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Submitted by
andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from melbourne
Date Reviewed: April 30, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | anything single and twisty | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | upgrade on bike | | Strengths: | nil | | Weaknesses: | hub shat itself in the middle of the bush after 4 months of dry cross country riding.
No help from WTB or adrenaline bikes in the USA at all.
How can you sell an inferior product and offer no assistance when it eventually (inevitably) fails?.
Adrenaline bikes sold me these wheels as an upgrade on my Yeti 575, I shouldnt have bothered! they are CRAP | | Similar Products Used: | every other hub i have used has been great! | | Bike Setup: | Yeti 575 enduro build kit | | Bottom Line: | Dont bother with this useless piece of kit!
If you have got one and it lets you down, dont waste your time with WTB, they provide no help at all! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a Racer
from Macon, GA
Date Reviewed: February 9, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Arrowhead Park | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Bike Tech Macon | | Strengths: | Light weight. Simple design. Sealed bearings. High flanges. | | Weaknesses: | The freehub body did go out on me. | | Similar Products Used: | Cup and Cone xt hubs. | | Bottom Line: | I happily and enthusiastically raced and rode these things hard for two or three years before the free hub body went kablooey on me at the start of a race last year. Sure enough, it was the spring which engaged the pawl drive that had bent back on itself that was to blame. The new free hub had a considerably thicker and more robust spring and better pawls, so I guess they figured out what the problem was there.
Three years and little to no maintenance before the meltdown does not earn them a black eye in my book. In every other respect they have been stellar. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RP24Hours
a Cross Country Rider
from Irvine CA
Date Reviewed: February 5, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | SJT | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | Light weight | | Weaknesses: | Funky engagement system, bearings go away pretty quickly | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano, DT Swiss | | Bike Setup: | Ellsworth Truth, XTR/Sram X-0 | | Bottom Line: | This is a review of the Laser Disc Lite hubs...
I have two wheelsets built with these hubs.
The first set lasted about 2 years before the actuator spring in the cam plate pawl system wore to the point where the freehub would skip and not fully engage.
Like other posters, e-mails to WTB got no response. When I called, they were very helpful and got me what I needed. The guy I talked to told me that they had beefed up the wire spring and changed the cam plate to include raised sections that helped it engage more quickly. Since the hub was past the warranty period (1 year) they offered me the parts at dealer cost.
As far as bearings, I got my first set from WTB under warranty. They lasted about as long as the first, which was about a year. To be fair, I put a lot of miles on my MTB each year. I bought a set of Enduro bearings and they are about 18 month old and have already outlasted the OE bearings.
While they do need more maintenance and TLC, they are fairly easy to service, do not require special service tools like my DT Swiss or King hubs, and are pretty light. Col;orado Cyclist still has these wheels for $350 and they weigh about 1550 gms without QR skewers. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from Hong Kong
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | high flange, lightweight, satin finish, smooooth bearings! | | Weaknesses: | doesn't come with QR skewers, | | Bike Setup: | trail bike | | Bottom Line: | was looking for an upgrade to disc and saw the amazing price. looked up some reviews on it but wasn't phased, trust WTB products. got them with 819 and spin forever. i love the high flange, offers a much stiffer feel than my rim brake crossmax UST wheelset! WTB rocks! love their products. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Craig
a Cross Country Rider
from Rochester, MN
Date Reviewed: August 9, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | Weight, engagement has been great, large diameter hub=shorter spokes and stronger wheels | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | lx hubs w/ rhyno-lites which i rode for 6 year and are still on an older hard tail -they won't die! | | Bike Setup: | Kona Bear/Dawg w/ sram X9 | | Bottom Line: | I was a little skeptical about these hubs because it is hard to find information about them. Anyway, I talked to CC about 5 times and then I called WTB about them. Of course the people selling will tell you anything so judging by my experiences with wtb's saddles, tires and other parts I took the leap and bought the wheels. Evidently, WTB bought the design from american classic which have 'adjustable' bearings. These bearings need occasional adjustments, but I haven't touched mine yet. Here is the skinny on what I think of the hubs:
I weigh about 220 and occasionaly bottom out a 900 lb. coil on the back of my Kona. This hub has held up great to many miles of rocks, roots, racing and pulling the burley. Great product. I purchased the X717 disc along with WTB laser lite hubs (CC special) and have put about 800 miles of hard summer riding on them. Both products have held up really well and plan to ride them into the ground (4-5 years).
