Light, durable, inexpensive

None

At 253g, this hub delivers for the money. Not as light as my main racing hubs, but don't leave me stranded either.

Similar Products Used:

Hope Pro 2 Evo, Novatec D541SB

Reliable, Keeps grease in. Holds onto spokes with minimum wear. Races seem to stay properly rounded against the bearings. Overall - when maintained properly this is best bang for your buck. Great equipment for heavy butts. You seriously can't beat $28.00/tax.

None as yet.

My setup has over 3000 miles on it including tires, spokes, rims and hubs. Has always been reliable without issues.

Similar Products Used:

Don't remember what bike came with...but, it didn't work.

Durable, light, good-looking

None, yet.

I waited till I rode on these hubs for a year before I wrote a review, solely because others seem to have experienced difficulty with the M525. I wanted to wait and see. I both the front and rear M525 as part of a Mavic XC717 wheelset. Everything has been fine, so-far, and they spin just as nicely as when I first got them. I want to point out that I do not ride off-road, so that may be significant. I ride my MTB as a workhorse, doing chores and riding on wet and uneven road surfaces. This sometimes involves carrying heavy loads in my backpack, and I do enjoy jumping off of curbstones. My bike is a hardtail and I ride with 6 psi.
One of the main reasons I got these is because they are not black. I might have opted for something more expensive if I could find other silver/grey hubs in 32H, rim brake applicable.

Durable, Cost,

Weight

It is funny that lots ppl hate it. For a $25 hub, its strength and durability is 2nd to none.
I weight 220lbs and run it for three years without problem. Highly recommend for amateur-advanced XC/AM use. For serious use, bypass this go for XT.

None

Whole Unit

Bought a new rear wheel 6 months ago, Deore M525 hub. Died on me this week. All bearings and races were pitted. Used on a TREK 7300 commuter. Seen next to no rain. MY opinion, this hub is utter garbage. The old 13 year old Deore it replaced was still mint, but the Alex rim it laced to was worn out. Was cheaper to get a whole new wheel than just a rim and re-lace. Stay away from this hub or any wheelset that uses it.

Lasted for 2 years

Front hub is just fine, but the rear hub is horrible. After few months of being unused, it won't rotate smoothly. The freehub is crap, it makes a lot of vibration. It is also a pain in the ass to maintain the rear hub. The cones and bearings are also of cheap quality. They make clacking sound after some time of use.

The rear hub is really bad for medium to heavy use. Just invest more money for better hub.

Spins around to start with

Stops spinning around after a relatively short period of time

Came stock, did the job for a short while. Within 3 or 4 months was making nasty crunching noises. A few months later, there's so much play in it, it's unridable. Fine for stock I guess, but if you have a choice in the matter, it's worth investing in something better. Certainly if you're going to rebuild the stock wheels on your bike, get rid of them. Because once you've paid for rims and laced your spokes, you don't want to be pulling it all apart again on account of a cheap hub like this. I'm a big Shimano fan but hub is not their best work.

Similar Products Used:

LX, SLX, Hope

cheap

cheap, I have had the bike for 2 months and the races are shot in the front hub after about 250 miles. I pulled them apart to service them and the race was scored.

I'm having new hubs laced in the bontrager duster rims w/ cartridge bearings or getting a new wheelset

None

Fails- Ditto with some other reviewer. M525 freehub body slipped completely under some load and now won't engage the drivetrain ....Left me a nice long walk back to the car!

Avoid this Hub - been MTB riding for a long time using 'low-end' components but never had a failure occur on new stuff that left me carrying my bike out of the woods.

IS Disc compatible, serviceable, high flange and shorter spokes provides for better stiffness.

Heavy, not the best free hub engagement.

These are definitely a get what you pay for product. Do not expect the lightest, smoothest, most efficient ride from these hubs. They do need to be adjusted at some point when using them, but I took care of that when I first got the wheelset and I only serviced these guys once since then. I figure it is just normal wear and tear. I have since removed them from my normal rotation and upgraded to new centerlock XTs.