Hope hoops... really??

[tangaroo]

Alright, so I was lucky enough to get my christmas present early from the gf, which was a set of hopes laced to stan's flows. The front was ordered from wiggle.com, and the rear from crc since wiggle was out of stock. They come in, and the front rim is a flow, and the rear is a flow EX. The first thing I thought is really?? However, I can't really be upset about it, because they advertise the build as FLOW, not FLOW EX, so in theory, I guess I got a better deal on the rear, and I ordered them from two different sites (rookie mistake). They really don't look much different on the decals, only an enthused mtbr would probably notice the difference. It would be entirely too much work to send them back across the ocean at this point IMO, so I'm just going to live with it. Plus, I guess its better to have the "stronger" rim in the rear anyways. Just a little rant.

Oh, and the rear hub sounds just plain awesome .

[Whip Chop!]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Having the Flow EX in the back is probably a benefit. I've been running Hope Hoops w/ Flows for over a year and hadn't had any issues. I'm not kind to wheels either at 210 lbs and racing Super D/Enduro. I hear you about the hub. It really announces your arrival!

[tangaroo]

It's just funny, because the set I had on my bike before were two totally different wheels because I got them from a buddy. Now, I get the wheels I want and they still don't completely match. The HORROR!

But no, I'm pleased. I may pull the decals and keep them all black anyways.

[zoro]

Yeah pull the stickers and call it a day

[scvkurt03]

You can order Flow EX decals from Stan's if it really bothers you. The hoops aren't the same, but they're close enough...

[tangaroo]

You can order Flow EX decals from Stan's if it really bothers you. The hoops aren't the same, but they're close enough...

Slightly wider, and a somewhat different bead socket design. But overall, its the same rim.

[leadfoot321]

Interesting, I just got my Hopes w/ Flows from wiggle yesterday and they were both EX. They don't list them as EX's on the site and I really didn't care which came but was surprised when I cracked the boxes they were EX.

[tangaroo]

Interesting, I just got my Hopes w/ Flows from wiggle yesterday and they were both EX. They don't list them as EX's on the site and I really didn't care which came but was surprised when I cracked the boxes they were EX.

I'm probably the sap that got the last of the flow stock

[honourablegeorge]

Think the Flows are being phased out - my mate got the exact same thing, an EX form CRC and a standard somewhere else

[Lelandjt]

I have a Flow in front and an EX in the rear. My EX is laced to a Hope hub and it's always had a surprising amount of bearing friction. I'm gonna take it apart and see if I can improve this. Does yours have a stiff axle rotation?

[zoro]

I have a Flow in front and an EX in the rear. My EX is laced to a Hope hub and it's always had a surprising amount of bearing friction. I'm gonna take it apart and see if I can improve this. Does yours have a stiff axle rotation?

Yep mine had that. Rear Pro 2 Evo. Bought last summer. Ridden about 50-60 on mostly dry conditions. One bearing was completely toasted.

Positive point: I learned how to take the thing apart. Extremely simple.

Negative point: What the *uck! I thought hope had stainless steel bearings suppose to last through the worse of british mud.

Picked up some 4$ bearings at the local bearing shop. They work mighty fine.

[Lelandjt]

I took it apart in cluding removing the seals from all the bearings. The bearing say Hope on the seals rather than the usual Enduro or SKS. However, they weren't very impressive. Not filled with grease any better than the usual and a pasty white grease at that. The freewheel bearings felt really rough. The freewheel seal is better than most and the non-drive side seal is nice. After filling all the bearings with 1/2 Park grease and 1/2 Phil Wood oil and the freewheel with 1/2 Phil oil 1/2 TriFlow it feels better. Less roughness but still more drag than I'd like. It's a decent hub at a decent price. I just wish it spun a little easier and weighed a little less.

[purezerg]

same here. having gone thru XT hubs and dt swiss.the new hope hubs are unbearably rough.

i stripped out the hubs barely after 1 hour of riding. removed all the green grease. used abit of finishline ceramic grease.on most of the parts. the bearings, I used a air compressor to blow out all the existing grease and added tiny tiny bit of grease, put the seals back in, then using a syringe, i pumped in finishline ceramic wet lube till it starts flowing out. it was MUCH smoother. but still not even anywhere near my 2012 crossmax SLR, m785 hubs, dt 370 hubs.

I'm contemplating on swapping out all the bearings from 2RS seals to ZZ/2Z seals. eg, 6804-ZZ rather than 6804-2RS.
ZZ being low contact/low friction seals, it's not a full seal. it's those metal seals. I wonder if it's a good idea. any thoughts?

i just HATE that annoying 17287 bearing. it's the ONLY bearing i cant find on SKF, ***, NSK, etc.

[eurospek]

I couldn't deal with that.

[Mr.P]

Yep mine had that. Rear Pro 2 Evo. Bought last summer. Ridden about 50-60 on mostly dry conditions. One bearing was completely toasted.

I've had a similar experience. Toasted bearings in less than a year of dry riding.

Hope replaced the bearings at no cost, but it now has me concerned as the new bearings are stiff too.

P

[purezerg]

curious. which bearings were toasted?

[Mr.P]

curious. which bearings were toasted?

I had an axle bearing completely fried and a freewheel bearing feeling rough.

P

[purezerg]

the freewheel itself has got 3 bearings. i presume outer most bearing? aka 17287 bearing.

[Mr.P]

the freewheel itself has got 3 bearings. i presume outer most bearing? aka 17287 bearing.

I had the shop do the work as the wheel was already there for a tension check - so I don't know which bearing, sorry.

P

[Lelandjt]

Most likely it was the 2 outermost bearings, the left hub bearing and the outer freewheel bearing.