Experimenting with Rear Hubs

[volts]

Very nice prices!

 

[Astro66]

Just an update on the Koozer 350 hub.

I stripped them today after 1000km to check for any wear or axle bend, and everything was in perfect order. My only complaint, is they are definitely not as quiet as my Shimano Hubs when coasting, which are almost silent, but they are fine.

 

[gutterdog]

Just an update on the Koozer 350 hub.

I stripped them today after 1000km to check for any wear or axle bend, and everything was in perfect order. My only complaint, is they are definitely not as quiet as my Shimano Hubs when coasting, which are almost silent, but they are fine.

View attachment 170161

View attachment 170162

hello-- how is that koozer 350 holding out?

 

[Astro66]

Really well. I ride quite aggressively, and no issues.

 

[gutterdog]

Really well. I ride quite aggressively, and no issues

 

[gutterdog]

DT Swiss ratchet rings fit ?

 

[Astro66]

I don't know.

 

[Fredw90]

I don't know.

I just found this on AliExpress: | UCI Approved 29er MTB Carbon Wheels Super Light 40T Ratchet Tubeless Koozer 350 Straight Pull Mountain Bicycle Wheelset 29

UCI-zugelassene 29er MTB-Carbonräder, superleicht, 40 Zähne, Ratsche, Tubeless, Koozer 350, gerader Zug, Mountainbike-Laufradsatz 29 - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

a.aliexpress.com

Thoughts on this Wheelset with the koozer 350 hubs?

Considering giving them a shot.

 

[Astro66]

I just found this on AliExpress: | UCI Approved 29er MTB Carbon Wheels Super Light 40T Ratchet Tubeless Koozer 350 Straight Pull Mountain Bicycle Wheelset 29

UCI-zugelassene 29er MTB-Carbonräder, superleicht, 40 Zähne, Ratsche, Tubeless, Koozer 350, gerader Zug, Mountainbike-Laufradsatz 29 - AliExpress 18

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

a.aliexpress.com

Thoughts on this Wheelset with the koozer 350 hubs?

Considering giving them a shot.

Never heard of the carbon rim, but then again, I'd never heard of my Amflow Carbon rims before buying the Amflow and they have been great.

Regarding the hub. The Kooser 350 is a good hub. They have the CRMO Steel Axle so that's a must. The Alloy Axle will bend in MTB use. I'm not a fan of the straight thru spokes. Much prefer the J Type. I just find them easier to install. Ease of maintenance is one of my biggest considerations.

I'm also not a fan of the ratchet engagement. But only because the rotational sound they make is not consistent, so I feel it sounds like something is wrong. But there is nothing wrong. It just sounds that way.

Otherwise they are a good price. Not sure I could build them myself cheaper.

 

[Fredw90]

Never heard of the carbon rim, but then again, I'd never heard of my Amflow Carbon rims before buying the Amflow and they have been great.

Regarding the hub. The Kooser 350 is a good hub. They have the CRMO Steel Axle so that's a must. The Alloy Axle will bend in MTB use. I'm not a fan of the straight thru spokes. Much prefer the J Type. I just find them easier to install. Ease of maintenance is one of my biggest considerations.

I'm also not a fan of the ratchet engagement. But only because the rotational sound they make is not consistent, so I feel it sounds like something is wrong. But there is nothing wrong. It just sounds that way.

Otherwise they are a good price. Not sure I could build them myself cheaper.

Yea I was searching around on Ali to see if I could find a similar setup with j bend as opposed to straight pull but didn’t see any. That could be on me though, navigating Ali express and its hundreds of options is a little tricky sometimes.

 

[Astro66]

Just an update. I switched to the Koozer XM490 Pro hubs on my Amflow, that came with CR-MO axle, like the 350. Over 1000 hard wearing kms and they are proving to be a very good 6 pawl hub. Keep in mind I'm running these hubs on the Amflow M1 motor, that does put out 1000 watts of peak power. So it really does test them.

I chose the XM490 Pro, over the 350, because I prefer the sound of the pawl hub over the ratchet in the 350. But I will be putting the Koozer 350 in my Avinox M2S powered Teewing Flux, because I wanted the purple hubs. With the M2S putting out another 30% more power. I'll report how these hubs go.

