SUPER CHEAP $80 ALIEXPRESS Wheel Hub Teardown | DT Swiss Ratchet Clone

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this one. A viewer sent in a hub that he had purchased from AliExpress for $80 and delivered to his home in England.
This hub uses a very similar system to the DT swiss style hubs and has two ramp plates that take the place of the conventional ratchet and pawls.
On the whole it's not bad and for the price you would be very hard pushed to notice vs an expensive DT hub. The DT hub will be reviewed next week.
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[@saltycycling]

I really appreciate this type of content - demonstrating that cheap doesn't mean bad. However, I would point out that for the average buyer, Aliexpress is a literal minefield - it is very difficult to distinguish between cheap-bad and cheap-good, and it's not uncommon for lesser-known Chinese brands to counterfeit better-known Chinese brands. Would be great if at some point you could source a few similarly-priced components from there, compare quality, and let us know your thoughts on what to look out for as a potential shopper.

[@0harris0]

i bought a cheap chinese stem when trying out different sizes... looked great, beautifully machined EXCEPT the only 2 surfaces that need to be flat and parallel, were not 🤣

[@neil_down_south]

That's my fear! You could buy 5 allegedly identical items on there and get 5 clones of varying quality

[@saltycycling]

@@f00bert24 The person behind that channel has links to marketing departments of some Asian brands. I would trust in his impartiality about as much as I would trust a Trek marketing rep talking about Bontrager products, hahaha. Edit: Looks like this person deleted their comment. It was about China Cycling.

[@cup_and_cone]

​@@neil_down_south Sometimes they're not even copies! I've bought duplicates of things for me and my partner at the exact same time, in the same order (i.e. lights, bar bags), and received two items that you can tell came from completely different production lines. It's not uncommon for these production changes to go unannounced. What I believe happens is one factory will make a limited production run of an item, it ends up being very popular and sells out, sellers want more but the same factory/suppliers cannot be lined up, so it's sourced elsewhere...either for budget reasons (the Far East mindset of build it as cheap as possible) or just factories/suppliers no longer producing those specific items. The bottom line is if you like something, buy another ASAP, because you probably won't find the same thing in same quality again.

[@philipsimmonds1103]

Bitex is the oem for these hubs .. can never go wrong with them.

[@deejayfuggaflex]

Impressed by a new investigative microscope/camera… provides great details and analysis as always…

[@zhiyuanfan5542]

The structure of the hub is almost identical to the new DT 350. The only difference is the "nylon washer", which is a spring in DT350. It's worth noting that all bearings in DT 350 are standard sized, while in 240 EXP, they are 15 x 26 mm. The price for DT350 is around 200 EUR per pair, and I think this should be used in the comparison, not 240 EXP. If you remember, DT recently had a recall of the early models of EXP hubs, because the surface treatment of the ratchet was not done correctly. Even DT itself can make such mistakes, I wouldn't voucher for the unheard manufacturer. I'm very looking forward to your video about the DT hubs next week!

[@petermadach]

the new DT 350s look like a great deal if someone wants a decent ratchet hub with none of the bling of the more expensive brothers. you do pay some of the DT-tax, but get the peace of mind that spare parts should be available unlicke for any other noname clone hub. and theres a classic+centerlock version of the DT 350, any aliexpress clones I found are either straightpull+CL or classic+6 bolt.

[@pocoapoco2]

Can you do a hardeness test on the ratchet components and the hub body on this hub and the DT hub when you get it?

[@littlehistory2392]

Faffing about with my RC stuff and get a Hambini alert! A welcome break😁 *turns volume down, hits play🤪

[@basedgodstrugglin]

I’m drunk as hell and gotta go to work but at least Hambini uploaded

[@boosttee]

I have the Ztto and Goldix hub on two sets of wheels for over a year. The hub itself is great, but the bearings will only last for about a year. If you’re fine in replacing the bearings then these hubs are a very good deal. I also got the Ztto 54 tooth ratchet and it held up so far.

[@adamcrebo2601]

Just fitted my Hambini BB this week, something so immensely satisfying with that first crankset spin afterwards!

[@charlesgraham9954]

i appreciate the time u take making these videos for us. u truly help people make informed decisions, that saves us time and money. again, thank you.

[@dustyhoods]

For most of the people Chinese hubs are absolutely fine. It is the middle ground between garbage you get with factory stock builds and competition level DT 240/350. Got one of those. I'll do a review after 2-3K because there's not much you can say about when it's brand new.

[@workshopninjathe1st]

My experience with 240 hubs - road bikes are fine. Will last longer than the axle standard they were built for. But if you are mountain biking - you can trash them in a month of daily hammering at Whistler…

[@JulianKent]

Curious what broke on your 240 hubs on MTB? In my experience they've been solid, although I mostly use 350s.

[@mauisuzuki7857]

@@workshopninjathe1st huh? What are you taking a sledge hammer to them? I’m a 250 pound rider and rip on the dt240 hubs without any issues for many years! Over 5000 miles up and down!!! Not a single problem!!!!

[@the.communist]

80 eurod aint cheap for a hub, thats the normal price a hub should be.

[@simonm1447]

You get a set of Deore or even XT hubs (ok, these are no roadbike hubs) for that money, which are surely no bad hubs

[@workshopninjathe1st]

To be fair - for the price those runout numbers are f@&$ing amazing. I somehow doubt DT would be much better - but it will be interesting to see a similar inspection of the 240 hubs. Nice work

[@genixia]

Yeah, I concur. You might worry about that runout on a high speed machine spindle, but for a bike hub running under 60rpm... For context, the standard linear tolerance for CNC parts is 0.005" (0.127 mm).

