Hubs spin smoothness

Smoother hubs. Get Campagnolo Record! Or if you have the money to splurge, PMP titanium (smoothe AND light) or DT Swiss...

SunBurnt said:

Just bought a Easton Ascent II which is 500g lighter then what I was using, a Rolf Vector Comp wheelset.

I spun both rear wheels and found that the Ascent II don't spin very well, it comes to a stop way before the Rolf Vector.

I suppose the Rolf Vector hub is better in this case. Or am I wrong?

Which will you go for? A 500g lighter bike? or a better hub?

New hubs often have initial seal drag. The hub may be better, but time/design/other experience will tell.
The real question you are asking can't be answered quite that simply.
If you want durability and strength in hubs, it is hard to beat the top of the line from either Campagnolo or Shimano. (Record or DURA ACE)
Aerodynamics play a much larger part in speed than bearing + seal drag.

SunBurnt said:

Just bought a Easton Ascent II which is 500g lighter then what I was using, a Rolf Vector Comp wheelset.

I spun both rear wheels and found that the Ascent II don't spin very well, it comes to a stop way before the Rolf Vector.

I suppose the Rolf Vector hub is better in this case. Or am I wrong?

Which will you go for? A 500g lighter bike? or a better hub?

That's not really a good way to test bearing smoothness. A heavier wheel has a higher angular momentum when you spin it. Even if the bearings were the same, the heavier wheel would take longer to slow down from the same speed. Get a heavy enough rim, and it will spin all day no matter how bad the bearings are.

Good points on these replies. Spinning the hub axles by hand is the way I like to check for bearing smoothness. Don't know if this is the "ultimate" way to judge quality, but I still remember the first time I twiddled a good Campy hub!

After some break-in miles, believe the Easton/Velomax cartridge-bearing hub is going to be as low drag as anything out there. It's not a trade-off for drag vs weight; 500 grams is a major savings on a rear wheel that I think even I would notice.

Now, whether the Velomax hub design is as well-sealed and durable as the top Campy and Shimano hubs is debatable. I mention this since I had some water intrusion on my front hub after a rainy ride last fall which led to light rust in one bearing. Velomax uses end caps, with a "labyrinth" groove, rather than a full contact axle seal. The only seal is the standard rubber seal on the cartridge bearing itself.

artmichalek said:

That's not really a good way to test bearing smoothness. A heavier wheel has a higher angular momentum when you spin it. Even if the bearings were the same, the heavier wheel would take longer to slow down from the same speed. Get a heavy enough rim, and it will spin all day no matter how bad the bearings are.

Good point. If you take your tire and tube off a wheel, it won't spin as long.