I have a Deore LX hub on my Rivendell right now and the engagement is not an issue. I had some older bikes a while back with Shimano hubs, a Cannondale with 9 speed Ultegra everything on it and my Paul Taylor with some older vintage DuraAce from the 90s and on both of those bikes it was more noticable than the higher end hubs I had kicking around such as Chris King and DT Swiss.
I don't know if a 2013 Deore hub has more pawls as compared to a 2004 vintage Ultegra hub or late 90s Dura Ace but I don't notice slack in the pickup like I did. Or maybe I'm just a much more mellow rider than I was 10-12 years ago. Being over 40 does that to you ;) I have the opposite problem with the Chris King, it gets sticky when you transition from pedaling to coasting, and the chain whacks the chainstay. If it's been a while since it's been serviced, the problem gets worse. It's never really been quite right. In that light I have been disappointed with the Chris King, which is why I am looking at not going forward with it on the new build. I have thought maybe I'm putting on the quick release too tight but going looser didn't really make a difference. On the flip side, I do enjoy the bumblebee noise ;) I do have some Campy rear hubs sitting around but I have made the decision not to use Campy stuff if I can avoid it because Campy parts are expensive. I can buy two or three Shimano cassettes for the cost of a Campy cassette, for example. There's also the fact that Campy 9/10/11 hubs have more offset and build a weaker wheel. Not good for a 270 lb rider. Of course, if someone made a Shimano freehub body that fit on a Campy hub, it might be a consideration...I have a brand new early 2000s Chorus hub just sitting in my parts bin. Also have a used Record hub of about the same vintage, the rim it was laced to got too out of whack to ride anymore. On Mon, May 5, 2014 at 4:07 PM, Philip Williamson < philip.william...@gmail.com> wrote: > Engagement is the only issue I find between Shimano hubs and "boutique" > hubs, but my experience of cassette hubs is pretty limited, due to a > long-lasting fixed gear obsession. > > My Bontrager/King hubs have only been serviced once, about 10 years ago, > but the "ring drive" engagement is a real joy compared to the Shimano Deore > hub that I've put a lot of miles on. I don't consider the Deore hub to be a > mountain bike hub at all, and I'm not considering Shimano hubs for my > 'dream' wheelset for the New Gravel Roadster. I want White, King, or Hope > hubs for that, a choice that comes down to "have a connection to" vs "have > the money for." > > But... I just bought a $75 CL wheelset with "Concept" hubs, so expedience > wins. > > Philip > www.biketinker.com > > On Monday, May 5, 2014 8:14:15 AM UTC-7, Jim Bronson wrote: > >> Pricing out parts for my build, the cost difference in hubs between the >> bling hubs and say Shimano hubs are pretty noticable. A Chris King, Phil >> Wood, et. al, are quite expensive, $350ish in the case of the Chris King, >> $400+ in the case of the Phil. >> >> On the other hand, I found Tiagra 4600 rear hubs for as little as $24.45 >> online, and 105 5700 rear hubs for $43.45. Now we all know that Shimano >> hubs are loose ball bearing hubs, but in practice what is the functional >> deficiency if the bearing preload is properly adjusted? Some people seem >> to think the 105 hub is better sealed than the Tiagra and if so would be >> worth $19 to me. But if not...? Rivendell sells 105 5500 hubs on their >> site, so they must not be that bad. >> >> To give some more background, I have a Chris King hub on a frame I was >> planning on selling. The plan was to re-use the CK hub on my new build. >> Different wheel size, so I would need to start over with new rims and >> spokes either way. But if I could sell the CK for $200 or more, and >> replace it with say a 105 or even a Deore hub, that would help me get my >> build together faster. The new frame is spaced 132.5 so can take 130 or >> 135. >> >> I also don't love the fact that the CK hub needs to be taken apart and >> re-lubed yearly. I had an issue before with the lube drying out and >> causing the hub to be sticky on transition from pedaling to coasting when >> my service interval was too long. That being said, the polished silver CK >> is a bit more aesthetically pleasing than the dull silver Shimano hubs. >> >> My main criteria is that the hub is sealed well against water intrusion >> and rolls down the road easily. Low maintenance is a plus. A difference >> in weight of 100 grams is not meaningful to me. Bling is nice, but my >> priority is function over form. It does need to be silver, of course. >> >> Replacing the CK with a mid-priced cartridge bearing hub might be another >> option. The Velo Orange hubs look pretty nice. I'm guessing they would >> probably would require less maintenance than the CK hubs and if the >> cartridge bearings are of good quality they would probably be well sealed. >> >> -Jim >> >> -- >> Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.