[@j2kub]

@@genixia 0.127mm? Maybe for some wood cheap cnc. Typical tolerance is under 0.01mm easily with typical low end cnc like haas.

[@genixia]

@@j2kub the standard machining tolerance isn't the same thing as what any given machine is specified to achieve when new. Even if it were, the average machine shop has no way of measuring 0.01mm repeatedly anyway.

[@TheSpaceBrosShow]

Been really looking forward to this one

[@mikeh6286]

Small correction: "No need for DT tools" The drive side hub bearing is located behind a part that requires a dt type tool to take off (similar to a cassette lockring tool). It can be a huge hassle to get off because it tightens over time.

[@BenjjjDW]

I’ve come across exactly this issue now, if I can’t get it off with the help of a vice then it’s going on Facebook marketplace as spares/repairs 😂

[@mcspikesky]

This will dissuade me from any DT rear hub.. the pawl seats are getting beat in my Hope Pro 4 hubs but they hold all 2kw + my feeble legs power and are really easy to service.

[@JulianKent]

At least on the pre-EXP hubs you can pull the bearing out without removing the tooth ring, the teeth are just a fraction smaller than the bearing OD

[@domfindon5260]

@@BenjjjDW When Mapdec Cycles compared DT hubs with Hope I think they said they used an impact driver to take it apart.

[@hatface547]

Heat the hub up a bit and the ratchet ring comes out pretty easy. Otherwise yes, it's incredibly difficult.

[@awol555]

Great to see! I've got a set of ryet rim brake wheels, they are really good for the money. Terrible braking in the wet apparently but I'm a sunshine only rider! The free hub on mine is traditional pawls

[@michaelskelton8516]

Another fascinating video…value for money!

[@learigg]

Great kid friendly video to watch with the grandkids.

[@maciejb9777]

THE PEN IS WORKING!!!!🥳🥳🥳

[@gammelgemse]

The Pen is working HARD!!!

[@dirkhunt9425]

Can't wait to see the run out comparison between these hubs and the DT hubs

[@willo7979]

6:01 In order to disengage the ratchet, we just need enough debris and grease built up in one of the teeth.

[@willo7979]

Realistically speaking, conventional ratchet systems consist of multiple ‘independent’ ratchets that always maintain engagement even when one fails. Just by looking at this two-piece ratchet system, I’m concerned of sliding failure on the side near hub.

[@meirionrhys3786]

These go together very much like a set of DT hugi hubs I have from around 1993, standard bearings and no special tools! Exactly the same ratchet mechanism.

[@marekkrol5652]

I bought a ZTTO labeled set a year ago and built them up with DT rims. The body of the hub is perfectly fine. 54t ratchet lasted 200km and was replaced by a DT 18t part. Bearings ran dry fairly quickly, they've been repacked but the rear has minor play. Probably should have checked them before the build or simply replaced them. However for the price, even if you need to switch out the bearings & ratchet, they're a good deal.

[@cthulpiss]

it seems comments are being removed at random - could you please elaborate on that replacement? genuine DT ratchet looks stupidly expensive - any hints ?

[@marekkrol5652]

@@cthulpiss i had a spare set of 18t plates in a wheel set that got an upgrade to 36t. They fit 1:1.

[@0harris0]

I had some cheap chinese (cart bearing) hubs and they were great. ended up putting them on my mates bike and they've lasted quite some time without issue!!

[@danielgaldames1163]

I had the same problem with 54 tooth rachets on a Ztto. Just like you I replaced them with an original 18 tooth one and they work fine so far

[@simple4586]

I've had these ZTTO ones too. Pretty good for the price. Just replaced bearings and ratchet tooth to the ones used in DT. Works fine even after 1000kms now.

[@frankjansen2226]

Good review. FWIW, the RYET cassetes 12sp are really good as well. Much cheaper dan Dura Ace or even Ultegra, and they are even a few grams lighter. Besides the sprockets are attached to each other so the cassette will not damage the free hub. Recommended!

[@Kingsoupturbo]

In Alberta, Canada many of us use DT350's for Fat bikes as most more normal hubs explode under the load of super low gearing and snow load going up steep climbs, pretty fast. I've never been able to figure out why DT hubs are so strong, I think its perfect machining quality on the drive ring and axles, more then the star ratchet, but maybe all those teeth help distribute torque? neat that there is a copy in China that looks almost the same, only time would tell if it could stand up to the abuse of high torque applications.

[@Fetucinee]

I think you've nailed the reason why the DT's don't fail under high torque: those ratchet rings utilize 360 degrees of internal hub splines to transfer a rider's pedalling power compared to what? 4 pawls on a traditional hub's freewheel each mating with single, tiny (aluminum?) teeth on the hub body. On some hubs the pawls are offset to increase POI's so, there, they can't even all engage simultaneously when pedalling.