I have had my Kona for about 4 season and this summer I developed a crack in the chainstay. This crack was the result of years of twisting force from the cranks, developed likely because of pedaling force, rough riding and weighing 200 lb+. This summer I have ridden harder than ever and the WTB hubs and the disc 717's have taken it very well. I have only tightened the spokes once, and the hubs, with 185 mm rotors have been champs. Believe me, if these hubs were weak I would post it here.
I wanted something which would last several years and I just couldn't justify a costly crossmax or King/X717, although someday may have to splurge on those. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan
a Racer
from Salt Lake City
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Weight | | Weaknesses: | Extremely poor bearing quality/seals on bearings...after three months the bearings were shot...unrealiable freehub engagement mechanism, the pawls would frequently slip while engaged. | | Bottom Line: | This if for the Laser Disc Lite hubset
Poor customer service on WTB's part. These hubs are based on an American Classic design that was recalled for the Ritchey and American classic made iteneration of this hub due to freehub problems. Although WTB never recalled their hubsets. Basically worthless hubs...Deore hubs are more reliable and smoother rolling then these things | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ed
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Gatos, CA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Purchased At: | Reed's Cyclery | | Strengths: | Came with bike, CHEAP. | | Weaknesses: | CHEAP, NOT DURABLE. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT, XTR, Chris King. | | Bike Setup: | Stocker Santa Cruz VP Free with 888. | | Bottom Line: | WTB Laser Disc "Super Duty" is a f$&king joke.
I've owned the bike for 18 months and done moderate XC riding with a single downhill day (1 single ride at Northstar - Bonebreak) before the rear hub broke. No engagement of the pedals, the hub would not engage anymore. Bike had probably 30 rides total on it before then. Bought new in Dec 04, broke in July 05. WTB gave the shop the run around, finally Santa Cruz fixed it on warranty.
Went on a moderate XC ride yesterday (6/1/06), it broke again, same problem, won't engage. For a freeride part, this is a total joke. I'm a OLD (40+) moderately heavy (190 lbs), XC rider who's aspiring to be a freerider, just starting to do baby 3' jumps. I talked to the shop at Northstar where it broke the first time and they said they had a demo fleet of VP Frees where 40% of the fleet suffered the same fate. Going back to Chris King. Too bad, I like WTB's grips and tires, and I'd like to support local companies, but there must be monkeys designing/building this part, not to mention that they didn't want to hear about the problems, nor help out on warranty. Don't buy this part, it's CRAP! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from TO, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | Light weight, front hub still spins nicely. | | Weaknesses: | WTB customer service. The freehub stopped engaging reliably and the bearings are all contaminated. This is after a year or so of hard riding, so I'm cool with it, but when I requested info from WTB on how to service the freehub, they wouldn't even humor me with a response. I wasn't even asking for anything for free. | | Bottom Line: | Why do they even spend a dime on advertising when they won't take a minute to retain their existing customers? Obviously nobody went to business school over there. Anyway, I'm replacing the rear hub with something else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
rockrabbit
a Racer
from ozarks
Date Reviewed: May 10, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | hi-chi | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$349.00 | | Purchased At: | colorado cyclist | | Strengths: | low cost, light weight, takes a beating | | Weaknesses: | no bling | | Similar Products Used: | DT, Shimano, Mavic | | Bike Setup: | Truth | | Bottom Line: | This review is for the WTB Laser Disc Lite hubs laced to Mavic 717s. Colorado Cyclist has been selling this wheelset for a long time at the same price. I weigh 150lbs and race expert class xc.
This wheelset has put up with a lot of abuse in all conditions. It has gotten me through countless races and epic training rides with absolutely no problems.
