Royce Hubs

[mwynne]

Anyone used Royce (Venus) hubs? Feedback?

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[Ttx1]

My everyday hubs. Luxe / JSipn built wheels. Not the lightest or cheapest, but super strong and durable / serviceable. Spin forever - compare well to upper tier Campy hubs / bearings. I like 'em.

[summilux]

I've got a set on Corima rims built by Luxe. Fantastically beautiful but a bit on the heavy side if you care about that. The rear requires regular addition of grease to keep it quiet but with that accomplished it is the smoothest running and quietest set of wheels I have. The QR are stunning to look at but take some effort to close. I love the wheels overall.

Downsides:
-Lockring for the Campy version is the 26.0 9s version. Hard to find even on ebay. If you buy the titanium Royce version, that's very pricey
-No easy way to dissemble the hub if you need to replace bearings. You can do it (I'm told) with ViseGrips and some sacrificial metal but the setup seems odd

[Tony T]

Great hubs.
If you get them, get the grease injection system: http://www.royceuk.co.uk/Lubrication-System-for-Rear-Pawls-state-dropout-width-of-spindle.html
There is a separate lockring for Campy 12t/13t (http://www.royceuk.co.uk/Rear-Hub-Cassette-Lockring-12-or-13t-smallest-sprocket-Campag-only-CS201.html) and 11t (http://www.royceuk.co.uk/Rear-Hub-Cassette-Lockring-11t-Royce-Titanium-Campag-type-CS301.html)
I think you can only get these from Royce direct.

To disassemble the hub

HOW TO DISMANTLE AND RE-ASSEMBLE REAR VENUS HUB
1. Remove drive side Grip Nut (9)
2. Remove Spacer (10)
3. Put aluminium plug from Royce Extractor Tool in end of Spindle, to protect spindle.
4. Screw Extractor Cassette thread.
5. Hold Extractor body to stop it rotating, tighten the extractor bolt (13mm AF) to pull off the Cassette Carrier
6. Remove Pawls (5) and Springs (6) from the Cassette Carrier.
7. Check bearings are all sound.
8. Clean up the Ratchet Ring (4) and Pawl housing (make sure there is no debris in housing pockets)
9. Put ‘Fully Synthetic Grease with PTFE' in the spring pockets and heel of the Pawls
10. Put Springs (6) in the pockets.
11. Put Pawls (5) on to Springs and into Cassette Carrier.
12. Put ‘Fully Synthetic Grease with PTFE' in Ratchet Ring area (amount size of two large garden peas!
13. Slide Cassette Carrier onto Spindle, rotating to assist Pawl location.
14. Replace Spacer (10)
15. Replace Grip Nut (9) and nip up grip nut threads.
16. By hand, check the hub runs correctly for the type of Bearing Seals used (Red, All Weather Seals — slight resistance, Black, Dry Weather Seals free movement)
If the Pawl system becomes noisy, use greasing system to inject grease into pawl housing. ‘Fully Synthetic Grease with PTFE’ as per instructions above.

If fitting new Bearings, treat each Hub Shell and Cassette Carrier as an individual unit, and make sure that the Red Bearing Seals face outwards on each unit — see sketch on reverse. If you experience any difficulty dismantling or re-assembling your hub, please call for technical support - 01425 620062

Here's what Royce told me regarding removing the grip nuts: "Wrap a piece of Aliminium around each Grip Nut, hold with two pairs of pliers and "nip-up".

(I have the "screw extractor" (4), but never needed to use it, the cassette body extracts by hand for me)

If you buy the grease injection system, you should only need to disassemble the hub if the bearing need to be replaced.

[CSKeller]

Got mine from Ryun laced to 28h Nemesis rims.

A bit pricey but high quality and spin forever! The QRs are beautiful and match the gorgeous hubs! The hubs almost look pearlescent.

I run Campy so I have the 11t lockring and I contacted Royce and purchased the lube injection kit. Works great!

As already mentioned, not weightweenie but superb hubs! They are hubs I will definitely keep forever...or at least for a very long time! They are IMHO one of the best hubs available!

[Tony T]

$200 USD for the skewers! (I use Dura Ace with my Royce hubs for ½ the price)
(love the hubs :))

[moose8]

There's a great chapter in It's All About the Bike by Robert Penn that talks all about Royce Hubs.

[CSKeller]

http://www.velominati.com/tradition/royce/

[mwynne]

Hmmm, interesting all around.

I'm considering them against a set of T11s or something else similar.

[Tony T]

Since I have Royce on a set, I'm going with White Ind T11 on the next :)

[uber]

I too have a set of Royce hubs on my Luxe deep (Corima) tubular wheel set.
If anyone is interested, I might be willing to part with them. They are Campy ready and I have the bags and quick releases.

[summilux]

Thanks for that info Tony.

I have T11s and they look quite plain compared to Royce hubs. Nothing wrong with T11 but it's like being in a Porsche and pulling up next to an Aston Martin. The WI hubs are noisier too.

And the grease injection "system" is the most elegant thing ever designed to inject grease into a hole.

[Tony T]

No easy way to dissemble the hub if you need to replace bearings. You can do it (I'm told) with ViseGrips and some sacrificial metal but the setup seems odd

Actually, it is quite easy (but would be easier if Royce used hex keys like HED, or hex nuts instead of round ones).
(replacing the bearing themselves would take more work — but remember the Royce bearings are quite hardy and should last quite some time)

Just grip each nut with pliers (or better vice grips) and "twist", but first wrap in alum to prevent scaring the nuts.

Here's what I use (got aluminum angle stock from Home Depot and cut and bent into strips):

[Tony T]

I too have a set of Royce hubs on my Luxe deep (Corima) tubular wheel set.
If anyone is interested, I might be willing to part with them. They are Campy ready and I have the bags and quick releases.

Looks like Justin is using CK hubs on the 2 choices for wheelsets he has posted on his website (http://www.luxewheelworks.com) (not sure why he's not listing Royce anymore)

[AngryScientist]

(not sure why he's not listing Royce anymore)

does Royce do 11-speed shimano? i was under the impression that's why he went to someone else.

[Tony T]

does Royce do 11-speed shimano? i was under the impression that's why he went to someone else.

Shimano hubs are listed on Royce's website

[Tony T]

BTW, check that the gripnuts are tight as part of normal bike maintenance.
(Both my front and rear have been loose — I might use a drop of loctite next time)

Edit: Just realized the spindles are Ti, so probably better to use anti-seize, not loctite.

[mwynne]

Gotta say, Royce is dropping on my list due to seeming lack of ease of service.

[Tony T]

Service is easy (most rear hubs need to be taken apart to service, not with Royce)
An when the bearing need to be replaced, it no harder than most hubs.
The real negative is weight, and cost.

[xander1027]

Im glad ive found this post, Ive always wanted to hear more about Royce hubs, Also seemed very mysterious.

[Tony T]

That's only because they're British :)

[macaroon]

I had some, although not for a huge length of time. They were nice and shiney, very loud and the freehub body was easy to remove with standard tools.

[mktng]

have a set.
love them
well built and easy to service.
subtle classiness