[@stuvademakaroner9607]

I've had a pair of Goldix hubs for almost a year. A common procedure for these lightweight chinese hubs here in Russia is machining a high precision axle for the rear hub to maximize strength. I had it done as soon as it arrived, it's been been through several xc races and a lot of jumps and stairs, going strong

[@Kingsoupturbo]

Its hard to justify the time to lace a new wheel (for me, takes a while anyways) with a hub that could break drive axle in half (done this) or spin the drive ring out of the threads (done this too) or break the little pawls off (also done this) when, the new 350 classic hubs are less expensive then they used to be. But for a lower demand application, and maybe if you could get a steel axle, could be a real deal, I see the pair of hubs for like 120$ Cad, which is pretty cheap, I've learned, when a hub is lighter, probably gonna S-plode, where heavier hubs tend to last longer (i9, Hope, DT, Onyx) Really interesting review on the parts though.

[@BenitoAndito]

Yeah that makes sense. Fat bike hubs are wide too and wimpy 142mm spacing axle thicknesses on 200ish mm wide fstbike spacing don't cut it. And if you think about metal shrinkage in cold weather, 4 pawl systems may suffer more than 18 teeth of ratchet engagement.

[@Kingsoupturbo]

@@BenitoAndito I hadn't thought about metal shrinkage on pawls, we ride often enough at -10 to -23c or so, most everyone has blown up pawl hubs or ripped aluminum axles in half (anyone over about 170lbs or so anyways) but I've broken standard hubs on my summer bike too (24x51 gearing and 22x42 on fat bike) anywho, DT makes a reliable hub, fat bike hubs are often just upsized regular hubs, no more bearings, just more load, eekers!

[@hankdutch9360]

Sorry to add to your reading, I could not find any comment below on the hub bearings not contributing to carry the weight of the bike. I changed from freewheel to freehub as the axles kept breaking because the freewheel bearing is so far inboard. Axle failure would be an issue with this design of hub, however the axle is compressing the hub and therefore the inboard wheel bearing is likely to transfer considerable load to the adjacent hub bearing, the axle is compressing the whole unit therefore transferring load to the hub bearing next to the dropouts. (I have a shimano tiagra 4600 rear hub, which -as you said- have an internal hollow bolt to fix the freehub to the wheel, so it does not have the separate inboard bearings, but the principle is the same to transfer the load to the bearing next to the dropout and avoid fatigue fracture of the axle)

[@dfpguitar]

Potential topic for future video; Pole (Finland) MTB frames. Which are made of two CNC milled halves then glued together. Would be interesting to hear about whether there is any merit to this unorthodox construction.

[@cjohnson3836]

All he will be able to tell you is an engineering review of the method on paper. He doesn't mountain bike and wouldn't know the typical life expectancy of mtb products. Pole had a blow up a few years back but eventually grew some humility and took the punch on the chin. They've since redesigned their process and the frame of issue (Pole Stamina) and from what I can tell it seems to have exceeded test marks (EFBE Prüftechnik GmbH in Germany did the test cycles, so no mysterious Portuguese university). It seems their tests go beyond ISO. I wouldn't be worried about frame durability. I'd be more worried how it feels riding since ISO is so overblown for what a bike needs to be able to endure.

[@reginaldscot165]

As a DT Swiss hub fan (the 240s) this was an interesting one. It’s not a direct copy of a 240 and it’s not a direct copy of the new EXP hub… it’s something in between… and that worries me. What makes the 240 reliable is it has 2 independent ratchets backed by 2 springs, this allows some play in the system and resistance to vibration while maintaining a reliable mode of engagement. The newer EXP only uses 1 independent ratchet and 1 fixed (screwed into the hub) this system is less reliable and last year DT had a big product recall because of this. The ratchets need to be perfectly Machined, any deviation and they slip with devastating effects! So with this Knock-off hub having a design that sits somewhere in between I’d be very interested to see how reliable it’s going to be. Yes the DT hubs are very expensive, but in my opinion there is nothing better on the market and at least you get a decent warranty on their products, a warranty that almost nobody ever needs to use. If the workmanship of these Chinese hubs improve I’d definitely be interested. And I even suggested to Winspace they copy the DT hub system now DT lost the rights to it. By the way, another hub that only have 3 bearings is Mavic as they use a Nylon bushing at the bottom of the hub body. Not a great design (too much play in the hub of when under load) but cheap to make. Nice microscope 🔬 by the way. 🙂 All the best! 👍🏻

[@egonzalez4294]

I got a set of DT240 and it doesn't feel any different normal hubs, but then they still ride like that after 5 years, 0 mantenience. Tektros are destroyed, shimanos are gritty, novatecs have needed mantenience... but DT. It rolls just as smooth as ever. DT is doing something right, and DT350 are my to-go touring hubs (the old ones I don't know about EXP) I am curious about these knockoffs to be honest. I've been happy with Novatec, but could that possibly be better given they copied DT design?...

[@matiasbenavidesdigitalvisu9511]

You said that DT swiss lost the ratchet patents rights? If is the case, then we are going to see a lot similars design on the market. Thats good, more competition.

[@reginaldscot165]

@@matiasbenavidesdigitalvisu9511 yes bad news for the future of DT, good news for us. As a business owner I’m a little sad for them, as people start to find the cheaper hubs you might see that historic company die…🫣

[@TheSpaceBrosShow]

@@matiasbenavidesdigitalvisu9511 Yeah its why we've had an explosion of chinese star ratchet hubs in recent years. Great for us normal folk

[@adrianc6534]

@@egonzalez4294 my novatec hubs started making terrible sounds after I got caught out in a surprise rain storm. I will never use novatec again, but they did work fine before they got wet.

[@LimYQS]

I have a similar knock off hub... not to shabby for the price... takes DT Swiss ring gears as well and i have upgraded mine to a 60T engagement one...