I hate to gush on a mail order house, but I have gotten 3 wheelsets from CC and they have all been bomber.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ace
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: February 16, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Any | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Stock on bike | | Strengths: | Super light, cool looking, engages super quick, and silent. Front hub rocks. | | Weaknesses: | Bearings are not fully sealed in hub or easily servicable. Rear hub sucks! | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano, FSA, and Mavic | | Bike Setup: | Scandium/carbon hartail race machine with new FSA XC-300 wheels. | | Bottom Line: | Review is for the 2004 LaserDisc Lite Hubs
Front hub is still super fast and quiet. Will roll forever. No complaints.
Rear hub is a different story. After only 9 months of riding the rear hub is shot. Haven't tried to service hub yet but bearings feel rough and grease feels like it was too heavy.
In my opinion, save your money and get a good set of time tested reliable hubs like Chris King, DT, American Classic, etc. Hubs are a super important component and worth spending extra money on. WTB makes some good stuff and hopefully they will perfect their hubs if they haven't already. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe Heidler
a Cross Country Rider
from Red Lion Pa USA
Date Reviewed: January 27, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | e-bay | | Weaknesses: | WTB, this response is not about the hub I purchased, it is about the customer no service. They do not bother to response to customer questions and their web site is worthless. I could not find any technical information on the hub that purchased and they did not return my e-mail after two tries All I needed was an answer to some simple information that I needed. | | Similar Products Used: | XT, Sram, Spot, Surly | | Bike Setup: | Lightspeed Niota and Surly 1X1 | | Bottom Line: | Do not buy from this company if you expect service | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JustABiker
a Cross Country Rider
from Bay Area, CA
Date Reviewed: January 12, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | lightweight | | Weaknesses: | A very poor design | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano hubs | | Bottom Line: | This is a review for the WTB LaserDisc Lite hubs which came stock on my bike. After just a handful of rides, the rear hub slipped and would no longer engage. Contacted WTB customer service and they fixed the problem. WTB said the problem was due to the engagement plate so they replaced it. Okay, the hub is fixed and I wouldn't have to worry about it any longer right? No... the hub started slipping again after just a few rides. Contacted WTB and they said they would ship out the internal parts to replace but it haven't heard from them (it has been about a year now and I think it may just be a waste of time to try to fix this again only to have it break).
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
K
a Cross Country Rider
from Ann Arbor, MI
Date Reviewed: October 21, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$353.00 | | Purchased At: | oddsandendos.com | | Strengths: | Light and strong. Very interesting (though unnecessary) ratchet mechanism. | | Weaknesses: | Bearings and seals, the Chin Huar bearing are complete crap | | Similar Products Used: | White industries ti rear and tracker front (for over 10 years trouble free!) | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight with Reba, Hope Minis, XT cranks | | Bottom Line: | These hubs have been pretty strong for all of the bombing that this 180+ lbs rider has thrown at them. The wheels from Mike at oddsandendos.com builds are completely stellar! (and a good deal too)
Now onto the bearings. After doing some driving (roof rack)and riding in the rain (no full submersions) I was shocked the next day to find 1 of my cassette bearing seized, one nearly unturnable and 2 pretty darn gritty. It's unclear to me whether water came in through the bearing or the seal between the cassette and the hub. The one thing I do know it that the bearings have seals that flowed solvent so readily I at first thought the back side didn't have seals! A complete design flub to save a couple bucks on crappy bearings. In contrast, I've had to replace two White Industries bearings in over ten years and they simply were gritty.
WTB promised to ship me new bearings and even asked if I was out of commission (seized bearings on vacation suck!), I'm still waiting on the bearing so the jury is out on customer service.
Please note that these bearing are a "proprietary" size 15mm x 26mm x 7mm so your choices for replacements are limited. However I have found Enduro bearings in this size and might have to forgo the warrantee to keep the bike working longer.
