. All other claims below are still true: it adds 10 grams, allows the bearings to self-adjust for wear, and removes all but a small and necessary ammount of preload from the bearings. We are currently prototyping sample shells to find the perfect configuration. Shells should be available in early November. PLEASE CALL US! (801) 229-2180. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryun
a racer
from Provo, Utah
Date Reviewed: August 13, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Kynetyk Psykolz now has a fix to extend the life of your bearings AT NO COST! It consists of new bearings and a poly-carbonate shell that adds 10 grams still allows the bearings to self adjust for wear and widens the flanges by a little bit. I've had one of the original hubs for 4 years and just switched. The wheel weighs a scant 580 grams with titanium spokes. Please call with your info at 801.229.2180 and I will get back with you as soon as possible. Thanks for your faithful dedication. Look for the rear hub at Interbike! -Flyun Ryun Noble
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Submitted by
Steve-O
a
from cross-country rider
Date Reviewed: July 31, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I purchased a KP hub, and proceeded to lace it radially with the spokes exiting the OUTSIDE surface of the flange: BAD MOVE! The spokes in this lacing configuration exert tremendous loads on the flange of the hub as it b-e-n-d-s at atrocious angles to engage the rim; after 400 or so miles of riding, the flange broke -- not due to excessive agro riding, but due to the cold-working of the flange in this assembled configuration. Ryan Noble was contacted via Internet...it took some time for him to respond, but I ended up receiving a replacement hub at no cost. Lesson of the day: Lace your hubs such that the spokes exit the INSIDE of the flange. The load on the bearing is reduced, and the longevity is greatly increased. One other tip: Back off approximately 20% from the normal installation tensiometer values. I have 6000+ miles on my hub
(original bearings), with no hops, skips, or jumps!Happy riding, Steve | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Greg Hunter
a weekend warrior
from Springfield MO
Date Reviewed: April 11, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I had previously raved on this front hub - but the bearings wore out and now the company is AWOL. All I get is a full voice mail message box. I have to retract my previous glowing review. I have 2 of these hubs and neither of them roll and I cant get new bearings for them. The second (supposedly improved) bearings wore out in 6 hours of riding!!! | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
FISHMAN
a weekend warrior
from
Date Reviewed: August 31, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
BUYER BEWARE THE BEARINGS ARE NOT MADE FOR THIS KIND OF LOAD!!!! They will fail, and when they do the wheel will not spin. I have seen this a few times. Mr Noble is full of it too. He made all these promises about future improvements, and it has now been 2 years and nothing but talk. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a cross-country rider
from Finland
Date Reviewed: August 27, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I've been using my front hub for about a year now and I still think that it's just totally cool. The spindle is very beefy so the hub is very rigid but because the hub has no body it looks very skinny. Although the lack of a body between the flanges means that the tension of the spokes applies a large side-load to the bearings, making them seem quite stiff, apparently, when a vertical load is applied to the wheel the bearings seat propperly and role more freely. Makes a very unusual looking wheel, I just wish they would bring out their rear hub. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
TIM CHASE
a downhiller
from COLO.SPRINGS,COLO.
Date Reviewed: January 30, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
THIS HUB RULES OTHER THAN THE BEARING TENSION GETS WAY
TIGHT WHEN THE WHEEL IS TENSIONED PROPERLY. OTHER THAN THE
BEARINGS GETTING OVER TIGHT IT RIDES VERY NICE.FROM WHAT I
HEAR THEY HAVE CURED THIS PROBLEM WITH LARGER BEARINGS?
OVER ALL I SUPPOSE ITS ONE OF THE BEST FOR A RIDER WHO
WANTS A VERY LIGHT AND VERY STIFF HUB.
C.C.BIKES | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Greg Hunter
a cross-country rider
from Springfield MO
Date Reviewed: July 24, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I have one of these and the company is GREAT!!! Had a bearing problem and they were a JOY to work with. These are really great. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan K.
a racer
from truckee, ca
Date Reviewed: July 24, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I don't own this but a female friend of mine does. Her team is sponsored by the hub maker and she let me ride her bike for an extended test out in the Nevada desert.
It is light, and although flimsy looking, it is stiff. I read about the hub 1.5 years ago in Mountain Bike Fiction, and the hub just came out to the mass public about 9 months ago. Light, stiff, rare.
Nashbar supposedly carries them but i saw several other mailorder houses carrying them too. One was even selling them for $70!! That's almost half off retail. Caution, you must use radial lacing. That's okay though
because a properly built radial wheel is lighter and stronger than a crossed pattern. If you're looking for a rare, light, strong hub this is it. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Devin Flynn
a
from Provo, Utah
Date Reviewed: April 16, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
These hubs are THE BOMB. The front hub is out right now and it a revelation. They are the lightest MTB front hubs anywhere. 60 grams. Before you think it is too light read MBA magazine from I think August '95. They loved 'em. They are very strung because of the large axle and wide flanges. All I can say is ride them. It is a Provo, Utah company and they are small so they might be hard to get a hold of for now. I was told a rear hub will be out in a couple of months that will weigh less than 200 grams. I have seen the prototype. I was told it weighed in at 155. It works, too.
| | Overall Rating: |
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