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DT Swiss 240S Disc rear hub durability

3K views 10 replies 9 participants last post by  EasyRider 
#1 ·
I'm thinking of having Mike Garcia build a set of wheels for my wife using this as the rear hub, the Speedcific "Soul-Kozac" 107gram, 28-hole front hub and Mavic X717 disc rims. She's 125 lbs, not very aggro, and Mike said this would be about the lightest set-up he could think of for this type of rider that would still be reliable.

He said something other than the WTB/AC rear hub might be better for wet Oregon conditions.

The DT Swiss 240 has some mixed reviews here, but perhaps mostly for the older versions used by heavier riders rather than the newer "S" version. I think it is about 35 grams lighter than the similarly priced King.

I have a 2001 S-Works re-badged 240 rear wheel - had to replace bearings once but otherwise no problems.

Can anyone tell me how reliable they think the current version of the 240 S rear hub is?

Also, does anyone out there have any experience with the Speedcific front hub?

Speedcific hub
 
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#2 ·
riverrat said:
The DT Swiss 240 has some mixed reviews here, but perhaps mostly for the older versions used by heavier riders rather than the newer "S" version. Can anyone tell me how reliable they think the current version of the 240 S rear hub is?
The earlier problems with the 240 were with the single spring version. My 4½ year old hubs are problem free and I'm 185 lbs. I grease the ratchets about 1x yearly.

Here is my FAQ on 240 hubs.
 
#3 ·
You should not worry about the new 240s hubs. I have been building wheels for many years and the new DT hubs are quickly becoming my favorite along with Chris King. In the past, the DT Hugi hubs worked great but did need a little more TLC than say a Chris King hub. So, I had to be careful on who I sold the hubs/wheels to. But, I do not have to worry any more. The new 240s hubs are greatly improved over the older model 240. Besides improving the bearings to stainless steel (what the s represents in the 240s), the ratchet rings received a coating to improve performance and there is a new seal system that does away with the rubber seals to make the hub one of the smoothest rolling in the industry. I am also a mechanic for several professional cross-country racers who are sponsored by DT Swiss. We have had zero problems with the new hub this year. They have been going strong since Sea Otter and almost all of the NORBA Nationals. The new seal system works great allowing any moisture to penetrate the hub to evaporate away. I have seen very little contamination even through muddy races at Snowshoe and Mount Snow. At the Marathon World Championships, which was one of the muddiest mountain bike races I have been to in 10 years, and again, we had zero problems. I even changed the bearings in the hubs before the World Championships to the newer ABEC5 bearings to try to improve performance. They came out after the race and back in went the old DT speced bearings. So buy the new hub with confidence if that is the direction you want to go for your wife.

Frank
 
#4 ·
Thank you very much for the detailed and helpful replies.

Sounds like the 240 S is a good way to go. Frankly I think either the Chris King or the DT rear hub will be in some ways overkill for the kind of riding these wheels will see, but I want to lighten Becky's bike up as much as possible short of super expensive and exotic parts.

If she's happy I'm happy, if ya know what I mean...

frannek said:
You should not worry about the new 240s hubs. I have been building wheels for many years and the new DT hubs are quickly becoming my favorite along with Chris King. In the past, the DT Hugi hubs worked great but did need a little more TLC than say a Chris King hub. So, I had to be careful on who I sold the hubs/wheels to. But, I do not have to worry any more. The new 240s hubs are greatly improved over the older model 240. Besides improving the bearings to stainless steel (what the s represents in the 240s), the ratchet rings received a coating to improve performance and there is a new seal system that does away with the rubber seals to make the hub one of the smoothest rolling in the industry. I am also a mechanic for several professional cross-country racers who are sponsored by DT Swiss. We have had zero problems with the new hub this year. They have been going strong since Sea Otter and almost all of the NORBA Nationals. The new seal system works great allowing any moisture to penetrate the hub to evaporate away. I have seen very little contamination even through muddy races at Snowshoe and Mount Snow. At the Marathon World Championships, which was one of the muddiest mountain bike races I have been to in 10 years, and again, we had zero problems. I even changed the bearings in the hubs before the World Championships to the newer ABEC5 bearings to try to improve performance. They came out after the race and back in went the old DT speced bearings. So buy the new hub with confidence if that is the direction you want to go for your wife.

Frank
 
#5 ·
One comment from a former King owner and current DT 240 owner.

riverrat said:
I'm thinking of having Mike Garcia build a set of wheels for my wife using this as the rear hub, the Speedcific "Soul-Kozac" 107gram, 28-hole front hub and Mavic X717 disc rims. She's 125 lbs, not very aggro, and Mike said this would be about the lightest set-up he could think of for this type of rider that would still be reliable.

He said something other than the WTB/AC rear hub might be better for wet Oregon conditions.