[@lennart8875]

I’m waiting for my Ryet Wheelset with these hubs. And now I'm a little bit more relaxed that not everything is crap on those. However, 270€ + VAT was an absolute no-brainer in my opinion.

[@BrunoQueiroz566]

good wheels?

[@davidgarza2267]

Longevity and quality of the metals used are what’s usually in question with Chinese products. Some lower end hubs on Ali seem to be made Swiss cheese.

[@brookegravitt4117]

Sweet! Now I can maybe find a 54tooth variant cheaper than the 54t DT Swiss ratchet upgrade, and get two free hubs as a bonus

[@dan2304]

Good quality bearings and well built spokes and DT R500 rims produce a reliable low cost reasonably light wheels.

[@glennoc8585]

I've got two wheelsets with these hubs and I use pillar spokes with no rub. I've changed the ratchets to 60t from the standard 36t that's all. I have noticed that the hub has a lot less markings from the cassette than other brands.

[@hightechhighlander]

Do you happen to know where I can find freehubs for these hubs? I would like to be able to switch to xdr or MS if I need to in the future.

[@glennoc8585]

@@hightechhighlander I don't but I'm sure there'd be ways to get different freehubs.

[@bcxmontiel4875]

Hambini looking at dark inner splines and brown stuff through a magnifying lense. Interesting prospect.

[@ds6914]

Question: Is this basically what I'll get if I buy a 9velo wheelset? (The cheapest rim brake model where you don't get an option for number of ratchet teeth). And if so, would I be better getting that or the old model of giant slr1 for the same price (the giants are quite narrow in comparison 17mm internal, 22mm external)

[@craigstephenmcdonald9915]

Well done

[@streetstangcobra]

Many thanks for the informative video, in ali express I see goldix hubs with the same price and I wonder if they have similar qualities , and they have a titanium freehub upgrade I wonder if they are better , many thanks again Hambini aged 5 from your fans aged 4 😇

[@rg807]

They're going to wear in! Give them to your cousin for the summer and then take them back.

[@trentvlak]

When you add up the cost of good bearings and a new DT ratchet, you might as well buy a set of 350s. What we can't see is the metallurgy. I doubt the metallurgy in the axles, bearings, and ratchet.

[@larisonjohnson]

Any thoughts on the bearings they provided?

[@nobrakes7247]

Thanks

[@abirkhanrafee1889]

What kind of regular grease can i use for the pawl system in my hub? And are expensive grease for rear hub systems so important?

[@RICHARD.WRIGHT1]

Spoke angles on wheels is usually refered to as DISHING. As it resembles a dish!

[@cyc00000]

No chance the DT review will be this good.

[@Sandzsteedt]

Interesting DT Swiss copy blending both DT Swiss 350 and DT Swiss Ratchet Exp features. Front hub is pretty close a direct copy of the 350 hub.

[@Freacer1]

Looks fairly similar to DT Swiss as you say, I believe the DT ones have the spring on the other side towards the freehub body and the inner ring is fixed in the main hub body. Looks a bit more "simple" than the DT one e.g. the spring on this is much thicker and the spacer a bit larger. Concerning the machining of the ratchet-rings, I´d like to remind that DT had to make a recall on the early ones they made. The reason for this was, if i remember correctly, that the plates / teeth weren´t 100% perfect and somehow could cause the hub to constantly freewheel / teeth didnt engage anymore. They had to remake this part and replaced it for free on the faulty batch. Havent heard of any issues since then. So I´m not sure on how well this one is going to hold up given the fairly cheap manufacturing in some areas.

[@JulianKent]

This is the new DT EXP hubs. The older non-EXP has springs on both sides of the ratchet.

[@trentvlak]

Even simpler would be an Extralite copy - ratchet teeth machined directly into the freehub. One aluminum ratchet in the hub body.

[@jrclad2964]

@@JulianKent ... and it's bomb-proof 😀

[@pratikpramanik7782]

@@JulianKent newer EXP has one set of teeth threaded in as fixed.

[@andreemurray7039]

Can you suggest a hard wearing free hub for shimano as I find the current ones soft

[@butchl6403]

Great vid. Could the ratchet gears be made of lesser quality material, then DT Swiss? I’ve seen some vids of other less expensive hubs, where the engagement ramps wore down prematurely. I appreciate your breakdown and explanation.

[@benfinesilver2250]

You find these specced as options on my Chinese wheels. They’re perfectly fine.

[@Hunter_Bidens_Crackpipe_]

They should make a MTB version with a steel freehub.

[@ironray123]

I had a hambini on rye with swiss cheese the other day.

[@ivanmahusay4080]

Can I replace with 60t dt swiss ratchet??

[@10ktube]

How can you tell what grade aluminum just by look and feel? I was trying to figure it out on some of my parts but want to get it right and test myself. Why? I'm a dork and curious. And my pen works.

[@christianerkelens]

Excellent review; very interested in the Dt Swiss hub review. Is it coming up anytime soon?

[@erikarnstrom897]

Question regarding the freehub, there is no reinforced spline on the reviewed hub, nor dtswiss. Bitemarks people in general get are they due to low torque on the lockring? My dtswiss freehub got nasty bitemarks in just 2 months, but I guess I did not tight the lockring to 40 Nm.

[@coolcycles]

No, Shimano HG freehub bodies were designed to be made of steel. If they are made from aluminium you better use a cassette with aluminium spiders for a wider contact to the freehub body. Some small cogs, that are single, not riveted to their neighboring ones (12, 13,14,...) might be ok to remove, but will bite into the body, no matter, how hard you crank the lockring down.

