Submitted by
dromond
a Cross Country Rider
from Seattle
Date Reviewed: October 13, 2010
Strengths: lightweight
Weaknesses: bad bearings, weak freehub design
Bottom Line:
When these hubs came new on my bike the sealed, no adjustabel cartridge bearings both had play in them - too much play. WTB sent me new bearing and after pressing them into the hub I find that they have play in them as well.
In the middle of a ride the freehub mechanism ceased to function leaving me with a freely spinning crank. After receiving a warranty part and replacing it it's no wonder that the hub broke. The design relies on a tiny wire to catch a microscopic edge on the scales of the hub, and mine was ever so slightly rounded off. That is a tiny room for error.
I feel like I'm on a first name basis with the WTB warranty department. As nice as they are, that can't make up for a truly horrible product. Save yourself the trouble and avoid WTB.
Submitted by
rusty904
a Weekend Warrior
from North Carolina
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2010
Strengths: Light, Strong, stiff, Good Looking
Weaknesses: rear hub is a bit louder than my XT hubs, but i like the sound personally
Bottom Line:
I had a wheelset built last year by BWW. I consider myself pretty aggressive trail rider and I'm about 185-190lbs so I wanted something light and strong.
So, I got 719's and Laserdisc lite hubs. Wheelset came to 1742g. I've run them hard over the last year and a half or so. I take them off drops, jumps, rocky descents, you name it and I haven't had to touch them yet. Still in perfect true, hub still engages perfectly, bearings still tight etc. I can't say the same for my XT's even though I consider them very reliable hubs, they've needed a bit of attention to keep them tight.
I can't account for the experiences of the other reviewers, but these hubs have been the most rock solid reliable parts on my bike for the last couple years.
Submitted by
lovemtbnaz
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2009
Strengths: Ok so i have the same problem and i called WTB and spoke with MIKE..This guy MIKE kicks ass he was so freaking cool and professional and although the wheel itself was a headache to deal with MIKE was surely the the Tylenol and it WTB has people like this working for them then i'll be a loyal customer.
Weaknesses: Well there was some before but MIKE solved
Bottom Line:
Ok so i have the same problem and i called WTB and spoke with MIKE..This guy MIKE kicks ass he was so freaking cool and professional and although the wheel itself was a headache to deal with MIKE was surely the the Tylenol and it WTB has people like this working for them then i'll be a loyal customer.
SO IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS WHEELSET CALL WTB EXTENSION 10 AND HOPEFULLY MIKE IS THERE AND YOUR PROBLEM SOLVED!! THREE CHILI'S FOR THE WHEEL AND FIVE FOR MIKE AND WTB FOR BEING SMART ENOUGH TO HAVE A GUY LIKE THAT WORKING FOR THEM.
Similar Products Used: deore xt, deore, skye(motobecane)crap,Aliviom475 front hub(have to watch it and tighten locknut sometimes.
Bike Setup: Deore LX, Avid BB7, Specialized HRXC,
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
david
a Cross Country Rider
from Tahoe City, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2007
Strengths: Light, cheap wheels with excellent rims (Mavic X717 disc).
Weaknesses: The hubs. Period.
Bottom Line:
Both WTB Laser Disc Lite hubs failed for silly reasons. The rear hub had a ridiculously under-designed and overly-complex cam engagement mechanism that exploded. Once I opened it I was shocked it lasted more than 10 minutes (by the way, what's wrong with using the tried-n-true ratchet and pawls design????). WTB SOLD me a repair kit, which was a drastic redesign compared to what I had, so they obviously knew the original design sucked, but still I had to pay to fix it. But that's not that big a deal compared to the front hub, which was either designed or manufactured completely wrong. The front hub disc-side spoke flange was WAY too far outboard, so no matter what fork I used (Fox or Manitou), and no matter what disc brakes I used (Avid mechanical, Avid Juicy or Hayes HFX), centering the caliper over the disc put the caliper into the spokes. To get the caliper out of the spokes, I had to shim the rotor outboard with washers, but to get it far enough it ended up rubbing against the fork leg. In other words, there was no way to get the front wheel to work without the caliper hitting the spokes while simultaneously the rotor rubbed the fork. When I called Colorado Cyclist, they told me they had never heard of the issue and referred me to WTB. I dealt with a very good guy at WTB who said he also had never heard of the problem, but sent me a brand new hub anyway, which was very nice of him, but unfortunately I had paid a lot of money for a completely useless front wheel, AND NOW HAD TO PAY OUT-OF-POCKET TO BUILD UP ANOTHER FRONT WHEEL (new rim, spokes, nipples and labor cost half what I originally paid for the entire wheelset!). And, by the way, the new front hub is the exact same design as the old hub, with the exception of the disc-side hub flange which is further inboard. So WTB claims to have never heard of this problem, and yet the replacement hub corrected the exact issue I had. Hmmmmm. I also asked a disc brake manufacturer when I was at Sea Otter about my issues, and before I told him which hub I had he said "Do you have WTB hubs? Because some of their front hubs weren't manufactured to the ISO disc standards and we've been hearing a lot about spacing issues." And WTB claims to have never heard of this? Hmmmmmm. I also came across a rider I had never met before out on the trail who looked at my wheels (with the newly rebuilt front wheel) and asked if I had problems with the WTB front hub not working due to incorrect spacing because he had that problem and when he called WTB, they claimed to have never heard about it. Hmmmmmm. Being incompetent is one thing, being dishonest is another. BTW, I gave the hubs 3 chilis for overall rating because once the issues were resolved, they've been fine, and of course 1 chili for having to invest out-of-pocket twice due to WTB's poorly made products.
