Ask the experts

[J. Barron DeJong]

Need some insight from bike shop people about a hub warranty......

In 2020 I bought a custom wheelset from Colorado Cyclist.com - Hope hubs on Race Face rims. Back in May, the rim cracks around the spoke nipple and Race Face replaces the rim under warranty but it was backordered for months so I went to the local shop and had them lace up the Hope hub with a new WTB rim. The RF rim eventually arrives so I keep it as a spare.

A couple months later the Microspline freehub that came with said Hope hub cracks. I can't find one in stock so I swap the Microspline freehub and cassette with XD ones I already had.

Fast forward a couple more months and the Hope hub fails (the notched ring that the pawls hook into started slipping inside the hub). Hope says contact the place you bought it from so Colorado Cyclist tells me to send the wheel and hub back. They just emailed me and are doubting that the hub I sent them is the one I bought from them due to a new rim and different freehub.

Besides having dogshit luck with the wheel.....am I screwed here? I have documentation and pictures for broken rim and freehub. Can they deny my hub warranty because I had a new rim laced up and replaced the freehub? I don't think I'm in the wrong here and have a hunch they might tell me I'm SOL.

Assuming the new free hub was the the appropriate Hope version (not a knockoff, if those exist), and assuming the hub is still under warranty, neither the changed rim nor replacing the free hub body should mean you’re denied warranty consideration.

ETA: if Colorado Cyclist won’t help, I’d definitely go back to Hope themselves and explain the situation with the wheel/hub history, and let them know that that CC isn’t being cooperative.

[toast2266]

I think it's going to come down to the mood of the specific person you're dealing with.

Personally, I would have swapped the microspline back onto the hub before sending it back. Does the hub have a serial number that you can refer to?

[HankScorpio]

Assuming the new free hub was the the appropriate Hope version (not a knockoff, if those exist), and assuming the hub is still under warranty, neither the changed rim nor replacing the free hub body should mean you’re denied warranty consideration.

ETA: if Colorado Cyclist won’t help, I’d definitely go back to Hope themselves and explain the situation with the wheel/hub history, and let them know that that CC isn’t being cooperative.

The XD freehub was from Hope some nothing to worry about there. I'll certainly go to Hope USA if they tell give me a no.

I think it's going to come down to the mood of the specific person you're dealing with.

Personally, I would have swapped the microspline back onto the hub before sending it back. Does the hub have a serial number that you can refer to?

Yeah, I probably should've swapped the freehub but that never crossed my mind. There should be a serial number in the hub so I hope they can verify that way. We shall see........

[teledad]

You should be able to get a hub replacement but CC may be unwilling to rebuild it with the new hub since it's no longer a CC wheel. If that's the case I'd just ask for a new hub and for the rim and spokes to be sent back to you.

[hick]

Is this the delicate part of the SLX 12 speed people are seeing break pretty easily? Wondering if upgrading it is worth it? It would be SLX vs XT, no way am I paying XtR price (or is it worth the premium?). I remember this being discussed somewhere around…

Or the better question is whether there is a difference with slx vs xtr inner cage? I found one of each on eBay from overseas. They look the same, but is the material identical. Probably just order the cheaper and call it a day. Of course the shop where I bought the bike could not get the part. Standard even pre-pandemic.

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[jm2e]

Rotors and Pads.
Huge fail this year pairing the Magura 2.0mm thick Ebike rotors with MTX pads. Bedded in nice and quick, followed either a couple day or a couple weeks later by horrible squealing and howling. Tried sanding down the rotors and the pads and cleaning, to no avail. Better results with shimano pads on the Magura rotor, but at the end of the day, they both seemed like a total fail.
Thinking about Galfer rotors and pads next, but fuckall that this ends up being another $175 experiment per bike.
This is for bike park, DH rig, hammering on the brakes all day long. Steep and fast at Mtn Creek, Snowshoe & Windrock. Whatever works for trail riding just doesn't apply here.
Any sage advice?

[Dee Hubbs]

^ Assuming Magura brakes? A MT5 or MT7 4 pot brake?
Assuming the MTX Gold HD pads? not the Red RACE version?
Magura MDR-P 2 piece or Magura MDR-C 1 piece? what size?
How big of adapter is your frame and fork using to get to your desired rotor?
What frame material is bike? Alu, Carbon, Steel?

[XXX-er]

well you could try sanding them and then going to the top of a big mile long hill and do panic stops all the way down to bed them in which worked for me on a new FAT bike

on a fox 36 with Shimanp brakes I would think it had gone away with the sanding/ panic stops but it would come back at partial application in the middle of a berm.

I sold the bike and it was no longer my problem

edit: to sand your pads is easy you just take em out & sand them but if you wana sand your rotors use one of those sanding rollers you chuck into a drill, angle the drill slightly and the roller will rotate the wheel/rotor as it sands

or sell your bike to a medical professional with a lot of money

[stuckathuntermtn]

Try Shimano rotors? Centerlines? I get silence with both of those. 1 bike has full Shimano brake setup, other bike is MT7's and Centerlines. Sintered pads on the Shimanos. No idea what on the Maguras. Probably whatever they came with. Hope they like sintered as I have those hanging around, but whatever oem is on them actually seems to last and not get messed up.

[jm2e]

^ Assuming Magura brakes? A MT5 or MT7 4 pot brake?
Assuming the MTX Gold HD pads? not the Red RACE version?
Magura MDR-P 2 piece or Magura MDR-C 1 piece? what size?
How big of adapter is your frame and fork using to get to your desired rotor?
What frame material is bike? Alu, Carbon, Steel?

