I've known a couple people that blew up Bitex. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they're just a cheap Chinese brand that got popular because of their higher engagement and price point.

Hope is a legit brand and a decent hub if you can get your hands on them right now.

 

I've known a couple people that blew up Bitex. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think they're just a cheap Chinese brand that got popular because of their higher engagement and price point.

Hope is a legit brand and a decent hub if you can get your hands on them right now.

Actually they are Taiwan made hubs and they aren't that bad. Maybe you are thinking of Koozer?

 

I have both of these hubs. I just replaced the bearings for the third time in the Hope hubs. Correction for the fourth time in the freehub body and drive side hub bearing. I do have about 5000 miles on the hubs but it does seem like I've had to change them more than I should. Also the stainless steel freehub looks like it is made of cheese and the cassette has dug into it as well as marks on the body where it has dug into the drive ring. I have about 3000 miles on the Bitex hubs without issue. I was just telling my riding buddy today that I wished that I had bought another pair of Bitex hubs instead of the Hopes. I do weigh about 265# with my rather large hydration pack and gear.

 

We were going to have a primary focus on weight savings, by taking this 3500 dollar aluminum hardtail to the shop to drill a pound off of its 32.5 lb heft. We’re looking at Shimano 8110s, as they are light and had no surcharge for the microspline interface. Then I started reading… I have yet to see anything positive about the new XT hubs. So we are looking at hopes and bitex.

 

Hopes are pretty loud too.

 

Yep quite!

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No personal experience with either. I do have a wheel builder friend who is one of the best in the business. He's had great success with Bitex, recommends them over DT Swiss. Seeing that my EXP hubs are out of service for 2 months now he may be right.

 

Wow, that's a testimony! In addition to this build I'm also looking for myself. I've read enough about the EXPs to get the 240S as a backup option in case the CKs aren't available in their fancy matte blue color in a reasonable time period.
Bitex are quieter than Hopes for sure, but had a premium surcharge for selecting a microspline driver, whereas Hopes would just add it for free with the wheel builder I'm looking at. This makes the decision within about 30-40 dollars or so. Hopes have some history and reliability but I'll just be getting black, and I'll take the legitimately more reliable hub over popularity in this case.
Thinking Bitex!

 

Our local shop builder uses Bitex, as the house brand (I'm reasonably sure). My kids old race bike has Hope Pro2 Evo hubs, they've been good and I've ridden that bike quite a few times too. The freehub is loud, I love that I can hear him behind me and I don't have to look to see if he's there. My only irritation I have with the Hopes is when removing the cassette the freehub body often comes off with it.

 

I have found the Hopes I have built and serviced for friends to go through bearings at an alarming pace. Last Pro 2 I dealt with had the freehub bearings fail and destroy the hub as the little bearings went free and gouged the entire inside. It was replaced with a Bitex that has more engagement points, is quieter, and so far has worked perfectly. I would buy a bitex over a hope any day.

 

No experience with Bitex, but others around me seem to be happy with them. I generally stick with Hopes. Used to go between Hope and DT's, but 100% Hope now. Older versions, like several years ago, did seem to go through bearings more than average, but not by much. The bearings on our latest sets of Hope hubs though have been lasting as well as anything I used to get from DT Swiss.

 

Owned both, though I’m assuming you’re talking about Hope Pro4. Neither is particularly light. Hope definitely louder. I had no issues with either, but if prices were close, I’d probably choose Hope.

 

Unless there were literally no other choices I'd not pick either of those.

 

What would you prefer. Dt 350? This one is for a smaller rider on a full suspension bike. Not too much banging going on.

 

Sorry, not to be a dick here but if a shop recommends Hope or a cheap Taiwan hub like Bitex over DT Swiss then you should steer as clear as possible away from that shop. Someone got a good deal on a bulk order of cheap hubs and they're trying to offload them on you by telling you something so ridiculous.

 

Naw, maybe a misunderstanding. He recommends Chris King/ Enve/Saipem if you can afford it. But less exotic builds prefers bitex over DT swiss, based on cost/weight/reliability.

I trust him, last I talked to him he has already built 300 wheels this year, only 2 identical. Consultant for a couple major Wheel/hub/rim brands. I've got no vested interest in bitex and neither does he. I've got 5 sets DTswiss 240s on all my wheels. The next build will be CK or Bitex depending on budget. I don't have experience with Hope.

 

I've had good experience with Hope hubs, 4 sets of pro 4's on various bikes including e-machines.

Worst thing I've done is blow the freehub bearing on a freehub. To be fair this wheel was seeing 1500watts of power and quite abused for 2 years before it went.

 

I just had a disappointment on bitex hubs. I got the steel axle because the guy said that was strongest for a big person but that seems to have flexed a lot. There was gouges from the outer ring teeth on the driver, one of the little springs was missing and the retaining ring was broken. 16 mos from purchase, I contacted the guy who grumbled he'd never seen that before and told me I was sol since the warranty is 1 yr. However, I've had other bitex hubs hold up ok.

I'd add dt350 to your list and then it becomes an easy choice.

 

If you only want black hubs then I would second the recommendation for DT350 hubs. As long as they are genuine that are about as solid and reliable as it gets. I have seen what I believe are counterfeits on ebay.

 

If its going to be treated gently any of the discussed should be fine.

 

I upgraded to Pro 4s on my aggressive hardtail back in May. They get a lot of miles, climbing and power through them (strava says around 1100 mi/ 120k ft so far) but the hub bearings are still completely smooth.The freehub bearings have the tiniest bit of roughness but I'd expect them to easily last another thousand miles. I was most worried about the freehub but its been rock solid so far with no slipping and the pawls look practically new. Despite the usual british conditions its never let any water / dirt in (My previous DT was terrible for that). I did clean and grease it once but didnt really need to. Overall been very happy with them.

 

The main thing with Bitex hubs is ensuring the end caps stay tight. A couple drops of Loctite helps.

If the end caps get loose, the frame's thru-axle will be tight, but the hub will have play. I'm not familiar enough with Hopes to comment.

Oh hey, BTW - DT Swiss "classic" star ratchets (ie: not new 240-EXP) are literally bomb proof. I run these exclusively, because they work.

 

Spot on. Keep those end caps snug. And use locktite. Or classic DT's.

 

My recipe is DT350 for the rear -best combo of price/weight/strength, has all 3 drivers easily available and easily swappable. Doesn't have the ratchet problem the new D240EXP do (although that seems to be resolved, but for me a 240 is $200 more and only saves what 80g ? not sure).

On the front I use Hope Pro 4 because its easy to swap between 15mm and 20mm, means I can swap wheels between my DH and Enduro bike, lightweight, and reasonably priced.
DTSwiss only has 15->20 conversion kits for the expensive 240 hubs.

Some may argue 240 has better bearings I don't know, bearings are wear item in my book anyway. I would only go 240 if I was counting grams on an XC bike.