dt vs king vs white

[vqdriver]

people seem to have their favorites and swear by them. i personally have only owned dt swiss of the three and love the star ratchet enough that i'm slowly migrating all my wheels over to them (the only holdout being a set of 7700 wheels i'm quite fond of) i've never owned king or white hubs tho and wonder what the major differences are between these aftermarket favorites. i get that king comes in different colors but functionally from an ownership standpoint, what are the differences? re the internals, i don't see any need to get more complicated than the star ratchet, and it seems to be about as simple as possible.

[joosttx]

DT, White, CK is my order of choice.

[tuscanyswe]

A big adv for dt in my book is the easy freehub switch. Campy or shimano just a few seconds away and readily available at quite cheap prices in comparison to dt and white (the freehub that is).

[thegunner]

tune > all :)

[EDS]

I like the price point of the white industries hub and the fact that it has a titanium freehub body and steel axle from a durability standpoint. I also like that it comes in silver.

[VonTrapp]

I like the price point of the white industries hub and the fact that it has a titanium freehub body and steel axle from a durability standpoint. I also like that it comes in silver.

Ditto! I also like that the freewheel noise of WI is a noticeable pleasant mechanical noise, but not overbearing.

[ergott]

The WI is almost as easy to swap freehubs now and doesn't require recentering the rim. DT 350 are nice and less expensive, but 240 offers nothing over the WI hubs.

[FastforaSlowGuy]

Maybe I'm the only one, but I can't feel a difference in how they roll on the bike (apart from the noise) - at least nothing that I could attribute to the hub vs the rims/spokes/builders.

I love the sound of my CK R45s. Makes me happy.

I love the ease of changing freehub bodies on my DT 240s. Makes my wallet happy, even though I've only had to do it when changing over from 10s to 11s.

I'd like to try WI. A bullet proof freehub body is interesting to me, and they are pretty to look at.

[joosttx]

The WI is almost as easy to swap freehubs now and doesn't require recentering the rim. DT 350 are nice and less expensive, but 240 offers nothing over the WI hubs.

my experience is the DT240's are more reliable. with that said all my bikes now have WI's. So the difference is small.

[velomonkey]

Maybe I'm the only one, but I can't feel a difference in how they roll on the bike (apart from the noise) - at least nothing that I could attribute to the hub vs the rims/spokes/builders.

I love the sound of my CK R45s. Makes me happy.

I love the ease of changing freehub bodies on my DT 240s. Makes my wallet happy, even though I've only had to do it when changing over from 10s to 11s.

I'd like to try WI. A bullet proof freehub body is interesting to me, and they are pretty to look at.


This about sums it up perfectly for me, too. I will say this, I had my 240s laced to some DT 405 rims - kept them for like 3 years till a car hit me and busted them. And did switch them between campy and shimano.

I had 3 sets of King hubs - h Plus Son, Belgium Plus, and Enve 3.4 - never had any issues with the hubs, did like the buzz, but the wheels themselves I never really dug. Got rid of all of 'em within 6 months.

[AngryScientist]

i own all three, and i prefer the WI. the DT's are good, but aesthetically, they do nothing for me. the kings are nice, but around $100 more for a set or so over the WI T11, so it's hard to justify.

[Gummee]

Haven't had WI, but I have had both King and DT Swiss. They're both great hubs. Hard to go wrong with either.

King has the upside of being colorful if that's important to you.

M

[eBAUMANN]

The ease of freehub conversion on DT 240s have made them my go-to recently.

If you are starting from scratch though, R45's would be my #1 choice, they are just so nice.

WI, also great, but I think they lose a couple points for their traditional (and IMO inferior) pawl engagement freehub. The CK/DT engagement/design is superior, again, IMO.

WI hubs are great bang for buck though, and made in the US.

Bottom line - hard to go wrong with any of em!

[vqdriver]

The WI is almost as easy to swap freehubs now and doesn't require recentering the rim. DT 350 are nice and less expensive, but 240 offers nothing over the WI hubs.

really just curious because it sounds like you prefer the white hubs. any particular reason?

[Louis]

On the various wheels I've used I have some Campy, Shimano, DT, Alchemy, and WI hubs (and a bunch of more generic stuff like whatever Neuvation uses, which I don't like much). No King.