The DT Swiss 240 has some mixed reviews here, but perhaps mostly for the older versions used by heavier riders rather than the newer "S" version. I think it is about 35 grams lighter than the similarly priced King.

I have a 2001 S-Works re-badged 240 rear wheel - had to replace bearings once but otherwise no problems.

Can anyone tell me how reliable they think the current version of the 240 S rear hub is?

Also, does anyone out there have any experience with the Speedcific front hub?

Speedcific hub
First, lets be real, King hubs are the BMW of hubs while DT hubs are Hondas. However, I did not want to flip the money at a King wheelset when I built up my current bike. I have been riding my Hayes Superlight (rebadged 240's) now for a couple years. No problems at all. Easy to get into and never let me down. However, the only real downside is they tend to get water in them easy. No biggy as they are easy to take apart.

I grease mine up every couple months. You just pull the cassette of the freehub. Simple. I have never went deeper. I hear it takes special tools.

All in all a great hub. However, King's are in another galaxy.

Jaybo
 
#6 ·
From all that I've read, 240S hubs are like the Chris King hubs of Europe. So, it's more like DTSwiss are the BMW and the Chris Kings are the Cadillac of hubs, hehe. Anyway, they're both great hubs and the 240S is lighter. I don't think the rear cassette engagement would be an issue here since the rider in question is light weight. The only things going for Chris King are more colors and that funky fishing reel noise while coasting. The 240S are more "stealth", IMHO. I'm using a 240S hubset on my new bike.
 
#7 ·
Hey Jaybo.............

Jaybo said:
First, lets be real, King hubs are the BMW of hubs while DT hubs are Hondas. However, I did not want to flip the money at a King wheelset when I built up my current bike. I have been riding my Hayes Superlight (rebadged 240's) now for a couple years. No problems at all. Easy to get into and never let me down. However, the only real downside is they tend to get water in them easy. No biggy as they are easy to take apart.

I grease mine up every couple months. You just pull the cassette of the freehub. Simple. I have never went deeper. I hear it takes special tools.

All in all a great hub. However, King's are in another galaxy.

Jaybo
I got my Superlights a couple of years ago too, clearance from pricepoint. Like them very much.

Question for you. Are you using the Hugi grease when you relube them? Or are you using something else? I've got a bit of Hugi's grease left that they sent for free, but just wondering what else could be used.

TIA
 
#8 ·
I have used many type of grease in the Hugi 240/Superlite hubs. I have used slick honey, Dura Ace grease and a CRC synthetic automative grease with good result. I think the main thing is not to use too much (and clean / re-grease often). Sure if you put a lot of grease in there it makes the hub really quiet however I have had ocassions (in really cold mornings together with too much grease) where the star-ratchet was not engaging for a split second after it has been free wheeling.
 
#9 ·
I'm just using that Manitou suspension lube....

S-Works said:
I got my Superlights a couple of years ago too, clearance from pricepoint. Like them very much.

Question for you. Are you using the Hugi grease when you relube them? Or are you using something else? I've got a bit of Hugi's grease left that they sent for free, but just wondering what else could be used.

TIA
Works great! I have also used England lube. I'm sure DT would say use their stuff. It may be better. I don't know. Just stay away from anything that is too thick.

Jaybo
 
#10 ·
I had a Magura Pro disc wheelset (rebadged Hugi 240 hubs) whose rear hubshell started to split on the drive side. Maybe I got the spoke tension a little too high? Anyway, DT replaced it with a new DT Hugi 240S no questions asked. They even threw in some new spokes to rebuild the wheel ( they will rebuild the wheel if your willing to wait a few weeks). So, is it the most durable hub? No. It's one of the lightest rear disc hubs, and you trade off some strength when you build for lightness. Hopefully splitting hubshells are not a common occurance. Would I buy another one? Ask me in a couple of years.
 
#11 ·
I had the same experience...

with the Hayes Superlight and DT was great in replacing it. My issue was whether to upgrade to the Freeride Hub or stick with the 240s. DT convinced me that the 240s, which is painted and not anodized like the hugi 240 is not as brittle and therefore does not have the breakage problem that the 240 Hugis had. So far so good for me. There is a problem with the Hugi 240 hub with cracking at the hub flange, so if you are a heavier or harder rider, stick with the 240s hubs or go with kings.

Titus Maximus said:
I had a Magura Pro disc wheelset (rebadged Hugi 240 hubs) whose rear hubshell started to split on the drive side. Maybe I got the spoke tension a little too high? Anyway, DT replaced it with a new DT Hugi 240S no questions asked. They even threw in some new spokes to rebuild the wheel ( they will rebuild the wheel if your willing to wait a few weeks). So, is it the most durable hub? No. It's one of the lightest rear disc hubs, and you trade off some strength when you build for lightness. Hopefully splitting hubshells are not a common occurance. Would I buy another one? Ask me in a couple of years.
 
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