[@MrBirdshell666]

unfortunately very often these dt clones miss the second metal lip on the freehub body, so the sealing is compromised, not labyrinth anymore

[@iancalland5934]

Did you check the hardness of the drive ratchet ?

[@nigelliam153]

When you're sending your technology to Ch1na for manufacturing you have to expect it to come back rebranded and cheaper. It's amazing how many European car companies are now owned by the people who started out as cheap Cinese labor for the same company. I suspect the bike industry will go the same way.

[@somethingsomethinggr]

A couple of questions, who makes the best freehub and what's your opinion on the Hope pro freehubs?

[@rollinrat4850]

Chris King makes hubs to medical industry standards. They're the only company that makes their own bearings. Even the separate balls. These bearings are intended to be serviced, not thrown away. These bearings will last indefinitely if you maintain them just a little. The Ring Drive might be the strongest driver in the market. It's like a helical ring gear. It grips tighter the harder you pedal. They claim it will withstand 300+ horsepower. Chris King was a medical device machinist. I'm also a retired high reliability machinist and mechanical inspector. I've taken my hubs apart and measured all the precision fits. They are well within accepted mechanical standards. I saw a King hub as soon as they were released to the public in the mid '90s. I disassembled it with a shop owner and inspected it fully. I bought it there on the spot. I still ride that hub and several other CK hubs. I've never replaced a single bearing in 29 years and 200000+ dirty miles.

[@mrGTD170]

Thinking of buying Ryet wheels with these hubs or elite Edge with similar hubs.

[@drivemenuts3011]

What about the thickness of the material around the spoke holes? It this any more or less than established brands? If there is not enough meat there, then cyclic fatigue around the hole can become an issue. I've seen the metal around the spoke hole tear off from the hub body.

[@billcodey1430]

Which would you put on your wheels?

[@gamingking7578]

One question. Can rear hub be paired with XDR DT SWISS RATCHET freehub?

[@rommelreyes2209]

Can you also review those aliexpress ceramic bearings?

[@Acme749]

Hello, Could you share a way to measure the offset ? Thanks.

[@DenzCasuela]

also ordered their 55mm wheels dont know if they will be good

[@larkinkelly3754]

I got a 6”t upgrade from this company for my 350 hub, lasted less than 10 miles before the tips of the teeth sheared off, to be honest I’ve heard this happen to 54 tooth dt upgrades and I weight 210 and like to mash, but my guess is the tooth profile or heat treat were not right

[@anhkhoanguyen5371]

Sir , Ratchet vs Pawls , what hub type you personally prefer sir❤

[@robkillick7050]

They look very similar to Cannondale Hollowgram (Formula) hubs.

[@trailfork7815]

You should review ztto components sometime, Ali express too but they make some exceptional value components

[@jaro6985]

ztto makes the same hubs. I have two sets, the v1 and v2, the first ones they screwed up the spacer machining. Both had an issue with the spring inside eating up the spacer. Maybe they fixed it by now.

[@crankshoptv8141]

They seem like a great deal, I suppose when you don't have to design a product you can make it cheaper.

[@drwatchbreaker2914]

Ja! Das RD ist Der größte Teil der Kosten des Rades

[@rosomak8244]

@@drwatchbreaker2914 No. For western brands it's the marketing department that takes most of the money.

[@harryrowland4734]

Be aware that straight pull hubs have fixed spoke patterns, choice of rim is so much more important than with J Bend Hubs. I see so many straight pull wheels that have poor spoke alignment at the nipple / rim end, this does lead to premature spoke or nipple failure and occasionally cracking of the rims spoke holes. I now, will not build with customer supplied straight pull hubs.

[@michaelcheng6469]

I have had the opposite experience. J Bend spokes always break at the flange (ie at the bend). Never had an issue with straight pull, and I think that's the general consensus as the same manufacturer will use jbend on their low end models and straight pull on their higher end.

[@harryrowland4734]

@@michaelcheng6469 the problems with poor spoke alignment will be at the rim end, spokes breaking at the head or bend is usually metal fatigue and happens with both J bend and straight pull.

[@event4216]

That look under microscope is like marriage 20 years later....

[@Gledii]

i guess warrenty is an issue right? if its worth much more for the DT, i dont know. the only thing stoping me to get such products is the safety. do you think is there any safety concern regarding hubs? im not sure if going downhill by 70km/h i would like my hubs to crack...but i have no clue about its engeneering... cheers mate, your videos are great

[@savagepro9060]

Disc BRAKES!

[@colecoleman1499]

U have ranked carbon ti as the best hub. But in terms of practicality there is no difference if we are time trialing and simply place ntn bearing?

[@Hambini]

It makes no real difference once it's locked, you are spinning on 4 bearings

[@phil_d]

Are the engagement rachets made by powder sintering?

[@jaro6985]

I can find some laser sintered pawls but it seems very niche for freehubs, I assume that is not used here. The ones I got looked machined. They were also plated as well.