I would probably not buy these hubs again. A great value if they would only keep working... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shaz
a Cross Country Rider
from South Florida
Date Reviewed: September 1, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | All of Markham Park | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$400.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Light and almost silent. Smooth spinning | | Weaknesses: | None noted | | Bike Setup: | Intense 5.5, full XTR, Mavic 717, Easton Monkeylight, CK headset, Avid Mechanical | | Bottom Line: | This is a review for the LaserDisc Light Hubs. I had these hubs on prior bike (stumpjumper FRS Pro). Had new wheels built by LBS when got new frame. Haven't had a minutes trouble with them in the year I've been riding them. They are smooth, almost silent -no annoying buzz.... and the wheel spins forever. Wheels stay true, and they are light. I am a 140lb rider and would highly recommend them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a Downhiller
from Salt Lake City
Date Reviewed: July 18, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Wahsatcchh!! | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Santa Cruz FR Kit | | Strengths: | NONE | | Weaknesses: | Not reliable. Breaks easily. Poorly designed and manufactured. No worth it's weight in spit. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano | | Bike Setup: | SC VP-Free Santa Cruz FR kit. | | Bottom Line: | CRAP CRAP CRAP!!! This thing is crap. I've had my bike less than a year and it has broken not once, but twice!! costing me valuable riding days!!! I'm so pissed at Santa Cruz for allowing this crap to be put on their bikes that I curse their name in my sleep now. Damn them!! Damn them to all heck!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bikerx40
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, ID
Date Reviewed: March 7, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | Lightweight design, quiet freehub. | | Weaknesses: | Cheap poorly sealed bearings, not user friendly for frequent disassembly, poor freehub pawl engagement design results in cronic skipping over time, poor customer service by WTB. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT, Shimano XTR, White Industries Titanium, DT/Swiss | | Bike Setup: | Turner XCE, Marzocchi Marathon S, Full XT drivetrain, Mavic 317 rims, Push Industries Vanilla RC shock. | | Bottom Line: | This is a review for the WTB LaserDisc Lite hubs:
These hubs came as part of the prebuilt wheels that Colorado Cyclist is selling with X317 rims and butted spokes. I bought the wheels through Colorado Cyclist in November 2003 and have been riding them ever since. I weigh 165 pounds and ride cross-country.
Upon receipt of the wheels, the front hub's end-cap flanges were pressed in crooked and my wheel wouldn't sit straight in my dropouts. Despite sending detailed photos of my brand new wheels to WTB's warranty department and talking to them on the phone, they were unwilling to admit that it was a defective end-cap and would not help me out.
About a week ago, the rear hub started to skip and slip after coasting. I rebuilt the rear hub and haven't had the issue return, but I was thoroughly unimpressed with the design of the spring which engages the cam-plate and pawls. The spring looks like a bent paperclip, which is used to push the cam-plate and engage all six pawls. If this little spring were to break, the hub would slip and fail to engage your forward movement! Not a very robust design in my opinion.
Also during the rebuild, I noticed that three of the four bearings in the rear hub were very rough and needed to be repacked after a season of dry riding (something I've never had to do after a single season in Boise).
The quality of the hubs is not what you might find on an XTR, DT 240, King, Hope, or other boutique hub set. I wish that I had dropped the extra 100 clams on the King/317 wheels. I don't even feel comfortable putting these on my wife's bike, so I think I'm just going to get a set of Hadley or Kings and forget about hubs forever.
For pictures and additional information with my experiences, here's the link to the thread:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=5079&highlight=mike
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JmZ
a Cross Country Rider
from Northern Indiana
Date Reviewed: October 30, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Still looking - Got suggestions? | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | Odds and Endos | | Strengths: | Lightweight
Easy to Build
Smooth spinning | | Weaknesses: | None noticed yet. | | Similar Products Used: | Huge 240 Front | | Bike Setup: | Rocky Mountain Fanatic - Rebuilt | | Bottom Line: | Review is of the WTB Laserdisc Lite front hub.
I ride Midwest XC and weigh about 200 pounds. It is mated to a Marz Marathon fork, and Avid Disc brake.
Looking to drop some weight for the bike, build up a WTB front hub. It isn't a violation of Bontrager's rule of thermodynamics - Light, Cheap, Strong - pick two, but it is pretty close.
The hub's well built, smooth bearings, no play, bearings, and easy to build. No complaints. It's been spinning on the bike for several months without a single complaint. I'd love for it to be cheaper, but even still, how many other disc hubs come in at under $100 and 150g. There are lighter, or there are cheaper, I don't know of another hub that's both.
