DT Swiss M1900 to Ratchet Conversion.

westcoastmtbr

Active member
Aug 22, 2019
205
147
California USA
Hey all-
Was thinking it would be great to a better set of wheels on my 2019 Base Decoy. Have to say, it gets expensive to buy carbon (not sure of durability), and a new set of aluminum builds will run in the $750 range by the time you get it all together. While searching Youtube I found that the 3 pawl system on the base 1900 wheels can be converted to the DT Swiss Ratchet system with a little bit of work I'm doing the research now, but a few things are true. The rims on the 1900 are quite actually good quality, and the hub shell seems to be quite ok as well. The front Hub really doesn't matter, so why not take a shot. The reality is that selling the old pair has little or no desire on the second hand market, so they are worthless. I will chronicle my build, but with the help of my local bike shop that has the tools to remove the old 3 pawl, and add the Ratchet system, I can add the 54 tooth Ratchet for the ballpark of $168 plus I figure $60 shop labor. So $227.00 estimated price to have the equivalent of the Dt Swiss 240 rear hub? Oh, will also put a 240 sticker from Ebay for $10 which was included in my mock up of $227.00 price complete. Ordered the parts, but what a sweet upgrade to have a very nice wheelset. Here it the Youtube link. This guy has issues, thus the shop can do the work!


Note, the key is having the shop have the the pawl removal and ratchet install tool!

Thoughts??
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
Interesting to give it a go, but having run two sets of 1900's on my EMTB's for over two years now I cant really find much fault with them and they have been as bulletproof as you could hope for from a wheel set, just one set of replacement bearing on each set. I have been looking at replacement wheels recently, so interested to see this option if you can do it easily.
 

westcoastmtbr

Active member
Aug 22, 2019
205
147
California USA
The biggest issue will be the removal of the 3 pawl, but this is where the shop comes in. When you remove it, you can see it's very straight forward, and in the end, hopefully you have a 240 hub and now your styling! I'll document with photos once I get the parts. Finally, you are correct, the current hub is pretty bomb proof. I just want the instant engagement of the 54 ratchet for the climbs. We'll see!
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
Yes thats the only complaint I have with them too, the engagement isn't bad, but could be better.
 

YokoOno

Member
May 5, 2020
141
92
Colorado
Personally, I wouldn't use the 54t ratchet for this application. On my analog bike, I went through two sets of 54t and a friend went through one, over a short period of time several seasons ago. Both of us weigh around 165bs. The interface on the 54t ratchet is cut very shallow in order to accommodate the points of engagement and I think it would get destroyed in short order on the high-torque, heavy e-bike. And failure is not fun and renders the bike unrideable.

The 36t would likely hold up much better.

Also, I destroyed my rear 1900 rim last week. 22 psi, with Cushcore, on thick-sidewalled Michelin e-wild tires. I came off a small jump, landed on a pointy rock, and I was done for the day. The tire did not tear.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Thoughts.: 54t engagement is definitely nicer than 24t (especially on an Eeb with a Freewheel at the crank too) but is it worth a couple of hundred quid to you? Only you can say really.

Decent quality full rear wheels and wheelsets with greater than 24t engagement do come up from time to time on various online store offers for just a few hundred quid.
 
Last edited:

westcoastmtbr

Active member
Aug 22, 2019
205
147
California USA
Good points to all. I do have an old 18t dt swiss ratchet I can begin with, they are also very inexpensive. It from my Yeti. If I use this first, try it out, then my effective cost will go all the way down to $177.00 USD. Think it's plenty worth the try, and not much of a cost. If it blows, then I still have the 3 pawl system to go back to. :) It is a good point that ebike torque is always a consideration!
 

westcoastmtbr

Active member
Aug 22, 2019
205
147
California USA
The Update. The Hybrid 3 pawl system has 24 points of engagement, and DT Swiss recommends 24 T Star Ratchet on their Ebike with beefier metal as not to grind it out too soon with the torque. Bottom line, think I'll stick with the 3 pawl system for now. Oh well, good intention, but no benefit given the torque. Thanks all to the help and advice. It is fun to explore however!
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
Hey all-
Was thinking it would be great to a better set of wheels on my 2019 Base Decoy. Have to say, it gets expensive to buy carbon (not sure of durability), and a new set of aluminum builds will run in the $750 range by the time you get it all together. While searching Youtube I found that the 3 pawl system on the base 1900 wheels can be converted to the DT Swiss Ratchet system with a little bit of work I'm doing the research now, but a few things are true. The rims on the 1900 are quite actually good quality, and the hub shell seems to be quite ok as well. The front Hub really doesn't matter, so why not take a shot. The reality is that selling the old pair has little or no desire on the second hand market, so they are worthless. I will chronicle my build, but with the help of my local bike shop that has the tools to remove the old 3 pawl, and add the Ratchet system, I can add the 54 tooth Ratchet for the ballpark of $168 plus I figure $60 shop labor. So $227.00 estimated price to have the equivalent of the Dt Swiss 240 rear hub? Oh, will also put a 240 sticker from Ebay for $10 which was included in my mock up of $227.00 price complete. Ordered the parts, but what a sweet upgrade to have a very nice wheelset. Here it the Youtube link. This guy has issues, thus the shop can do the work!