[@iffy_too4289]

Moar AliExpress hub reviews/reamings plz. And if you can chuck in some e/mtb ones, I'll be even happier. EDIT: Oh yeah, and weights plz

[@rollinrat4850]

Hambini! Did you get a chance to measure press fit tolerances on the bearing holes compared to the bearing OD? I rebuild hubs and build wheels all the time. I've got a bunch of vintage loose ball hubs, both Shimano cassette and various old high end freewheel hubs. I've got a couple sets of Campy Record freewheel hubs and an early '80s Dura Ace cassette hub. You can adjust bearings preload so the wheels still run perfectly smooth and fast. My old hubs still work perfectly. Back in the day I put light machine oil in them for dry races. I find lots of tight axles on lots of pricy newer hubs of numerous brands. But it's easily avoidable on loose ball hubs. I can feel tight bearings slowing me down riding the wheel too. I spin the axle in my fingers and I get lots of friction. That's pretty obvious. I don't find that acceptable even for entry level hubs. Im now often discovering this on DTs newer 350s, 240s and 180s. It's about as common to get a nice smooth fast hub as a bad one. I won't buy another DT hub because its a crap shoot. Like most everyone else, DT's QC has fallen way back and Ive got to wonder how this is missed in the supposed inspection process. It's sorta depressing to pay a high price and get a compromised product. I do have a decades old DT Hugi rear hub that still runs perfect after tens of thousands of miles. In 30 years, I've only replaced its bearings once. It's my 2nd best hub compared to my Chris Kings. DT Hugi was among the very best hubs made before Chris King started making hubs. The manufacturing quality of King hubs is nearly unsurpassed. He used to be a medical device machinist, as was I. The telltale for tight bearings is you spin the tight axle in your fingers. Remove the bearings, and if they're not super worn they will feel smooth outside of the hub. THEN, when I install new bearings, the axle feels rough with too much friction once again. The real telltale is to measure the bearings compared to their bores, using a known reference as a standard like the machinery handbook. I realize there's different toleranced bearings. But new expensive hubs should operate flawlessly and they should be properly manufactured for nominal toleranced bearings. A consumer PAYS for what they get, onecwsy or another. We don't always get what we paid for! You should be able to walk into any bike shop and buy regular and nominal bearing replacements. We shouldn't need to send new overpriced hubs back for service, nor need to purchase very expensive precision measuring instruments to diagnose a problem that could be avoided. I certainly realize this is your bread and butter! I think the services you provide really help out less than happy consumers. I'm pretty sure that the hubs anodizing thickness isn't being allowed for when hubs are manufactured. As a mechanical inspector, I've seen this problem many times on all sorts of hardware. It's an engineering, manufacturing process and QC problem. Often a machine shop will send out parts for anodizing to a separate plating shop. Quite often the vendor choice is based on price. Anno can be applied at different thicknesses. Hard anno is particularly thick. The ironic thing is that we ROLL ON these bearings! Most bike shops won't have the correct measuring instruments to measure very precise interference fit tolerancing. Also, for greedy manufacturers, QC has become 'prohibitly expensive'. It's a really bad joke and its all about profits. Does no one possess work ethics anymore? I see this all the time on various bike parts, just like you do. On entry level bikes, the hub cones are overtightened by an assembly machine and require adjustment when the bikes come to the bike shops. Sub par hub adjustment, wheel tensioning and truing, poor disc brake adjustment, lousy caliper alignment on the frames and derailleur adjustments are a daily chore. Derailleur adjustment on MANY new bikes is so bad as to shift the freakin chain into the spokes. NOBODY has checked this at the factory or it would have been made proper. It's a practical rule in my shop to inspect all the various functions of new bikes. If left unnoticed or neglected the hub will be wrecked very quickly and our customer might return for yet another warranty. The bike industry's compromise for profit becomes retailer's job security. We earn little or no money dealing with the many usual issues. We deal with avoidable issues all the time, not to mention warranties and recalls. Bikes werent always manufactured and assembled so poorly. Especially the high end bikes!! As a wheel builder, the first thing I do is to disassemble hubs and measure those tolerances. If it's out of spec, I send the hubs back with a copy of tolerances out of my machinery handbook. I refuse to sell my customers cheap soon to be dumpster filling. With used hubs, I'll alert the customer and offer to machine the hubs properly, but my machining time is lots more expensive than my wheel building time. Also I'm taking a bit of a risk. Numerous managers have told me to replace rather than repair. Yet new junk is certainly a crap shoot. Actual QC has become far too inconvenient, 'overpriced' and time consuming. It's very obvious 'QC' has become a mere sticker applied. My child required no training to apply stickers. I'd bet you could train a monkey to do it as well.

[@Hambini]

I didn't take the bearings out, as it was not my hub

[@hatface547]

This is very interesting. I have DT hubs on my eMTB. When servicing the wheels, I found the rear axle to be stiff to turn by hand. Bearings were unbelievably tight in the hub shell. I had to strip the wheel and use a lathe to machine 0.05mm out of the bearing bores. New bearings, re-lace the wheel and now it's great. You'd think that when you spend $10K on a new, respected brand carbon framed eMTB it wouldn't be made of junk parts. And you wouldn't expect those junk parts to be made by DT Swiss. I emailed them to see if they would honour the warranty but they're not interested. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who is able to fix my own stuff. In the modern world of CNC machining, a 0.05mm error on a bore is completely unacceptable. It's easy to maintain a tolerance of 0.01mm or less if anyone bothers to do the quality checks.

