DT Swiss freehub body pulls off way too easily...should I be worried?

[kohlboto]

So, I just put 54T ratchets into my DT Swiss 350 rear hub and now the freehub body won’t really stay on...it pulls away way too easily. The end cap snaps on but everything pulls away with little to no effort. It spins nicely, everything has been cleaned and greased, springs are in correctly. I have two other sets of 350 hubs and neither of them do this. Both require a bit of force to get the body to pop off...but not this one.

Any idea what the problem may be?

[tuscanyswe]

I have had a 240 that was like that. Never gave me any issues.

Once its in the frame there is no way for the freehub to go anyways (not that i think it would come off regardless), since its pressed inbetween the dropouts.

I dont know the reason for this phenomenon tho but seems the end cap perhaps could have been just inside tolerances or similar.

[BRad704]

My 350 is really easy to remove also.

First time it happened kinda freaked me out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[cinema]

with the wheel off the bike try banging on the end cap a few times hard with the palm of your hand to make sure its all seated. if you hear that click in and still pulls off easily i would just clamp it in the frame and ride it, the QR is what keeps it all together in the end

[.RJ]

supposed to be that way.

[dddd]

I was shocked the first time that I noticed this issue, even more shocked when I found out this is normal.

After seeing a guy changing his flat tire's tube and having the thing fall apart like that into the dirt, I have to say that no way would Shimano ever release a product like that. Shouldn't be like this, they need to add a springy retention ring of some sort into the axle end cap to keep it from pulling off so easily.

[cinema]

not unique to dt... all my hubs ck classic, hope pro, dt, pull off very easily. if you give them a good slap on the endcap it seems to hold them together enough to get it in the dropout. once clamped in it will also seat fine.

edit oh make sure the spring is in the correct direction to... watch vid on youtube for dt hub assembly/service you will see how that big outer spring is oriented

[vqdriver]

should be easy, but not that easy

i'd put back the original ratchet rings and see if it persists
try an end cap from one of your other 350 hubs if it does. also maybe try the end cap with no freehub body at all, just end cap

[eddief]

OP are you saying that the body comes off easily with the end cap installed? if yes, maybe the o ring in the end cap is bad. if not related to end cap then in vids you can see bodies coming off really easily or needing a good tug.

[oldpotatoe]

So, I just put 54T ratchets into my DT Swiss 350 rear hub and now the freehub body won’t really stay on...it pulls away way too easily. The end cap snaps on but everything pulls away with little to no effort. It spins nicely, everything has been cleaned and greased, springs are in correctly. I have two other sets of 350 hubs and neither of them do this. Both require a bit of force to get the body to pop off...but not this one.

Any idea what the problem may be?

The cap seals and such are a bit 'worn', but as long as it goes onto the bike and works, nothing to worry about.

[.RJ]

I was shocked the first time that I noticed this issue, even more shocked when I found out this is normal.


Its super handy to clean and oil the pawls this way without extra tools, and swapping freehubs if needed (i.e. XD -> Road) is a breeze. I wish all hubs were this easy to service. The end caps can be a real ball ache to remove so not all is rosy.

[oldpotatoe]

I was shocked the first time that I noticed this issue, even more shocked when I found out this is normal.

After seeing a guy changing his flat tire's tube and having the thing fall apart like that into the dirt, I have to say that no way would Shimano ever release a product like that. Shouldn't be like this, they need to add a springy retention ring of some sort into the axle end cap to keep it from pulling off so easily.

Too bad shimano is so stuck in their ways they can't see a way to design a hub as good as DT..

They do, his is just worn and thankfully, because of the design, it doesn't render the wheel unusable.

I just mucked with a 9100 rear hub and to say it's 'easy' to adjust just isn't so. It was used and the 'flats' of the LH cap were goobered up because shimano, in their 'wisdom', decided to make the axle aluminum..so...:eek:

Wanna replace that axle? Find one first and spend about $150...because of that lame 'design'...

[.RJ]

Yeah, and can never change the axle type, either. Got a new frame? Congratulations your wheels are worthless because no one is riding QR anymore.

[marciero]

with the wheel off the bike try banging on the end cap a few times hard with the palm of your hand to make sure its all seated. if you hear that click in and still pulls off easily i would just clamp it in the frame and ride it, the QR is what keeps it all together in the end

not unique to dt... all my hubs ck classic, hope pro, dt, pull off very easily. if you give them a good slap on the endcap it seems to hold them together enough to get it in the dropout. once clamped in it will also seat fine.
...

Doesn't the Hope freehub just float on the axle; or rather, the axle housing part of the hub shell? The clamping force is then applied to the axle housing-not the freehub. Even when clamped in the frame, the freehub is then free to slide laterally if it is not held in place by the seal, which appears to sort of just snap in place like the DT perhaps with a little coaxing from a bearing seating tool (I've only seen videos of Hope fh removal/install-havent done it myself). There is no significant lateral force on the freehub when riding, but there is a little when the chainline is not parallel, so it could slide laterally if not held in place.

At least with the Hope the freehub and freehub bearings appear to be isolated from the axle and axle bearings. There are two of each, and the freehub bearings are not clamped in the frame.

[cinema]

just ran into similar problem with hope when i first built it and didnt realize it basically just sat there on the axle. so when packing bike into the car without wheels the hub kept flying off. I just mean that once it's clamping in it's not coming off the wheel... kind of obvious i know

[72gmc]

Same thing happens with my DT 350 rear hub. It makes me anxious--not my favorite feature, but I've had no issues because of it and the wheel is great while clamped in the frame.

[kohlboto]

Well, I did a mix and match with my other 350 hubs and found a combo that worked for both sets. Things seem normal and the maiden voyage with the 54T ratchet was a success, albeit a bit rainy.
Many thanks for the perspectives and insight!