After riding this hub for a while, have thought about getting the rear to match.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Warrensburg
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Berryman | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | -light weight
-smooth bearings
-good price (compared to others in the same category) | | Weaknesses: | -the freehub seems soft | | Similar Products Used: | shimano, specialized, and bontrager hubs | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp, WTB laserdisc lite/Mavic 717 wheels, Avid mechanical disc brakes, Easton Monkeylite SL riserbar | | Bottom Line: | This wheelset has performed quite well. I'm impressed with their weight. Even still, this is not a "flexy" build. The hubs have very smooth bearings. They'll spin forever in the bike stand. To be honest, I've done some stupid things using these wheels even though I know they are a lightweight XC wheelset. They've been trued only once despite of my stupidity. I am concerned about the freehub body. A very small piece of one of the flanges broke off, and there are some depressions left by the cassette. But like I said, I've put a bit too much stess and pressure on these guys. I weigh in the neighborhood of 190lbs and have done 3ft drops onto concrete. To me, they been exceptional. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Brown
a Racer
from Asheville
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | the one I rode yesterday | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | BioWheels | | Strengths: | see previous review | | Weaknesses: | see previous review | | Similar Products Used: | see previouis review | | Bike Setup: | see previous review | | Bottom Line: | An update to customer service- WTB is sending me a loaner wheel to use. They are also issuing an RA#- when I receive the loaner wheel, I am going to send the entire wheel to them and they will re-build. Excellent, beyond my expectations, stellar customer service earns them a "thumbs-up;" the fact that they told the LBS that this was happening to "freeriders," which I am not (although I do ride lots of technical, rocky, singletrack) combined with the fact that they say on their website that they have so much confidence in this hub they are using it for all their wheels, including DH,earns a "thumb down." | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Brown
a Cross Country Rider
from Asheville NC USA
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | was it that one? or the other? | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$200.00 | | Purchased At: | BioWheels | | Strengths: | Lightweight, WTB reputation, solid feeling | | Weaknesses: | see comments | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano from Alivio up to XTR, Campy Chorus road hubs (w/ over 6,000 miles on them, no maintenance, oh-if-only they made MTB products...) | | Bike Setup: | Truth with SRAM, Marzochhi, Fox, etc- see bottom line | | Bottom Line: | REVIEW IS ON LASER DISC LITE HUBS
I got a rear wheel built with this hub at my LBS when I upgraded to the Hope Mono Mini - opted for this instead of the XT for significant weight savings. Had been using Shimano hubs for 10-plus years with no maintenance issues. WIthin 5 months, the clutch mechanism on this product failed- the spring would not engage with the plate, thereby not activating the pawls to grab the freehub. WTB states that "too heavy a grease" was put into the hub the manufacture and they were having some issues. I got a new clutch plate, cleaned the guts (very easy to disassemble) and put it back together- all worked for about a total of 45 days when it started to fail at the end of the 24 hours of Burn, my first solo 24 hour race. I am now working to warranty the whole hub through my LBS, but am also wanting WTB to do something about the cost of my rim, wheelbuild, etc. as they should not be selling a $200 product that fails at this rate and the rim, spokes, and build adds up to another $125 bucks or so (Mavic X3.1 Tubeless and DT double butted spokes). Oh, and by the way, this exact same failure has happened to two of my friends locally. So, we'll see what happens with the customer service, but this is absolutely not a product I would recommend. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RandyP
a Cross Country Rider
from Irvine CA
Date Reviewed: April 26, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$350.00 | | Purchased At: | Colorado Cyclist | | Strengths: | This review is for the Laser Disc Lite hubset. Lightest disc-specific wheel on the market; you don't need to break the bank to own them; uses off-the-shelf spokes and nipples; doesn't sound like a fishing reel drag a la Chris King when freewheeling. In fact, they are darn near silent. | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Mavic with XT hubs, Chris King | | Bike Setup: | SC Blur XT/XTR,Fox TALAS, Float AVA, Avid mechanical discs. wheels laced 3x with DT 14/15, alloy nipples, Mavic XC717 rims, Salsa Ti skewers, Stan's NoTubes, Hutchinson Python Elites or Python Air Light. | | Bottom Line: | These wheels have been great so far and they weigh less than 1600 gms combined. They were built by Colorado Cyclist. I was going to build up a set of wheels using the same components, but when CC had them on sale for $349, hey, I can't buy the stuff I need for that much. They packed them extremely well and I had them within a week of ordering.
