Let's just say this is a thought experiment, but the Stayer Gravel /Adventure Wheelset has caught my eye, so I though I'd add another column to my upgrade spreadsheet. Which of the two Hope hubs, RS4 Centerlock or PRO4 6-Bolt, would you stick on a pair of 650b gravel wheels...?

No doubt they're lovely, but for over a grand you could have carbon rims on DT240 hubs which will be both lighter and last longer.

I'm slowly switching out all of my Hope (rear) hubs for DT ones as I'm absolutely sick of the chewed up freehubs. DT don't seem to be as bad, are as light or lighter depending on 350 or 240. And I'm not going steel freehub.

Well, I really wanted a pair of the DT Swiss GRC 1400 SPLINE®, but I'm not paying Wiggle £1,600 for the privilege...

I have a chewed-up DT Swiss freehub that would like a word with you

Anyway. Shimano XT.

I'm not keen on centrelock rotors so would opt for the 6 bolt option.

As an aside, my new Sonder has a buzzy rear hub and it's a bit annoying when trying to have chat on a ride.

RS4's have 2 pawls in the freehub, Pro4's have 4.
6 bolt is easier to live with (having just bought a set of Hunt wheels with centre locks )
I'd go with pro 4's but spec a stainless steel freehub.
Or as per Scot routes comment go with shimano, add 50g's but save a bomb......

How much weight does a steel freehub add to a Hope hub?

How much weight does a steel freehub add to a Hope hub?

137g

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 4:30 pm I have a chewed-up DT Swiss freehub that would like a word with you

I'm still betting I'll get three time the life out of a DT alloy freehub judging by my old road ones.

.
6 bolt is easier to live with (

In what way my experience is either method works though the rotors are not exchangeable
As for hope I have the fortus( Pro 4) and it's just so annoyingly LOUD I won't have them for long
I just prefer to not be deafened when freewheeling

Lazarus wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 6:56 pm

.
6 bolt is easier to live with (

In what way my experience is either method works though the rotors are not exchangeable
As for hope I have the fortus( Pro 4) and it's just so annoyingly LOUD I won't have them for long
I just prefer to not be deafened when freewheeling

Alloy thread on hub can strip and is un-repairable, torquing a thin alloy lock ring to 40Nm is always cause for concern. Plus you can't carry the lock ring tool with you if you have to remove the disc to get at spokes etc.

6 bolts can strip threads but you can helicoil them. If you need to change a NDS spoke you can get the disc off in the field with your multi tool

johnnystorm wrote: ↑Wed Sep 08, 2021 5:20 pm As an aside, my new Sonder has a buzzy rear hub and it's a bit annoying when trying to have chat on a ride.

I'm totally deaf in one ear, and can't remember the last time I rode with anyone else, so a loud hub is probably not too much of a problem for me...

Interesting that there's not much love for centre lock rotors, which I don't mind, but then I've no experience of 6 bolt, as my current bike is the first I've ever had with disc brakes. I suppose I could've phrased the original question as, Which disc retention system is better, centre lock or 6 bolt...? Having said that, I think the questions I'm actually trying to ask is, would there be any functional difference between the two hubs and would I kill the RS4 by running them off road all the time? I.e. are the PRO4's more up to the job of battering around on a fully loaded bike, as they're beefier?

Sticking with Hope for a second, mainly for the blingy anodisation, but their centre lock rotors are £20 more expensive than their 6 bolt. I don't know if this is much of a factor, as I haven't touched my rotors since fitting them over 16,500 km ago; if I'm being honest, I've no idea how you tell if they need replacing or not... :shrug:

From an engineering view, CL is superior to 6 bolt as there's a mechanical connection between disc and hub rather that simply relying on the fasteners. In reality, it makes little difference until the time you round out a bolt head or shear one

I've not tried the RS4s but I wonder what the pick-up is like with only 2 pawls?

IME complete diddly squit difference between 6-bolt and centrelock. You can fit a 6-bolt rotor to centrelock with an adaptor but not the other way round. Lock ring tool is the same as for Shimano cassettes so about the size of a walnut but you do need a spanner to use it.

Rotors have a minimum thickness, you'll need a set of accurate callipers to measure it as it's often something like 2.5mm.

Hope hubs: I don't really notice the noise on my bike but do notice it on Cath's when I'm following her. If the noise is too much then just add extra grease to the inside of the freehub around the pawls. Needs a bit of trial and error to get the amount right - just add a bit then see if it's quiet enough for you, repeat as necessary. I quite like the Hope buzz, works as a good announcement to dumb pedestrians especially with a quick reverse pedal to increase the frequency!

whitestone wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 9:01 am IME complete diddly squit difference between 6-bolt and centrelock. You can fit a 6-bolt rotor to centrelock with an adaptor but not the other way round. Lock ring tool is the same as for Shimano cassettes so about the size of a walnut but you do need a spanner to use it.

I couldn't run the Shimano centre lock ring, as there wasn't enough room between it and the hub end cap, to get the tool in. So I'm running the DT Swiss ones, which need a bottom bracket tool to get on and off; and my BB tool isn't deep enough to clear the end cap on the rear hub either...

whitestone wrote: ↑Thu Sep 09, 2021 9:01 am Rotors have a minimum thickness, you'll need a set of accurate callipers to measure it as it's often something like 2.5mm.

I should really buy some callipers...

.If the noise is too much then just add extra grease to the inside of the freehub around the pawls. Needs a bit of trial and error to get the amount right

I am not paying their prices for hubs to have to modify them and certainly not when you can still buy relatively quiet freehubs. ( They came on a bike but I generally use a fulcrum as it's quiet )

Plus you can't carry the lock ring tool with you if you have to remove the disc to get at spokes

fair point but I just carry emergency spokes* as all my wheels are different sizes and removing stuff is troublesome on the trail

* Three short cut spokes with a hook that can be screwed to the nipple and some fishing line not the proper Kevlar stuff but same principle . I always assumed changing a spoke to be too much hassle trailside whilst retaining tubelessness ( never tried either tbh as 10 stone me almost never breaks spokes )

I have a BNIB Pro4 rear hub in the classifieds. Just saying ;-)

My Hope Pro 2 has a cracked rotor bolt mount if that helps persuade you that centrelock is a good idea. Centrelock with an adapter isn't a terrible idea - hub is protected from the risk of threaded 6-bolt mounts etc, rotor remains easy to replace with a multitool. They look fine also, quite neat.

Turns out you can put the PRO4 four pawl freehub bit on the RS4 body. This complicates matters...

You can convert an old Hope Pro2 hub to 11speed by using a pro3 freehub on it aswell.

.my pro 2 has an 11 speed on without any issue(MTB) . I was not aware freehubs ( Shimano style ) had changed sizes