[@rollinrat4850]

@@hatface547 Kudos, way to go solving your problem. They simply don't make bike junk like they used to. I have an over 30 year old DT Hugi hub that's only needed new bearings once. They used to make the nicest hubs in the market. I have great 'luck' with Chris King for quite awhile. They make their own bearings. I've never replaced any bearings on those after several decades of hard dirty use. In my opinion, they're an awesome value. But I buy mine used usually and I build lots of wheels as a small garage business. YOU ALWAYS PAY for what you get! I'm not sure why many folks can't grasp that concept. That's THE RULE. It's often not the other way around. I suppose this must be (not so) common sense. The larger bike industry is well known for questionable QC and safety, incompetence, warranties, recalls and greed. I wrench in a high end shop now for fun. I'm a retired mechanical inspector and aerospace/medical device machinist. Nobody's fooling me. This bike industry often ashames me! No joke. Modern bicycles are simply job security for me. When you purchase something and blindly trust others, not to mention the marketing BS, (even extremely pricey junk) you just might trade your money for what was once some one else's problem. That was a consumer decision! Now your money is gone! But I realize lots of folks have issues with personal responsibility. So NOW it's yours. You own it and possession is supposedly 9/10s of the law. The burden falls upon you to solve said problem.

[@DenzCasuela]

bought one for around $55 here in the Philippines

[@EdMontego]

Hi Hambini. I hope you dont Mind, but how many Km have you so far on the Roadbike?

[@Hambini]

180,000

[@alexyounghunlee]

Very happy with Ryet carbon wheelset built with ryet ratchet hub. Nothing to complain. Great for the value.

[@ricksevern4049]

Any update on how these wheels have been? I just got a pair. Thanks.

[@Hunter_Bidens_Crackpipe_]

Better than Hope hubs

[@Paganiproductions84]

Hambini can you ream the new Specialized Epic 2023

[@naromsky]

Cool. But can't find that dt swiss teardown.

[@sanderscholtens391]

One thing to note is the quality of the ratchets. I've built a wheel with these hubs(version based on the classic DT system) and had a complete failure of the ratchet teeth very soon. This will cause you to suddenly lose pressure on the pedals, fortunately I "only" scratched one leg badly and did not fall. I got/get completely ignored when requesting assistance (they mention a 2 year warranty on the ratchets). Good thing is a replacement with 18t DT original ratchets is a few second job and cheap since many people sell them off after upgrading to 36 or more count ratchets. I would not buy again.

[@threelegcatkungfu]

When you say you built a wheel with these hubs, do you mean the ones shown in this video specifically or an older version? I'm wondering since the DT 18T ratchets are not hollowed out on one side like the ones in these Ryet hubs, which could cause compatibility issues.

[@sanderscholtens391]

@@threelegcatkungfu an identical hubset. I'll try to find the old ratchets, basically the teeth just all sheered off.

[@threelegcatkungfu]

@@sanderscholtens391 That's not reassuring as I own a pair of these hubs. Comments are saying "well everything is great except the bearings"... Now I'm thinking even the ratchets are a bit dodgy. Perhaps I should just pre-emptively replace them with a pair of DT 18T ratchets.

[@sanderscholtens391]

@@threelegcatkungfu I would recommend that based on my personal experience. It's cheap and easy. That's also why I'd not buy again. By the time you've replaced bearings and ratchets the DT 350 are not far off anymore.

[@lordalfa600]

The weakness for these hubs is the bearings. After a year, check on them. Like Hambini has said, standard ISO bearings. Stock up on NTN 6902 and 6802. Replace them after a year if needed. I have 2 sets. The older 24/24 centerlock brake set and 20/24 rim brake which they don't make anymore. They run fine on the gravel bike and road bike. Only exception is these were dual springs instead of spring and nylon washer.

[@michaelmechex]

I don't see that as a big issue, as they are standard bearings, you can easily replace them with high quality bearings and still come out cheaper than dt swiss

[@jaro6985]

Are you sure the issue is the bearings and not the quality of the seals? On well sealed hubs if you open them up you'll see no dirt or water ingress at all, specifically on the front. Rear is a lot harder to seal.

[@lordalfa600]

@@jaro6985 Its the bearings. Not great stuff. They have to cut some corners for that price somewhere. This is the newer version with that nylon ring instead of 2 springs. 2 springs vs 1 spring. In mass manufacturing, saving 2 cents goes a long way.

[@Laundry_Hamper]

The flats on a DT ratchet are angled very slightly so the rings pull together when engaged. Do these knockoffs have this too? It doesn't look like it from the video, can't be sure though

[@Hambini]

Not sure what you mean?

[@Laundry_Hamper]

@@Hambini the engagement surfaces of the ratchet rings aren't perpendicular to the face of the ring, they have a small amount of acute rake. When the rings engage, the opposing rake pulls the two rings together ensuring complete engagement

[@Laundry_Hamper]

(which would be a slightly more difficult machining step...and a subtle change)

[@krawutzelgesicht]

Ryet gravel wheels Test please!

[@willo7979]

12:12 If it’s done properly, its steel forged, then shot-blast (therefore that rough surface), then lathed (therefore the ribbed machined surface). I’m just concerned if they cut corners by molding. Just guessing.

[@Hambini]

I doubt it's cast. i wouldn't be able to tell unless you destroy it.

[@reinermiteibidde1009]

DT Swiss want 80 Euros for the ratchet upgrade kit btw. You want 54 engagement points instead of the stock 24? Thats about 1,60 Euros for EVERY extra tooth or a big go fuck yourself to the customer. As far as I can tell these parts are only sintered, so no machining involved. Making a 24t vs a 54t takes pretty much the same effort. I heard you will lose the warranty if you do the upgrade yourself. So those fuckers came straigt off my MTB and I bought a pair of Hopes. Edit: They give you a tube of "SPECIAL GREASE". I guess it's worth it after all...

