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DtSwiss 240 EXP - engagement problem

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#363 ·
I greased mine pretty lightly when putting In the new parts. I didn’t watch the video but did about the level of grease shown in the service manual they linked to via email. Used a brush too.

The hub is definitely louder now, probably twice as loud. I miss the quietness of before. More grease maybe? Don’t want to overdo it. I rode it for 6 miles at a quick but not crazy pace, probably 6 out of 10 on intensity scale. It seemed to work fine so far. The old parts showed basically no wear on them.
 
#365 ·
Out of a sudden my 240 EXT completely lost the engagement today. The ratchet got stuck pretty hard inside the shell with the spring fully compressed. I had to use a screwdriver to force it out, and was able to finish the ride.
As an owner of four DT 350 hubs, I must say I'm very disappointed with the EXT. I have not had a single problem ever with 350s. Next is the warranty claim.
 
#366 ·
EdSawyer said:
I greased mine pretty lightly when putting In the new parts. I didn't watch the video but did about the level of grease shown in the service manual they linked to via email. Used a brush too.

The hub is definitely louder now, probably twice as loud. I miss the quietness of before. More grease maybe? Don't want to overdo it. I rode it for 6 miles at a quick but not crazy pace, probably 6 out of 10 on intensity scale. It seemed to work fine so far. The old parts showed basically no wear on them.
Click to expand...
More grease will definitely make it quieter. As long as you're not putting so much grease to the point of preventing the two ratchets from engaging, you should be fine. The moving ratchet getting stuck in the freehub body is not caused by too much grease. There's got to be something wrong with the freehub body.

My hub didn't start to lose engagement until about 280 miles. I think 6 miles is too early to tell if any problems will develop.
 
Discussion starter · #367 ·
2:01 said:
Just quoting the link again for other folks. Maybe the OP can link it in the first post. I read through the thread and missed it the first time around.

Thanks for the link.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion, done!

As I was fearing, some refurbished hubs still have the same problem!
Being a little bit lost in all the configurations mentioned above, it is interesting to clear out the following:

As any of you had problems with a EXP hub that is not in a DtSwiss shell?
BikeAhead, Roval and other brands use DtSwiss mechanisms but they fit them in their own brand shell. As anyone had problems with this "third-party hubs with EXP inner mechanisms"? Or just with full DtSwiss parts?
 
#368 ·
For the last 20 years I've been using a Hayes/Hugi hubset, that uses one spring and 2 ratchets in the rear hub. The difference from EXP is that the spring is on the hub side and not the freehub side, and that the ratchet in the freehub body is free to move in the freehub body grooves, though the hub shell side spring and rathchet press against it. This set up worked for me with 18T, 34T and 54T ratchets. I've always used heavy oil or light grease to lubricate the ratchets and never any issues. When I'm reading the posts here, the DT statement about surface quality etc, I can't help to think that the EXP design has some design flaw that makes it vulnerable to operating conditions that in the past never caused an issue.
I've also used the Hayes/Hugi hubs with DTSwiss 340 freehubs that need a 2 spring set up and a spacer - with no issues at all. I wonder if anyone has ever experienced a stuck ratchet in a non-EXP DT Swiss hub... if not, then what other explanation for EXP failures can there be, other than a faulty design? Has their quality of manufacturing dropped in recent years?
 
#369 ·
A few weeks back just around when this unfolded I ordered myself an old 240 rear as I had a new set of 54t ratchets here, ready to drop in and it was €50 cheaper than the new EXP hub. Nearly glad now.

Makes me wonder if this wear issue will pop up again prematurely... though picturing the workings of the design, you would think not. Hopefully just this batch of chocolate star ratchets.
 
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#370 ·
Nande said:
Thanks for the suggestion, done!

As I was fearing, some refurbished hubs still have the same problem!
Being a little bit lost in all the configurations mentioned above, it is interesting to clear out the following:

As any of you had problems with a EXP hub that is not in a DtSwiss shell?
BikeAhead, Roval and other brands use DtSwiss mechanisms but they fit them in their own brand shell. As anyone had problems with this "third-party hubs with EXP inner mechanisms"? Or just with full DtSwiss parts?
Click to expand...
Mine was on a Roval wheelset with 180 EXP internals.
 
#371 ·
Nande said:
Thanks for the suggestion, done!