Alloy DH bikes with Saint brakes. Went with the Magura 2.0mm rotors because we warp and bend 1.8 constantly. Went with MTX because you gotta try something with this supply shit show and had read more squeal stories about Galfer at the time.

I’d stick with RT76 or Centerline if they had a thick version.


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[jm2e]

Alloy DH bikes with Saint brakes. Went with the Magura 2.0mm rotors because we warp and bend 1.8 constantly. Went with MTX Gold because you gotta try something with this supply shit show and had read more squeal stories about Galfer at the time.

I’d stick with RT76 or Centerline if they had a thick version.


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[sf]

Alloy DH bikes with Saint brakes. Went with the Magura 2.0mm rotors because we warp and bend 1.8 constantly. Went with MTX because you gotta try something with this supply shit show and had read more squeal stories about Galfer at the time.

I’d stick with RT76 or Centerline if they had a thick version.


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https://www.sram.com/en/sram/models/rt-hs-2-a1

[Flounder]

Valve stems that are impossible to open with fingertips likely due to Stans fluid, can they be cleaned or is it easier to just replace? Sick of using pliers to open and been putting off until end of season which seems right around the corner.

[teledad]

Valve stems that are impossible to open with fingertips likely due to Stans fluid, can they be cleaned or is it easier to just replace? Sick of using pliers to open and been putting off until end of season which seems right around the corner.

You want to replace the valve core, not the full stem. Easy with a core remover tool, 2-minute job and no need to remove the tire. Presta cores are less than a buck apiece, get a bunch to have them around.

[XXX-er]

If one does not overtighten valve stems they will undo with fingers, IME the little knurled roller should only be ... finger tight

[J. Barron DeJong]

Anyone have experience with creaking/groaning under load with the new XT 8100 12-speed rear hubs?

I’m having to take my freehub apart every dozen rides or so to clean and lube it. I know the original service manual said to only apply a little grease to the tips of the ‘fingers’ on the plastic spacer but more recent guidance says to be more generous, but no matter how generous I am with the grease, and no matter how meticulous I am with cleaning it all before reassembly, noise comes back in short order.

Is this something they all do and either you live with it or replace the hub? Or is something worn/defective and replacing a part/whole freebody would solve the problem?

[XXX-er]

are you sure where the noise is coming from, the hub or the interface between hub & frame ??

[SKIP IN7RO]

Valve stems that are impossible to open with fingertips likely due to Stans fluid, can they be cleaned or is it easier to just replace? Sick of using pliers to open and been putting off until end of season which seems right around the corner.

Pretty sure you need to upgrade to SRAM AirWiz.

[SKIP IN7RO]

Oh wait, my bad, you want Sram's TyreWiz.

[Dee Hubbs]

Oh wait, my bad, you want Sram's TyreWiz.

Tyre is how they spell Tire in places everywhere but ‘merica.

[J. Barron DeJong]

are you sure where the noise is coming from, the hub or the interface between hub & frame ??

Yep, positive it’s coming from the freehub. Goes completely silent if I take it it apart and re-lube. Stays that way for a dozen rides before starting up again; repeat.

[Dee Hubbs]

Those hubs are finicky with multiple small parts, different springs, and multiple spacers, seals and lock rings.
I see you mentioned the manual in regards to how much grease to apply. Are you sure it’s assembled in the correct order?
It’s worth trying to reduce one of the spacer washers to see if the creaking is based on a tight tolerance.
I have not heard of issues with this hub, and looked in the Shimano forum to see if anyone else has had issues, no reports there.
Here’s the DM in case you don’t have it.
https://si.shimano.com/#/en/iDM/MAHB...OC_MAINTENANCE

[Flounder]

If one does not overtighten valve stems they will undo with fingers, IME the little knurled roller should only be ... finger tight

That’s always been my experience but these new ibis wheels are the exception. Even just barely tightening to close with fingertips by the time the next ride comes I can’t open the valve to add air. Had multiple friends try it out as well to make sure I’m not the moron, well at least not in this instance.

You want to replace the valve core, not the full stem. Easy with a core remover tool, 2-minute job and no need to remove the tire. Presta cores are less than a buck apiece, get a bunch to have them around.

Thanks. Didn’t even think of this route. I might have some cores in a bin downstairs. Time to get digging.

[J. Barron DeJong]

Those hubs are finicky with multiple small parts, different springs, and multiple spacers, seals and lock rings.
I see you mentioned the manual in regards to how much grease to apply. Are you sure it’s assembled in the correct order?
It’s worth trying to reduce one of the spacer washers to see if the creaking is based on a tight tolerance.
I have not heard of issues with this hub, and looked in the Shimano forum to see if anyone else has had issues, no reports there.
Here’s the DM in case you don’t have it.
https://si.shimano.com/#/en/iDM/MAHB...OC_MAINTENANCE

I’m pretty sure I’m getting it back together right each time; following along with the manual rather than going by memory.

I haven’t tried playing with the number of spacers, but good suggestion. I’ll leave one out next time and see if that does anything.

[toast2266]

I’m pretty sure I’m getting it back together right each time; following along with the manual rather than going by memory.

I haven’t tried playing with the number of spacers, but good suggestion. I’ll leave one out next time and see if that does anything.

I don't know anything about those hubs in particular, but the microspline driver on my Chris Kings is extremely prone to creaking. I've already warrantied it once. An XD driver (on the exact same hub) doesn't creak at all. I'm beginning to suspect that the microspline design is just a bit problematic. The guys at Chris King indicated that they'd had some trouble making a microspline driver that worked well, but I don't know the specifics of what makes it tricky.