[@lordalfa600]

LoL. Gweeese for my behind. LoL BTW I used the DT gweese on these Chinese ratchets. Usually they come dry to really make that buzz.

[@beltonhogue]

"You have a DT hub coming in next week"........I know they are like....."uh-oh"!!!

[@chadlewis3515]

Hambini, I'll play devil's advocate here. The big thing is going to be the heat treatment and temper for the drive ratchets. For the price, I would not expect that to be done as well as a much more expensive hub. Also, the bearings. Bearing come in a wide range of quality (durability) and it's not likely the best quality is used in this hub. You say DT use a non-standard bearing size. Likely that's for a considered engineering reason that makes the hubs better in some way. Otherwise, why do that? And then there's the machining. There are many, many critical tolerances around bearing alignment that Hambini can't measure without removing the bearings. These alignments will affect bearing life and, to some extent, performance. There's definitely some good stuff here, but is it really the equivalent of the DT hubs they're modeled after? Probably not even close. The machining itself tells you that the manufacturer isn't going for that . As for the question "are the DT hubs worth the money?", well that's fairly subjective. Most of the the money you're spending on a DT hub is paying for something that has been engineered, not something that's a copy of an engineered product and built to meet a rock bottom price point. You wanna buy hubs that'll last many trouble-free years with little to no maintenance? DT is a good choice- just read through the comments below. Wanna roll the dice on hubs built to sell at the lowest price possible and still "look" like DT hubs? In my opinion that's a valid option depending on what your goals are, but don't expect the same kind of quality and durability or warranty support when they go south on you. Great channel, man. Keep up the good work.

[@MrLuigi-oi7gm]

Hi Chad, A well-considered and well-written comment. I love Hambini's videos for Mr. Hambini's thoughts and opinions. I also love them for the quality of the comments by his viewers...such as you. Take a bow. 👏👏👏

[@Hambini]

On most hubs the things that wear out are the bearings, if you get dt hubs, you end up with dodgy sizes. I would go with the copy purely for that reason. I think a clone with decent bearings is superior.

[@Cheruzan]

@Hambini i just checked, the dt hubs are all 6802 and 6902. Am i missing something?

[@johnlesoudeur3653]

@@Cheruzan No you are not, standard size bearings for axle and freehub. Also he presumed that the orange external contact seal would be replicated on the inner side but that is a presumption and on my Chinese copy for example, the inner is a black non contact seal.

[@stevewilliams5428]

How do you get the bearings out of this type of hub? the inner pre-load tube gets in the way?

[@Hambini]

Hammer

[@oril665]

With a bearing puller. It's a tool which can be inserted into the bearing, then you tighten a screw to expand the puller and it will grip the bearing. Then you just have to pull out the tool.

[@Hambini]

​@@chris1275cc you'll trash the spacer if you do this.

[@oril665]

@@Hambini I mean no offense to you with this but the guy in the video linked, actually talks about that and refers to one of your videos. Maybe it's the same here. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4ScY5SjbrqMnKc

[@chris1275cc]

@@Hambini No it really doesn't if you are carful, but if you are worried types that just grip the inside of the bearing designed for these hubs are available from "bearingprotools" anything is better than smashing it out with a punch.

[@rosomak8244]

Higher mass moved on the ratchet. Bigger sliding surfaces. What are the supposed advantages of this system compared to a classical design again?

[@chris1275cc]

More engagement points meaning faster engagement and some minor watt saving. And it goes ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ rather than ZZZZ..ZZZZ..ZZZZ, which is the real reason most people will choose them.

[@rosomak8244]

@@chris1275cc It is not more engagement points if you have a multi claw classical ratchet system. If there are for example 6 claws they are all at slight offset to the receiving teeth ring. Thus to have the engagement angle you will have to multiply the number of claws with the number of the receiving teeth. This will be typically far more then what DT does. It's all marketing BS in this industry.

[@chris1275cc]

@@rosomak8244 I'm talking in very simplistic "tell them what they want to hear" cycling industry speak 4 pawls = 4 points of engagnent. 36 teeth = 36 points of engagement.

[@muzzarobbo]

how does it look like 7### series ally? surely you cant tell just by looking at it. this is one area where i would expect them to cut corners

[@muzzarobbo]

also looks like they are using a near net shape for the blanks to reduce machining, if casting they wouldnt use 7### i think and i doubt they would bother forging the blank

[@Hambini]

6000 series tends to machine better, you can see the very fine marks under the microscope.

[@muzzarobbo]

@@Hambini from my experience 7075 machines alot nicer than 6061

[@muzzarobbo]

specifically, its less gummy and therefore more likely to not leave a burr (like seen in the vid)

[@Hambini]

​@@muzzarobbo my personal thought is the exact opposite. But I suppose machining is a preference

[@Alexpress83]

waiting for DT hub review!!!

[@dieserbenutzernameistvielzulan]

i might be wrong, but arent all of these ratchets sintered?

[@biagio230]

No comparison on the weight?!

[@4lumi]

2 comments: -chinese hubs are cheap just because they copy dt swiss patented hubs -the real problem with this type of hubs is the ratchet system surface, if it wears the ratchet doesn’t work anymore and you risk your life. Dt swiss had a serious problem with this and they had to recall all the ratchet exp hubs. You said that the ratchet lateral surface in this hub is rough but this is not a problem, I disagree