As I was fearing, some refurbished hubs still have the same problem!
Being a little bit lost in all the configurations mentioned above, it is interesting to clear out the following:

As any of you had problems with a EXP hub that is not in a DtSwiss shell?
BikeAhead, Roval and other brands use DtSwiss mechanisms but they fit them in their own brand shell. As anyone had problems with this "third-party hubs with EXP inner mechanisms"? Or just with full DtSwiss parts?
Click to expand...
I am going to have to re read this thread now as I thought there was one person in this thread that has had the problem re-appear and that was using their own solution of new Star ratchets - not the full dt Swiss solution of the ratchets and the freehub ?
 
#372 ·
006_007 said:
I am going to have to re read this thread now as I thought there was one person in this thread that has had the problem re-appear and that was using their own solution of new Star ratchets - not the full dt Swiss solution of the ratchets and the freehub ?
Click to expand...
Seems like they only replaced the ratchet and not the freehub from what I read.
 
#373 ·
I have two 180 EXP hubs. One of them failed last Friday. Sent DT Swiss an e-mail on Saturday. First thing this morning (Monday), I got a response from them asking for the serial numbers. I sent them the serial numbers and they replied within minutes that they're sending me 2 freehub bodies, and 2 sets of ratchets. They are also sending a pre-paid label and asked for the parts back. I guess if you can replace the ratchets yourself, you don't have to send the whole wheel in.

But I found this article in CyclingTips.com (DT Swiss acknowledges Ratchet EXP hub problems in new service bulletin - CyclingTips) saying that DT Swiss will send you a freehub body and ratchets if your hub is has the affected serial number but hasn't experience failure yet. But if it already experience failure, they will send you the ratchet thread ring and bearings too. For some reason, they are not sending me the ratchet thread ring and bearings, only the freehub body and ratchets

My advise is that if you have the affected hub and can replace the ratchets yourself, send DT Swiss an e-mail and get the replacement freehub body and ratchets BEFORE they fail. No need to wait until it fails to get it warrantied.
 
#375 ·
Yes I think he just dropped in a 54t floating ratchet without freehub change, and it seems like the problem originates in the freehub, which is why they send a new one amd tell you to toss the old one.
 
#376 ·
I took a very close look between the old and new parts that DT sent for my two sets of 180 hubs. Other than some surface machining on the free-floating ratchet piece, I couldn’t really detect any difference whatsoever.
 
#377 ·
EdSawyer said:
I took a very close look between the old and new parts that DT sent for my two sets of 180 hubs. Other than some surface machining on the free-floating ratchet piece, I couldn't really detect any difference whatsoever.
Click to expand...
I have not sent them an email yet about the ratchet that got stuck in the freehub body. Need to take the cassette off to read the serial. So far I have 3 complaints about my 240 EXP:

1. Ratchet got stuck inside the freehub body exactly once. I needed to force it out quite a bit. After that it worked for the rest of the ride. I'm pretty sure the inside was clean, since I serviced / lubricated it couple of rides before. The hub has ~200 miles.

2. The endcaps are way too loose. I was changing tire recently and the freehub / cassette just fell off. I wasn't even doing the "stans shake" at the moment. (this is why I needed to clean / lubricate it recently). I think they overdid the "disassemble by hands only" part. I'd prefer encaps to sit tighter. I don't like when you need to use pliers to wiggle them to remove, but a rubber ring to protect from sliding so easily can be helpful. When the engagement failed on the trail, I just put the wheel on the ground and lifted the cassette up. Didn't even need to hold the wheel doing so.

3. Why are main axle bearings so tight and uneven? They don't bind and the wheel can still rotate freely, but they are the worst compared to everything I had before (350s, i9, Hope Evo2). My 7 year old 350 is better than this. In fact every 350 I tried was super smooth. Is this specific to 240 because of stainless steel bearings?
 
#379 ·
Soooo. If I’ve got 1200 miles on my 240 exp hubs since Feb 1, I’m probably good, correct? I’m changing to fast tires next week, so I’ll pull off the cassette then, to check for that “1”.
 
#380 ·
juan_speeder said:
Soooo. If I've got 1200 miles on my 240 exp hubs since Feb 1, I'm probably good, correct? I'm changing to fast tires next week, so I'll pull off the cassette then, to check for that "1".
Click to expand...
I wouldn't count on that if your hub doesn't have that "1" in the serial number. The fact that they're sending out repair parts for hubs that haven't failed yet says something...
 
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