Similar Products Used: About 10 different wheelsets in the last decade of riding (Shimano, Ringle, Real Designs, and King hubs, to name a few).
Bike Setup: SC Blur, XTR/XT, Fox.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Albany, OR
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2007
Strengths: Strong Stays true Simple design Ease of service Light weight
Weaknesses: Bearing wear is excessive Shaft is not precise once worn
Bottom Line:
I've got about 1,500 miles on these and have some likes and strong dislikes. Bottom line, I will replace the rear as soon as I can afford such and will not re-buy WTB/Am Classic wheels. That being said, they are light, simple, and have held up well , staying true. The hubs are another matter. The seals do not keep crud and water out. The bearings have a large shaft hole and tiny bearing so they wear very quickly. In 1,000 miles (well less than 1 season) I siezed 2 bearings completely and 3 more were quite rough. As a result of the siezed bearings, the shaft is worn at the bearing interface creating slight play in the hub that cannot be tensioned out. Not a killer, but, a sign of poor tolerance and that wear means the life is limited without a new shaft. With odd bearing size they are very hard to find - search the forums, there are only about 2 places that carry them, QBP is not one of them so your LBS will be no help. So - recap - poor bearing life, shaft gets worn quickly and parts cannot be had easily. Not at all worth it for the wildly high price tag. If this was a $125 wheel (like an XT mounted to 717's) I would be far more tolerant. These are, however, a $500 wheelset. Light - yes. Durable - no. Too bad. As a result, I do not like mine at all and will replace the rear soon. The front is doing fine with new bearings annually. At $10 per bearing plus shipping and 6 bearing comprising the wheelset, $60/yr is added to the price tag for me.
Submitted by
Marcus Smith
a Cross Country Rider
from Utah
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2007
Strengths: inexpensive, holds up fine for what i do. weighed just over 1715g, low weight, strong rims stay true under tough conditions, quit-ish rear hub, look good
Weaknesses: NONE!
Bottom Line:
The LaserDisc Lite Hubs are licensed from Bill Shook of American Classic. The design is licensed by MANY other major wheel builders. The reason they are licensed is because of simplicity of design, lite weight and durability. I have never had a problem with these hubs. I have owned my Ritchey Protocol Road Wheelset for over a year which uses the same WTB design in the rear hub and I love them. I put in at least 120 miles a week on Road and another 40-50 miles on my MTB wheelset.
These are THE MOST POPULAR MTB RACE HUBS used! Period!
This laser disc Lite wheelset is a blast and I've had no maintainance issues. They spin and spin, while I bounce a lot. I drop a little, rock garden a little, down hill a bit, even snow. I basically wanted a strong rim that was also low on the scales. I got it. I like the non-tingy sound of the rear end and I've had no probs. with the hub (lite version). After hundreds of miles of consistant graceful abuse, I have not found a reason to true this set
Submitted by
Dan Stew
a Cross Country Rider
from CA
Date Reviewed: March 7, 2007
Strengths: Strong and Light Wheels, Sealed bearings, some of the best hubs available.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
I am about 210 Lbs and have used them in all kinds of roads and different speeds. Stiff, strong no flex. No need to true them yet. For the money is a very good Value, very light wheels can compare to any wheel at twice the price at almost half the price. I have been told that these are American Classic top of the line wheels with the wtb name.
Submitted by
Dauw
a Weekend Warrior
from Laramie, Wyoming
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2006
Strengths: Very light wheels with a quick, solid engagement in the rear hub.
Weaknesses: Rear hub only lasted about 200 miles before is started skipping. WTB warranty told me "Just tighten it up" a couple of times. I did, it didn't work, and my warranty is now expired.
Bottom Line:
Rear hub is apparently a weak link in an otherwise solid wheelset. I probably could have been a little more stingy about my warranty, and had it replaced. Hassle.
I have a WTB Laserdisc Lite hub with standard QR which I was hoping I could convert to a 15mmQR axle. A friend loaned me an axle conversion kit from American Classic for their sim Read More »
I am thinking about buying a wheelset that has these hubs laced to 319 rims. I am looking for the pros and cons of these hubs. I ride on trails shared by horses and the condition Read More »
i'm gearing up to build up a new 29er wheel set with possibly Flows but am currently doing my research on potential hubs. the wheel set will go on a hardtail ridden on aggressive X Read More »
My Weyless FS needs a rebuild. My LBS took the rear wheel apart to find out what bearings it needs. The rear wheel has the MTB laserdisc lite rear hub with the following on the h Read More »
Just thought I'd share as I picked one up
[url=http://www.hucknroll.com/wtb-laserdisc-lite-rear-hub-32h]WTB LaserDisc Lite Rear Hub - 32h from Hucknroll.com[/url] Read More »