 

[borysgo2]

Just an update. I switched to the Koozer XM490 Pro hubs on my Amflow, that came with CR-MO axle, like the 350. Over 1000 hard wearing kms and they are proving to be a very good 6 pawl hub. Keep in mind I'm running these hubs on the Amflow M1 motor, that does put out 1000 watts of peak power. So it really does test them.

I chose the XM490 Pro, over the 350, because I prefer the sound of the pawl hub over the ratchet in the 350. But I will be putting the Koozer 350 in my Avinox M2S powered Teewing Flux, because I wanted the purple hubs. With the M2S putting out another 30% more power. I'll report how these hubs go.

View attachment 184283

I have build several sets of wheels using koozer hubs (mostly 450 and 455) they do not have easy life with me.
They proven to be very good. Highly recomended.

Regards

 

[Fredw90]

My Ali wheelset with carbon hoops and 350 straight pull hubs holding up well so far. Approx 300 miles in.

Moterra SL

 

[Marius Mellado]

I have started building my own wheels and I want to experiment with differing rear hubs to see if there are alternatives to the mainstream hubs. I am currently running Kooser XM490.
View attachment 165804
They are a 6 pawl, 4 fully sealed bearing hub and have worked really well over the last 5 years I have used them. But since buying the Amflow PL Carbon Pro. I have been getting far more air, and jumping off higher and higher drops to flat. Clearly placing much more energy through my rear hub.

So to check the hub was performing ok. I removed my rear wheel and noticed the freehub was much more difficult to slide off the axle. I did manage to completely strip the hub of all bearing and inspected the hub. Everything looked ok, but once again, after reassembly, sliding the freehub back on the axle was not as easy as it should be. I can only surmise the axle is not perfectly straight. The hub is working perfectly after 500km. But I'm not happy with the way the freehub slides on and off.

So I have been searching for an alternative hub with a thicker axle and stumbled across the Tanke TH490. It also runs 4 fully sealed bearings and 6 pawls, but the pawls have 3 attachment points, giving it 120 clicks per rev. Much better than the Koozer.
View attachment 165805View attachment 165806
I have bought one of these hubs and stripped it down. The axle is 2mm thicker, though this means the bearing inner diameter is bigger. The bearings are NBK out of Taiwan. But as the entire hub is only AUD$36. I have bought a spare hub, to give me a full set of spare bearing, spare freehub, springs and pawls.

I am going to build an entire new rear wheel. I have bought a 27.5 Raceface ARC30 rim. And I'll keep the Kooser XM490 hub and 27.5 DT Swiss Rim fully intact as a spare rear wheel. I also have the original Amflow 29er carbon wheel as a spare.

Because these hubs are only AUD$36. My plan is to just change all bearings, and entire freehub every 2 seasons. I guess I could just change the entire hub, and maybe I'll build another spare wheel and just do that every 2 seasons. But servicing the hub is so much quicker, than lacing an entire new wheel.

I'll report back on how the Tanke TH490 goes.

BTW. Yes I could just buy expensive brand name hubs. But that is not the point. The point is to find an easily and cheaply serviceable alternative, that is a fraction of the cost, but performs just as well. I have run the Hope Pro 4 previously. Great hubs, but expensive to buy and service.

BTW2 : My front wheel will remain a Kooser XM490 in Oil Spill colouring, as I have never had any issues with front hubs, and the Tanke TH490 rear hub is also in Oil Spill colouring as well.

If anyone has used less recognised hubs and had a good experience. Please post about them here.

for $36 I'd just run it and see what breaks first.

Curious how it looks after a season.

 

[Astro66]

for $36 I'd just run it and see what breaks first.

Curious how it looks after a season.

It was too noisy and the alloy axles deformed. I couldn't get the bearings off easily because of the deformation. I've changed to Koozer 490 Pro and Koozer 350, which have ChroMoly axles. Done a season on them, and they are nice.

 

[Marius Mellado]

It was too noisy and the alloy axles deformed. I couldn't get the bearings off easily because of the deformation. I've changed to Koozer 490 Pro and Koozer 350, which have ChroMoly axles. Done a season on them, and they are nice.

Yeah, that'll do it. Deformed axles are pretty much game over.