The wheels were trued, dished, and had adequate spoke tension right out of the box. Thay are better than many "custom" or "hand built" wheels I have bought. Props to CC for doing such a great job.
I have been riding on them for about 3 months now and have only had to do one minor truing so far. I have raced them once and they held up well to my abuse. I set them up tubeless with Stan's and they are great. I probably lost about 40-50 gms with the Stan's setup since ths sealant and liner are not much lighter than most tubes.
These wheels are a great buy. Maybe not as bulletproof as Chris King's but they are a greeat value.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter Jansen
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: August 26, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$300.00 | | Weaknesses: | They are crap. I had a spoke flange break off around 3 spokes. The front axle is out of round. The hubs cannot be dissasembled without destroying the seals. The front bearings ride across the axial and the cap (not a good design). The rear hub only has a standard bearing seal to protect it from the dirt. The hubs need re-greasing every 200 - 300 km. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX | | Bike Setup: | MTB bike, mostly for touring 13000 km hardtail. | | Bottom Line: | Don't buy them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
damon
a cross-country rider
from anchorage, alaska
Date Reviewed: March 20, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I also have had these hubs for a year now and am very impressed with their no-nonesense quality. I knew when i purchased the hubset that they were not going to fit the manitou mach series, but i felt that the widest hubflange spacing in the industry was well worth the trade off. Their construction is impeccable, and their design far superior to conventional hubs. In addition to the widest hub flange spacing (thus making stronger wheels), they have the widest bearing spacing, building stronger hubs. I have been running my New Paradigm front hub with a judy xc with absolutely no problems, though it is the older judy model- possibly the new webbed dropouts may be the culprit for Tiger below.
The main drawback is price. They are expensive, but they are so durable that you probably regain your investment. The only other thing i would like to see is a better freehub. The stock shimano unit, while functional, just doesn't do it for me, especially with how expensive it was.
I am only going to give 4 stars because you can still get a suntour xc-pro front hubs with grease guard and no compatability problems (but a weaker wheel) and a funkier rear hub (i am looking at the westpine neutron rear) for the same price. No hubset will be as strong or durable, though.
As a final note, the guys at WTB are super nice. I enjoy every time i call them. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a cross-country rider
from Marin, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: December 27, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
These are great hubs they are built tough and hold up on the performance end as well. There is also the added incentive of Grease Guard, which if you grease them every week in the ports they should last ten times as long as your average hubs. there is nothing more to say but that these are probably the best hubs around. Buy quality, don't buy something because of it's ultra light performance. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff King
a cross-country rider
from Venice, FL
Date Reviewed: December 13, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Good, durable hubs. A little heavy and old fasion. I use a pair on a tabdem and they've held up fine. But for my single mount I'd prefer the Chris King's for their less weight, equally bombproof and better looks. That said, everything WTB makes is solid and dependable. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff Markham
a cross-country rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: August 27, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I really like the WTB hub. For some reason, I'm
really hard on hubs and have gone through
two White Industries Tracker hubs, one Hugi
(the obnoxiously loud clicking and supposedly
indestructible hub). The New Paradigm hub has really
hung in there .. has no slop in it, tracks really
well, takes a beating, and is easy to take care of.
Its not the lightest hub in the world .. but I'll
take the reliability any day. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Clancy Derrick
a cross-country rider
from Anchorage, AK
Date Reviewed: July 18, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
100% Smooth. They run smooth, they look smooth, they ride smooth.
Not a heavy set either. Servicing is not problem. The grease ports
make it a snap to blow out the dirty grease with fresh grease. Very durable,
and with the grease ports, you can ride through dirt, rivers, mud, and water
with out having to worry about taking your hubs apart, overhaul and repack the
the bearings. Well worth every cent. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Khanh
a cross-country rider
from san jose, ca
Date Reviewed: May 30, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
these hubs are great! that is, if you're not a weight weenie. the front hub is of average weight and ther rear is 378gr..
the bearings have a preload adjustment so your bearings are good forever if you keep them clean by purging them with new grease through the grease ports.
just adjust the hubs after a couple of rides and forget 'em. just grease them when necessary. that takes a total of 3 minutes or so.
| | Overall Rating: |
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