What's the fuzz all about with DT Swiss 240 hubs?

[LeDuke]

Syncros uses DT hubs and/or internals, too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[steveadore]

Any reason to pick a 240exp over 350 apart from a few grams?

If you're not too fussed about weight then definitely get the 350's and save some money. As an added bonus the larger bearings are more robust.

I'd definitely get 350's over 240's if the wheels are going to see some bad weather

Do you mean that 6902 bearings will be more durable than 1526 ones? I don't mean wet weather conditions (after all, the smaller bearings in the 240s are supposedly stainless steel, which, however, are softer than chromium steel balls)

[Lina]

All true, but when you ride a hub for many tens of thousands of km and all weather and it never makes a click or a creak or any sound other than that sweet freewheel buzz, that is hard to beat.

I’d bet DT Swiss hubs run faster with 10/20/30/40.000km on them than most other hubs on the road.

Both messages point out the reliability. I would add "thanks to easy maintenance". Many other hubs are as reliable and can build better wheels... but can be more maintenance intensive than DT where a monkey could take care of them. There are very few parts, none can really be lost (meaning no tiny springs) and if you need to replace a part it is easy and relatively cheap (damaged a cone on a D-A Ti free hub... that was an expensive fix).
So if you are light on maintenance, your DT may work better (and I really think that is the main advantage), but if you do it properly you won't see a difference with other hubs and may have a lighter wheel or stiffer wheel (cause no maintenance would fix the conservative geometry)

No, DT will just work even with minimal or no maintenance. The reason people love the hubs is that they just work and you don't need to do anything to them. When you're riding 20 000 km a year you just want stuff that works no questions asked. Pretty much the only thing you have to do is replace bearings very seldomly. There is nothing else to do with them. The problem with all the fancy hubs is that a lot of them need constant maintenance. I have a set of old DT240 rim hubs that have over 100 000 km without any maintenance and they still bring the valve to the bottom when you lift them up. When you ride a lot you're going to be doing a lot of maintenance already even without adding delicate parts that need regular maintenance to the bike. When you're riding once or twice a week it doesn't matter if you need to sometimes do some maintenance.

edit: And to add. When you need to do maintenance on them it's easy.

[Mr.Gib]

Is maintenance really that simple? I recall seeing a video that showed special tools required to access a bearing that is trapped behind the ratched ring - or is that an older version?

I ask as I have no first had experience. I only have one wheelset with DT - on my fender bike. 7 seasons of near daily winter riding and never had to touch it.

[pushpush]

Is maintenance really that simple? I recall seeing a video that showed special tools required to access a bearing that is trapped behind the ratched ring - or is that an older version?

I ask as I have no first had experience. I only have one wheelset with DT - on my fender bike. 7 seasons of near daily winter riding and never had to touch it.

It is simple once you have the special tool. This is also only the EXP version of the hubs. The non EXP DT hubs don't require the special tool as there is no threaded ratchet ring.

[Nickldn]

The other maintenance type issue with star ratchets is that special grease is required.

What would happen if 'normal' grease is used, is anyone able to recommend non special grease?

[pushpush]

Why would you use different grease? I use DT and Dumond freehub grease. A little tub of it will last you the better part of a lifetime if you are only servicing your own bikes.

[LeDuke]

The other maintenance type issue with star ratchets is that special grease is required.

What would happen if 'normal' grease is used, is anyone able to recommend non special grease?

It’s so rare that you need to service them that I’d question why you’d need to use anything else.

I have a set of 180s with 10,000km MTB miles on them. I opened them up, and the grease is still pink. No need to do anything with them. Slap the free hub/cassette assembly back on and ready to ride.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[TwiggyForest]

DT hubs success had been a mystery to me for many years. They had a poor geometry, were not light and the freewheel was rather draggy. But it seems that ease (what I initially though was lazyness, but I get that complex hubs required more attention) of maintenance seems to have taken the lead over pure performance.

It may not be a very popular POW but I am not sure the ratchet system is that superior to classic pawl system, but yes, it is reliable and simple to maintain.

Is the poor geometry still true for disc brake hubs? I thought that was an issue more on the classic rim brake hubs... Either there are lots in the field seemingly without issues.

[C36]

[...] Many other hubs are as reliable and can build better wheels... but can be more maintenance intensive than DT where a monkey could take care of them. There are very few parts, none can really be lost (meaning no tiny springs) and if you need to replace a part it is easy and relatively cheap (damaged a cone on a D-A Ti free hub... that was an expensive fix).
So if you are light on maintenance, your DT may work better [...]