IMO you can't beat Shimano for overall value and reliability, but if you want to step up a bit for bling, WI is my personal favorite. I don't have much time on the Alchemy hubs so I can't give you a fair verdict on those.

[ergott]

really just curious because it sounds like you prefer the white hubs. any particular reason?

The wheelbuilding dimensions for WI are better than DT resulting in a wheel that's laterally stiffer. The weight is comparable while giving you a titanium freehub body that won't let the cassette dig in. That's great for bigger riders. Finally, they cost less.

I won't say DT hubs are bad, it's really splitting hairs to some degree. Same thing with the R45s. You can be real happy with any of them. I just think that the T11s check more boxes when it comes to features and cost.

[CMiller]

Some love the king buzz, but I would likely have difficulty with them on a peaceful quiet ride.

I have White Industries MI6 and they are great, the titanium freehub should be taken up by more manufacturers.

[zzy]

I've owned CK Classics, DT 240s, WI H2/3s, and loads of Shimano sets. Overall, I really like Shimano for durability, ease&cost of maintenance, and price. I've got several 7700 sets that seem like they'll last forever. I also prefer silent hubs.

I like my 240s but the alloy freehub teeths too much, and because it switches between campy and shimano easily, the added dishing makes the wheel a bit weaker as noted above. The ratcheting is excellent and the hubs are super easy to work on. Can be crazy loud with the 36t ratchets.

The CK hubs are great and probably have the best drive mechanism. But the bearings are crazy expensive, and you need proprietary tools to really work on it, but they rarely need it. Probably the best if $$ is no issue. Make sure you buy the (proprietary) cone adjusting tool if you get a set.

I really liked my WI hubs. Ti freehub, as light as DT Swiss, easy to work on, amazing polish, excellent geometry. No complaints whatsoever.

e - grammar

[pjmsj21]

So for all of you hub connoiseurs ....can you tell any difference on the bike other than the sound? I am asking this with a wheelset purchase coming up.

[Louis]

There is some slight difference in the speed (really the rotation angle) of engagement of the ratchet mechanisms, which I assume is a function of the number of pawls.

Also, the quality of the seals is hugely important, if you'll be doing any riding at all in wet or dusty conditions. This can vary a lot. Shimano's are really good in this regard.

Another one: Being able to replace all the bearing wear surfaces when refurbishing a hub is a plus for me. On the old-style cup and cone hubs you can replace the cones, but the cups are pressed in. Once those start to go the hub is essentially toast. (At least in my experience - I suppose some folks can replace the cups, but I've never bothered to try.)

[oldpotatoe]

The wheelbuilding dimensions for WI are better than DT resulting in a wheel that's laterally stiffer. The weight is comparable while giving you a titanium freehub body that won't let the cassette dig in. That's great for bigger riders. Finally, they cost less.

I won't say DT hubs are bad, it's really splitting hairs to some degree. Same thing with the R45s. You can be real happy with any of them. I just think that the T11s check more boxes when it comes to features and cost.

Agree altho I prefer DT350 the most. Never liked the way WI bearing preload is adjusted. DO like the ti freehub body. CK are just SO complicated...for a bicycle hub. Yes, they require little maintenance, but when they do, a tool kit from CK is required and they have more than a few unique to those hubs, parts(bearings) inside.

Even tho only black and only 32, Record are really nice and shimano HG compatible with a FH body. AND if shimano, 6800/9000 hubs are really nice as well. Not the whizbangery(but WITH the $-9000), but all around really nice hubs.

