rear hubs with easy disassembly?

[eddief]

I know Ritchey Zeta wheels allow for easy removal of the cassette. And just found out that VO Grand Cru touring hubs do the same thing.

https://velo-orange.com/collections/hubs/products/grand-cru-touring-hub-11-speed-130mm

Are there other brands that offer this feature? Thinking a rear wheel built using this hub would make for easier packing of my S&S coupled bike.

[tuscanyswe]

All dt ratchet hubs have this feature. Which is part of why their popularity is so great. 350 240 190 180 possibly a few more years past.

Looks like those are more or less a copy of dts design but i dont know for sure who had what first tho.

[Cicli]

A buddy of mine tipped his toe into wheel building. He went with these hubs. They were pretty nice for the price.

[eddief]

With Zeta and VO hubs the axle pulls right out and that reduces width for packing. Looks as if the DT requires way more steps in order to reduce the width of wheel?

VO:

https://vimeo.com/23857739

DT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-5-dOvfYA

All dt ratchet hubs have this feature. Which is part of why their popularity is so great. 350 240 190 180 possibly a few more years past.

Looks like those are more or less a copy of dts design but i dont know for sure who had what first tho.

[Tickdoc]

Nothing easier than DT Swiss, IMO. I can even work on em, which is saying a lot.

[tuscanyswe]

Oh okay my bad. Thought you meant the freehub and easy of changing cassettes.

The width wont be reduced a great deal by only doing that and the axle does not just pull out.

[eddief]

I could have been more precise.

all good dialogue and information!

Oh okay my bad. Thought you meant the freehub and easy of changing cassettes.

The width wont be reduced a great deal by only doing that and the axle does not just pull out.

[mistermo]

I know Ritchey Zeta wheels allow for easy removal of the cassette. And just found out that VO Grand Cru touring hubs do the same thing.

https://velo-orange.com/collections/hubs/products/grand-cru-touring-hub-11-speed-130mm

Are there other brands that offer this feature? Thinking a rear wheel built using this hub would make for easier packing of my S&S coupled bike.

I have the Zeta hubs on my Breakaway bike. They are spectacular! I ordered a second freehub and can quickly and easily swap cassettes when traveling between San Fran (hilly), and Indianapolis (flat). And I got another, in Campy, and can swap them between Shimano and Campy bikes. I didn't know VO had this option too. More companies should do it!

[peanutgallery]

DT 240/350 and all Stans (330 and S1) are painfully simple. Hopes are just OK. On a budget? Been impressed with the new SRAM 900, similar to the Stans S1 and they come with all different caps etc. Want a complete PIA? Get a Chris King? Stupidest design ever if you want to switch freehub bodies or axles. Way over engineered and cost prohibitive. If you can afford a King hub, just get a DT 240 and call it good

[11.4]

But Chris King hubs do offer very easy disassembly (two allen keys), which is what the OP asked about. And they may be more complicated than other hubs but they are also extremely durable and reliable. And they have a very rapid engagement. And they have some of the best flange geometry for the best possible wheel building. There's a reason why a lot of builders like to work with them.

[ultraman6970]

Miche hubs are piece of cake aswell.

[peanutgallery]

King general service is easy, but wait until you install an Xdriver for someone who was too cheap to buy the shell with bearings installed. Joy, plus the tool needed is like $180. Nice stuff but over engineered

Prefer the DT. Freehub bodies and axle caps take moments to change out for just about any combo and they build up pretty nice. For some reason I like the straight pulls

But Chris King hubs do offer very easy disassembly (two allen keys), which is what the OP asked about. And they may be more complicated than other hubs but they are also extremely durable and reliable. And they have a very rapid engagement. And they have some of the best flange geometry for the best possible wheel building. There's a reason why a lot of builders like to work with them.

[moobikes]

Try changing the bearing behind the ratchet ring in a DT 240/350 and let us know tools what you used.

At least in a King hub all the bearings are durable enough to be serviced multiple times before anything needs to be replaced.

And anyway, DT hubs are not the answer to the OPs question. You can't remove the axle without taking some of the bearings out.

[doomridesout]

I replaced my White Industries CLD bearings recently and it was pretty dang easy.

[CiclistiCliff]

Try changing the bearing behind the ratchet ring in a DT 240/350 and let us know tools what you used.

.

heh. Sometimes the drive ring won't come out....

[bikinchris]

A hub I have always found easy to disassemble is Phil Wood FSC hubs. Two bearings in the hub with a hollow axle held in by a cap on each end, you just need to Loctite the end caps down.
I haven't taken apart some of the new lighter hubs yet.

[11.4]

King general service is easy, but wait until you install an Xdriver for someone who was too cheap to buy the shell with bearings installed. Joy, plus the tool needed is like $180. Nice stuff but over engineered

Prefer the DT. Freehub bodies and axle caps take moments to change out for just about any combo and they build up pretty nice. For some reason I like the straight pulls

When you get into advanced service, most of the hubs require bearing pullers and similar devices, so I wouldn't knock Chris King for that one. And frankly, I've had probably 50 pairs of King hubs through my hands, all ridden heavily by myself or teammates, for cross, single speed cross, MTB, single speed MTB, and of course road and gravel, and never had to service anything. Period.

If that is part of the definition here, I'd suggest Dura Ace, Ultegra or Campagnolo Record. Go for loose bearings and all you need is a pair of cone wrenches. And those hubs are as bulletproof as anything else you can buy.

[tristan]

I've put a lot of thought into travel bikes over the years. DT Swiss hubs work really well for this purpose. Here's why:

- There are only 5 internal parts and each of them is big. Two springs, two ratchet rings, and the pre-load spacer. No tiny pawls to get lost in your hotel's shag carpet when you're assembling your bike after a long flight in a fog of jetlag.

- The non-driveside endcap can be easily removed and the axle doesn't extend much from the hub on this side. This will save about 20mm of space.

- Each of the endcaps has an o-ring in it...if you remove this o-ring the endcaps will be much easier to pull off. Having them inadvertently fall off and get lost isn't an issue with a QR hub as the QR will hold everything together. Tool-free and quick.

- They're common hubs and easy to get parts and knowledge for. Removing the spline to access the driveside bearing is a pain but considering those bearings last a long time it's a decent tradeoff.

- Bonus points: If you're handy with a lathe you can make an internal pre-load spacer and use a White Ind style axle and endcap system so the entire axle can be removed saving even more packing space. I sold my Break Away before I got this deep.

[adampaiva]

Can I buy Ritchey Zeta as just hubs anywhere?

[donevwil]

Ol' Potatoe built me a rear travel wheel using the Velo Orange Hi-Lo (https://velo-orange.com/products/hi-low-cassette-rear-hub)hub and was favorably impressed. It packs beautifully and is easy to disassemble with no tools or even strong hands required. I know it's discontinued (36h still available), but certainly it's someone else's hub re-labeled for V-O and probably exists elsewhere (Circus Monkey, Bitex, BHS, or whomever actually makes those?).