Looking for feedback on reliability of Hope Pro 4 rear hubs

[sdcoffeeroaster]

One of my friends calls himself a Clydesdale and is very hard on rear hubs. He told me to stay away from Hopes and he finally found a hub he could not destroy, Hadley, a very small company in the US. They make their HG cassette driver out of Titanium. But it still gouges a bit. I'm after a hub that has a steel shimano cassette driver to eliminate gouging and was all set to go Hope pro 4 when he discouraged me. He said he destroyed bearings and axles on two sets of Hopes but that may not have been pro 4's. The Hope 4 pro with the steel driver is about 396g and $270. and if it's reliable and tough it might be a perfect combo for ebikes. I'm riding a light Focus Jam2 C bike and I'm only about 155 lbs with all my gear and not a crazy downhiller or jumper. What is the experience here with Hope pro 4 hubs? Thanks

 

[Superkoochy]

I've had hope Pro4 hubs on three of my ebikes and had no issues at all. I am closer to 220 pounds and super hard on my wheels. Hope this helps.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

I've had hope Pro4 hubs on three of my ebikes and had no issues at all. I am closer to 220 pounds and super hard on my wheels. Hope this helps.

Thanks. Yes it does. Did you opt for the steel freehub option and was it HG? The hubs look very good to me. But it so hard to find anything for the HG driver that is not aluminum. The Onyx hubs have a wire insert along the splines to take the cassette loads, very nice option, and look to be light and tough, no gouging but they are almost twice as much to save 96g, which is what the steel freehub option adds. I completely gouged up an aluminum freehub with an XT cassette in about 3000 miles! Still useable but the noise I'm getting (might be a bearing) is forcing me to change the bearings the the freehub assy (cost $70. but still aluminum).

 

[Gary]

Hope hubs are not particularly reliable at all.
Most folk who'll tell you they are have probably not ridden them hard long term.

I've had tons of Hope hubs. (well over 20) and have over the years destroyed lots of them and plenty have failed.
Pretty much everything from Alu flanges cracking, bodies cracking, axles breaking, pawls breaking to destroyed/colapsed bearing cages.
Having said that, they're still an ok price for a UK manufactured hub.
Originally (BITD) Hope were my go to for hubs mainly because their warranty service was so great. Now they're a far bigger company with way more new staff their warranty/customer service is no longer anything special so I personally wouldn't buy another Hope hub for myself.
Equally decent (non UK made) hubs can be bought for a fraction of the price of a Hope

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Hope hubs are not particularly reliable at all.
Most folk who'll tell you they are have probably not ridden them hard long term.

I've had tons of Hope hubs. (well over 20) and have over the years destroyed lots tons of them and plenty have failed.
Pretty much everything from Alu flanges cracking, bodies cracking, axles breaking, pawls breaking to destroyed/colapsed bearing cages.
Having said that, they're still an ok price for a UK manufactured hub.
Originally (BITD) Hope were my go to for hubs mainly because their warranty service was so great. Now they're a far bigger company with way more new staff their warranty/customer service is no longer anything special so I personally wouldn't buy another Hope hub for myself.
Equally decent (non UK made) hubs can be bought for a fraction of the price of a Hope

Thanks Gary. This more like what my friend has been telling me. I guess I've been warned!

 

[Gary]

It's not really a warning. Just a little reality check.

If you'd mentioned E-13 I'd have given you a proper warning along the lines of just send me your money and I'll use it as firelighters to cut out the middle man.

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

It's not really a warning. Just a little reality check.

If you'd mentioned E-13 I'd have given you a proper warning along the lines of just send me your money and I'll use it as firelighters to cut out the middle man.

LOL. My research has led me to this hub: DT Swiss 350 Hybrid Boost ISO Disc Brake Rear Hub

I am wondering if the regular 350 hub with the steel cassette driver added and maybe upgraded to 36t might be more than adequate for a lighter rider and bike? I am even thinking about 28 sapim d-lite spokes might be strong enough too. The hybrid hub is 24t thicker hub flanges and bigger bearings and requires the use of heavier spokes as well so the hub resulting wheel might be a bit heavy. I'm thinking of using the stans sentry rim, 32mm width for 2.6" WT Maxxis tires.

 

[Billybopsbasher]

Like Gary, I'd not recommend the newer hope hubs as the pawls are a fair bit smaller than the pro2/evo version and at 370lb I can ruin them in quick time on a normal bike, let alone and ebike.
I've had decent reliability from a set of novatecs on my jam2. D0042b15 front and a d462 x12 on the rear.
The front has needed nothing more than bearing changes occasionally but the rear needs a bit more maintenance in the way of keeping the area around the ratchet ring seal clean as the seal doesn't lip into the freehub body and only into the shell which allows a small amount of water and dirt ingress if left. Otherwise it has been excellent even for my weight with e assist. If I was to get another rear hub I'd be looking at the d642x12 as that has a better freehub to shell seal design(ala d772 I have on another bike which has proven ultra reliable for 2 years).

 

[sdcoffeeroaster]

Like Gary, I'd not recommend the newer hope hubs as the pawls are a fair bit smaller than the pro2/evo version and at 370lb I can ruin them in quick time on a normal bike, let alone and ebike.
I've had decent reliability from a set of novatecs on my jam2. D0042b15 front and a d462 x12 on the rear.
The front has needed nothing more than bearing changes occasionally but the rear needs a bit more maintenance in the way of keeping the area around the ratchet ring seal clean as the seal doesn't lip into the freehub body and only into the shell which allows a small amount of water and dirt ingress if left. Otherwise it has been excellent even for my weight with e assist. If I was to get another rear hub I'd be looking at the d642x12 as that has a better freehub to shell seal design(ala d772 I have on another bike which has proven ultra reliable for 2 years).

I ran the 462 (5 cartridge brgs and 5 pawls) for several rides while I was waiting for my brg and freewheel for my Exile+ Speedtuned CF wheels. The Novatec 462 seems to have some noisey pawls not always fully engaging at times. I had the same issues with the 162. Nothing major just not all that smooth or silent as my Exile+ 4 pawl wheels. Now that I have the Exiles rebuilt all is quiet. I'm think the next time I replace the freewheel I might just go to an XD freewheel and use the fully pinned screw on 10-42t Sram cassette. I think it will work with my XT shifter and Shimano 701 chain. Anyone know for sure how this will work? I'm looking into using a 32t chainring to get 1st back closer to the 34x46 ratio. This is the cassette I'm think about: SRAM Xg-1150 GX1 Speed Cassette | Jenson USA