Note, the key is having the shop have the the pawl removal and ratchet install tool!

Thoughts??


You can't do it, I talked with DT swiss directly. The Bore of these 1900 hubs is slightly different. Only way to do it is to geta a 350 and re-lace the hub.
 

westcoastmtbr

Active member
Aug 22, 2019
205
147
California USA
You can't do it, I talked with DT swiss directly. The Bore of these 1900 hubs is slightly different. Only way to do it is to geta a 350 and re-lace the hub.

You are correct. Same conclusion I got with DT. Glad I can return the few parts I bought when I thought this was possible. Guess we are always looking to upgrade our toys! This one is a no go!
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
You are correct. Same conclusion I got with DT. Glad I can return the few parts I bought when I thought this was possible. Guess we are always looking to upgrade our toys! This one is a no go!

i hear you, i bought the tools before i found out! lol also parts add up to be more than you can buy a 350 hub for..
 

Rocky47

Member
May 23, 2020
8
2
Hereford
I’m looking at doing this atm with a 370 hybrid hub. It currently has a 3 park system and want to upgrade to the star ratchet for better engagement and ultimately the sound was looking at the 54t but sounds like it would strip too easy. As mentioned above I see they do a 24t steel star ratchet for an ebike would this be better than the current 3 pawl for longevity?
 

westcoastmtbr

Active member
Aug 22, 2019
205
147
California USA
Rocky47. If you have an ebike, then I would stay with what you have, if not, it can be tricky as noted by others. If it's not an ebike, then do your homework. It's seems to be a bit or work!
In general the 370 Hybrid is very beefy and sturdy which one would want on an ebike.
 

Rocky47

Member
May 23, 2020
8
2
Hereford
Rocky47. If you have an ebike, then I would stay with what you have, if not, it can be tricky as noted by others. If it's not an ebike, then do your homework. It's seems to be a bit or work!
In general the 370 Hybrid is very beefy and sturdy which one would want on an ebike.

I’ve got a Rocky Mountain powerplay. I’m upgrading to shimano micro spine 12 speed cassette so thought I’d do this at the same time. Is the star ratchet no stronger than the 3 pawl design?
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
I’ve got a Rocky Mountain powerplay. I’m upgrading to shimano micro spine 12 speed cassette so thought I’d do this at the same time. Is the star ratchet no stronger than the 3 pawl design?
Don’t think you read this thread through.. I contacted sr Swiss and you cannot convert the 370 hubs on spline 1900 wheelset, the 370 hub has slightly different bore... don’t do it.
 

Nasty Nick

Well-known member
Dec 4, 2018
244
176
Ventura, CA US
Don’t think you read this thread through.. I contacted sr Swiss and you cannot convert the 370 hubs on spline 1900 wheelset, the 370 hub has slightly different bore... don’t do it.
I think you got the naming config wrong. It's the Hybrid version of the 370 that cannot be converted. Well it could be converted just the same but dt swiss doesn't sell the "ring nut" with the larger diameter. They do make a star ratchet version of the Hybrid line up, but the parts are not for sale.

If anyone wants the ring nut tools and a new xd driver I'll sell em to you very cheap. I attempted the conversion but I have the Hybrid hubs. The ring nut was not hard to remove. All you need is a vise to hold the tool and then you can spin the whole wheel for leverage. After over 1000 miles of boosted ebike torque it just spun right out.
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
I think you got the naming config wrong. It's the Hybrid version of the 370 that cannot be converted. Well it could be converted just the same but dt swiss doesn't sell the "ring nut" with the larger diameter. They do make a star ratchet version of the Hybrid line up, but the parts are not for sale.

If anyone wants the ring nut tools and a new xd driver I'll sell em to you very cheap. I attempted the conversion but I have the Hybrid hubs. The ring nut was not hard to remove. All you need is a vise to hold the tool and then you can spin the whole wheel for leverage. After over 1000 miles of boosted ebike torque it just spun right out.
the 1900 spline wheel set that comes on ebikes.. the H 1900 has hybrid hubs..

H 1900 SPLINE
The H 1900 SPLINE is the starter version in the HYBRID-line. For this model, the basis for the hub was the DT 370, which uses standard pawls instead of ratchet stars. The other parts are the same as on an H 1700 SPLINE, the weight is pretty much the same, with only a difference of a few grams.



I figured since its emtbforums that its that H 1900 he was referring too..
 

Rocky47

Member
May 23, 2020
8
2
Hereford
I have wtb rims on dt swiss 370 hybrid hubs. It was just a thought that’s all as I am going over to shimano micro spline and was debating whether to get a 3 paw free body or convert to a star ratchet if it was possible. I think I’ll just get a new 3 paw shimano micro spline free gun instead ??
 

seamarsh

Active member
May 7, 2019
350
174
usa
I have wtb rims on dt swiss 370 hybrid hubs. It was just a thought that’s all as I am going over to shimano micro spline and was debating whether to get a 3 paw free body or convert to a star ratchet if it was possible. I think I’ll just get a new 3 paw shimano micro spline free gun instead ??


that's your only option.. you can't convert that hub.
 

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