No, DT will just work even with minimal or no maintenance. The reason people love the hubs is that they just work and you don't need to do anything to them. When you're riding 20 000 km a year you just want stuff that works no questions asked. Pretty much the only thing you have to do is replace bearings very seldomly. There is nothing else to do with them. The problem with all the fancy hubs is that a lot of them need constant maintenance. I have a set of old DT240 rim hubs that have over 100 000 km without any maintenance and they still bring the valve to the bottom when you lift them up. When you ride a lot you're going to be doing a lot of maintenance already even without adding delicate parts that need regular maintenance to the bike. When you're riding once or twice a week it doesn't matter if you need to sometimes do some maintenance.

edit: And to add. When you need to do maintenance on them it's easy.

Not seeing any difference with my original message . They are light on maintenance and it is easy, to me that is the main selling point. As someone with attention to detail, who value ride quality, I prefer a wheel that rides better over one that need little maintenance... furthermore since then, many hubs are now as easy to maintain than the DTs. Except Shimano and Campagnolo most hubs are now, pull, clean, lubricate, assemble, ride.

Is the poor geometry still true for disc brake hubs? I thought that was an issue more on the classic rim brake hubs... Either there are lots in the field seemingly without issues.

I have somewhere a more complete reference than this one, but they remain conservative on their geometry
https://www.roues-rar.fr/img/cms/Comparatif20.jpg

[Mr.Gib]

The other maintenance type issue with star ratchets is that special grease is required.

What would happen if 'normal' grease is used, is anyone able to recommend non special grease?

I have used Starbrite brand white marine PTEF grease on DT type star ratchet hubs with good results. A mavic rep once gave me a few packets of grease they used on their DT copy hubs - which seemed similar to the Starbrite stuff I used. The key seems to be to use a grease that is slippery without being too sticky. I've never handled the official DT grease so I can't compare to what I have used. I'm sure members with more technical knowledge of lubricants can weigh in with the precise details of the category of lubricants that should work.

[CampagYOLO]

The other maintenance type issue with star ratchets is that special grease is required.

What would happen if 'normal' grease is used, is anyone able to recommend non special grease?

It's £14 for a tube of DT Swiss grease that'll last for ages. Not much outlay really is it?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lubricants/ ... gram-tube/

[jmomentum]

The other maintenance type issue with star ratchets is that special grease is required.

What would happen if 'normal' grease is used, is anyone able to recommend non special grease?

It's £14 for a tube of DT Swiss grease that'll last for ages. Not much outlay really is it?

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lubricants/ ... gram-tube/

I was late to the DT Grease parade but I will throw in my support as a worthy investment. It really makes a difference to quiet the hub. I tried some other greases that didn't really work as well. Normally I would always be looking for a "cheaper' alternative or a diy solution but if you can spring for it I think it will be worthwhile.

Also I have 15K km on a set of dt 180 hubs and the rear wheel is as good or better than new. The front however was feeling a bit gritty and I changed the bearings. The bearings now outside of the hub still feel smooth. I'm not sure if changing them was necessary.

[TwiggyForest]

I have used Slickoleum in the past and the wheels didn't explode. But really DT grease isn't that expensive.

[xiyuwang]

The other maintenance type issue with star ratchets is that special grease is required.

What would happen if 'normal' grease is used, is anyone able to recommend non special grease?

I have used Starbrite brand white marine PTEF grease on DT type star ratchet hubs with good results. A mavic rep once gave me a few packets of grease they used on their DT copy hubs - which seemed similar to the Starbrite stuff I used. The key seems to be to use a grease that is slippery without being too sticky. I've never handled the official DT grease so I can't compare to what I have used. I'm sure members with more technical knowledge of lubricants can weigh in with the precise details of the category of lubricants that should work.

That red special grease is already on the cheaper side. The point of using that grease is to avoid sticky rachet that won't bounce back quickly and slip. A very thick grease can cause the rachet to slip. What I tried is chain lube, Shimano premium grease, and DT's own grease. The conclusion is, that DT knows what they are doing, and the special grease is the best fit. Even with the special grease, you need to avoid putting too much of it on a 54T rachet otherwise it can slip... 18T rachet is more tolerant of what grease you want to use.

EDIT: EXP hubs rely solely on the splines in the freehub body to transmit your pedaling power, making lubing the spline surface crucial to have a long lifespan. Non-EXP hubs have splines in both the hub shell and freehub body, posing less wear on the splines in the freehub body. DT's hub does have more places where you can observe wear, so it requires proper lubrication to avoid premature wear. I saw similar behavior on Zipp's ZR1 hub on my 303/404 as well. ZR1 has some many teeth that in order to make the drag lower, zipp decided to use weaker springs below the pawls. As a result, if you put too much grease in it, it'll slip crazy.