Road or Mountain Hubs for Touring

[HappyHamster]

Hello,

I plan to build a set of wheels specifically for loaded touring (Dyad rims).  My frame will accept either road (130 mm) or mountain (135 mm) hubs.  Will a mountain hub be a better choice (much stronger) due to the wider spacing and heavier hub or will a road hub be ok?  Thanks, John.

[ptaylor]

Ham.

I'm not an expert on wheels or hubs. But I can tell you that I have off-the-shelf wheels on my 700c Cannondale, which I consider a 'road set-up'. I have several thousand miles on this Cannondale, and replaced the rear wheel a few years ago because of a cracked rim.

I guess my advice would be: if you will be doing ANY off road touring, go with the mountain set-up. Otherwise, go with the road set-up. By the way - I don't count rural gravel roads as 'off road'; a few miles of them are normal road touring.

I expect Russell or one of the other mechanical guru's will chime in with more specific advice.


Paul

[jimbeard]

At the risk of getting whacked upside the head [by other posters on here]i recommend Phil Wood hubs .Maybe over priced @$384. rear comes apart with 2 5mm Allen wrenches [great if you need to change a rear drive side spoke ,bomb proof .
ohttp://www.philwood.com/Touring%20Hubs.htm
Lots of excellent cheaper hubs will also work fine.


Jim

[biker_james]

My understanding is that you get  stronger wheel using MTB hubs due to the angles from the hub to the rim making it stronger side to side. I think that MTB hubs also generally have better sealing to keep water and crap out of the bearings than road hubs do.
I would think that if you are actually doing loaded touring you would want the stronger MTB hubs whether on road or off, because a loaded bike puts a lot of strain on wheels, and some of the nicest road for touring, scenery wise, come with potholes, broken pavement, and construction zones from time to time.
I replaced my rear wheel recently, and went with a Shimano XT hub, and Mavic 719 rim, and got one awfully strong wheel for a lot less than the $384 the Phil Wood hub would cost. Not to say that I might not lay out for the Phil Woods if money were no object, but money is an object in my world.

[RussellSeaton]

More spokes is the way to get a stronger rear wheel.  And a good, heavy rim.  Hubs and spacing are irrelevant.  Even cheap hubs are good.  Looking at the Shimano USA website for rear hubs I get the following.  LX spacing of hub flange to center of hub is 22mm right and 37.2mm left.  Ultegra has 20.8mm right and 38.4mm left.  Dura Ace has 20.55mm right and 36.35mm left.  Could not find these same measurements on the other hubs.  For the most part there is no material difference between the 22mm right side spacing on the LX and the 20.8mm right side spacing on the Ultegra.  The right/drive side is where the problems occur.  The website says sealing is double on all of the hubs.  Labyrinth and seals.  I'm not sure if mountain or road hubs are really more waterproof than the other.

Since your bike can accept either, 132.5mm spacing, it probably does not matter.  For people riding 700C wheels on a bike that cannot accept 130 or 135 spaced wheels easily, you may want to go with 130 spacing because a replacement wheel would be easier to find.  700C is predominantly 130 spacing.  Although hybrid bikes come with 700C wheels and 135 spacing.  135 spacing is predominantly on 26" mountain bike wheels.

[HappyHamster]

Thanks to all who responded.  Everyone's response was a big help.  Although I've had lots of parts and bikes over the years, I've not done touring before. So it was interesting to get everyone's input.  Shimano hubs were always the best value and generally were trouble-free.  I am also aware of the legendary quality and performance of the Phil Wood hubs.  But part of my decision involves how often I will tour and my grouppo as well.  I can do a Campy triple road set-up or can do a Shimano mountain set-up.  I was considering the DT SWISS 340 hubs since they are known to be strong, high quality, but not quite as expensive as Wood or King.  In road, they also come in Campy freehub. If I choose the mountain set-up I have a lot of options and will be a bit harder to decide.  But I am leaning towards this build with a road group lowest gear 30 front, 29 rear. I am hearing that most folks are going lower with full mountain gearing but the bike also has to serve as an "event" machine and be fairly fast when unloaded. I will not go "off road" with this bike other than gravel, dirt roads, or rail trails.  I am considering a full mountain geared rigid forked 29er or 26er for when going off road or when I am loaded to the max.  I am really impressed by the new Gunnar Rock tour and how the braking is set up--it looks like a good way to go for a mountain tourer.  Thanks again to all....John (The Hamster).

[biker_james]

Remember, if you stick with Shimano cassettes, you can use either road or MTB cassettes on either road or MTB hubs, you aren't stuck with one set of gears, just take two minutes to swap cassettes when you need to. Alternately, you could get two sets of wheels,one for loaded touring, and one for lighter use. I've thought of going this route, but mine would have to both be 135 hubs(not a problem), while you have the option on either 130 or 135 on either one. You can probably find some ready made road wheels with 130 hubs pretty cheap, where as you pretty much need to have your touring wheels built.