[giverdada]

i haven't built the WI or the DT, but i have built and tried to run the king, rear only. it was awesome, until it wasn't. i had less than a season with it on my cross bike, and no racing or anything fancy on it, just riding along, and it eventually gummed up and started driving the cassette forward when coasting and needed service. as soon as that happened, i took it to a shop, and started looking at other options to replace the thing. i don't like stuff i can't work on myself to some degree, and the hub was amazing for engagement and good seals and whatever, but once crap made it past the seals, i was pooched.

first hubs i ever built were shimano tricolor 600s and they're still rolling with only one bearing replacement instance, in the front wheel. and just a couple of repacks were required over 20 years.

i currently have generic BHS or Ringle hubs in the front wheels, and a Tune hub in the rear. i like the Tune, and it's easy ish to work on, and crazy light, but mostly i just forget about it until it gets dirty and the chain starts skipping out of stop lights. perfect hub to me would be the WI for its dimensions, or a normal and set-it-forget-it Record 32h black beast. (i don't know if it is forged, but i've never broken the flanges on a mass-produced, forged hub body. i have pulled whole sections of flange out of 'boutique' CNC things, but those were from the 90s…)

[SlowPokePete]

I've always had Kings on my mountain bikes...love the engagement, which really helps in the tech.

Just had my first set of "nice" road wheels built for my Parlee and went with King R45's...

SPP

[bikeridah]

For me dt180/240s win, upgrading to 36 tooth star ratchet for immediate engagement is hard to top.

[pakora]

I don't know how many of you are posting opinions without doing work on hubs or building wheels, but I sure don't, and only recently have tried fancy hubs. I have WIs on my road bike. Besides they're pretty and the freehub makes a particular sound, I can't tell the difference between it and any other hub I've ridden.

Since they're not even particularly light, if aesthetics didn't matter, I'd find it hard to say on a road bike that anything is functionally much better than a 105 or Ultegra hub. (aesthetics mattered to me, and I wasn't paying retail, these coming with custom bike)

Also have Hopes on the mtb which aren't at a Fancy pricepoint but are More Expensive Than Cheap Ones. They're notorious for their extremely clicky and loud freehub (rivalling Kings). Do I find it amusing to spin up then coast and listen to the whine? Of course!

The only performance differences I see aren't relevant to road bikes and to other folks' points are about modularity and long-term quality. I like the WI ti freehub body, and points of engagement totally matters... but for me only on mountain bikes.

[vqdriver]

I asked for the owner's perspective cuz I don't build wheels so I generally leave those things to people more experienced than I am.

from where I sit, I really dig the ability to change axles, spacing, 10/11 sp, shim/campy, etc so easily with any of my dt hubs. pretty much the only thing I can't do is go between disc and non/disc. it's super easy to work on and bombproof

[Rebel_Biker]

The WI is almost as easy to swap freehubs now and doesn't require recentering the rim. DT 350 are nice and less expensive, but 240 offers nothing over the WI hubs.

wheel builders are a good source for recommending good quality hubs
and most like WI

[Mr_Gimby]

Haven't had WI, but I have had both King and DT Swiss. They're both great hubs. Hard to go wrong with either.

King has the upside of being colorful if that's important to you.

M

People keep mentioning King for their colors but WI come in several colors now. Not the full breadth of the King palette, but several.

What tips the balance towards WI for me are the easily replaceable bearings (not buying the theory King posits about bearings never wearing out), the Ti freehub body, and what is hugest IMO is the lack of proprietary tools necessary to disassemble and rebuild them. One can take apart the entire hub with regular bike tools. They just can't be beat for field serviceability.

That said, I have not owned (yet) a set of DT hubs. Having serviced several though, they are top notch and I very much want some.

[coreywood]

The wheelbuilding dimensions for WI are better than DT resulting in a wheel that's laterally stiffer. The weight is comparable while giving you a titanium freehub body that won't let the cassette dig in. That's great for bigger riders. Finally, they cost less.

I won't say DT hubs are bad, it's really splitting hairs to some degree. Same thing with the R45s. You can be real happy with any of them. I just think that the T11s check more boxes when it comes to features and cost.
I second ergott's input. The T11 is designed to perform as well as possible within the constraints of 130mm spacing and 11 speeds(Shimano specifically, with the needed 1.8mm increase in freehub length) and it succeeds.
I've built several sets, and am always pleased with the result.

[chiasticon]

i prefer the CK's the most, DT next, then WI. i love the instant engagement of the first two, especially for cross. but WI's are great as well. can't go wrong with any of them, honestly.

[hida yanra]

wheel builders are a good source for recommending good quality hubs
and most like WI

huh, funny that.
Also, WI gets the nod on every wheel set I own
(except the free ones, natch)