Hubs

Optimize your bike's performance with our high-quality bicycle hubs. Precisely crafted and durable, they offer optimal power transmission and stability for any terrain. Discover our range now and find the perfect hub for your individual needs.

Keep on rollin': Your bike's hub

Bicycle hubs sit at the center of your wheel and ensure it spins. They hold the spokes and, at least for rear hubs, transmit the drive energy through them to the rims and tires, and thus to the road. It's probably unnecessary to emphasize that they significantly influence your bike's rolling behavior. Do you want to rely on high-quality sealed bearings or prefer cup-and-cone bearings that you can service yourself? How does a freehub work? Here you'll find everything you need to know, so you can make an informed decision!

Structure and function of bicycle hubs

Whether it's a front wheel or a rear wheel, a road bike, gravel bike, or MTB – all hubs consist of a hub body, bearings, and an axle with clamping to secure the hub in the dropouts of the frame or fork. Beyond that, however, there are also some significant differences.

What is a Straight-Pull hub?

One of the most noticeable differences is the spoke mounting. Hubs are designed either for spokes with a classic bent end (J-Bend) or for straight spokes (Straight-Pull).

• You can recognize classic hubs (J-Bend) by their flange. This refers to a flat disc with drill holes perpendicular to the direction of travel, into which the spokes with their bent ends are hooked.
• However, numerous hubs are now on the market that can accommodate straight spokes (Straight-Pull hubs). You can recognize them by the fact that they do not have a flange, but rather small holes with threads directly in the hub body.

If you want to learn more about the two spoke types, feel free to check out our information text on spokes!

Front hubs

Hubs built into front wheels are generally simpler in design than their counterparts on the rear wheel. Apart from the basics that all hubs share, there are no additional features. Here, you only need to ensure that they are compatible with your braking system (disc or rim brake) and that the appropriate number of spokes can be mounted.

Drive or rear hubs

In most bicycles, rear hubs transmit the drive energy they receive via cranks, chain drive, and sprockets. If you want to buy a rear hub, you will usually not be able to avoid the topic of "freehub." It acts as a link between the hub and the sprockets and ensures that the crank does not continue to turn when you stop pedaling (see below). Almost all rear hubs have a freehub. Only if you ride a fixie or do laps on the velodrome can you skip this topic, as with these bicycle types, a single sprocket is rigidly mounted on the hub.

Center-Lock vs. Six-Bolt

You may have come across these two terms frequently in our shop. They are relevant if you are looking for a hub for disc brakes. The brake disc is attached directly to the hub – and there are two common standards for this.

• Center-Lock hubs have a ring-shaped area with many small teeth. The corresponding brake disc is riveted to a carrier with exactly the matching tooth profile. It is secured with a lockring, which may require special tools.
• Six-bolt hubs, on the other hand, have a mount that often resembles a six-pointed star. Each point has a hole for attaching the brake disc. To install it, you only need the appropriate torque wrench.

The two standards are only partially compatible, even with adapter solutions. So it's best to decide in advance which one you prefer.

Hub Bearings

To ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently, bicycle hubs are equipped with ball bearings. Of course, there are differences here too, especially in quality. We introduce you to the two common types.

Sealed Bearings

Especially in high-quality hubs, sealed bearings, also known as deep groove ball bearings, are often used. They are standardized (DIN 625) and are inserted into the hub as a complete, unopenable unit. They are available with steel balls or, the absolute high-end version, with ceramic balls ("ceramic bearings"). Since they were originally built for industrial purposes (hence the name), they are extremely precise, durable, and low-maintenance. The only disadvantage: if sealed bearings are eventually damaged by moisture, salt, or excessive cleaning, they cannot be repaired, only replaced.

Cup-and-Cone Bearings

The classic type for bicycle hubs are cup-and-cone bearings (also known as angular contact ball bearings). High-quality cup-and-cone bearings can also be set very precisely. However, they must be occasionally greased and readjusted to run with as little play as possible. Advantage: Their lifespan is in your hands. If you maintain them regularly, you will enjoy them for a long time.

Your bike's freehub

A lot of tuning potential is also hidden in the freehub. It is a decisive factor for the quality of your rear hub. You can choose between two common types:

Pawl Freehub

Variant one is the pawl freehub. Here, several pawls, tensioned by springs, sit on the freehub body. If the carrier on which your sprockets are mounted rotates forward, which is the case when you pedal, the pawls engage in small indentations in the sprocket carrier and transmit your muscle power to the hub. When you lift your legs, the sprocket carrier stops, but the freehub body and the hub continue to rotate. Then the pawls slide past the indentations – which also creates the characteristic freehub sound.

Ratchet Freehub

Variant two, the ratchet freehub, works in principle very similarly to a pawl freehub. A connection is created between the freehub body and the sprocket carrier that engages in one direction but not the other. In this case, it is created by two ratchet rings that are pushed apart by a spring: one ring sits in the sprocket carrier, the other on the freehub body.

Ratchet freehubs are primarily used by DT Swiss (Ratchet Technology). The advantage: The ratchet ring has a larger contact surface, thereby avoiding point loads, which makes it particularly robust and reliable.

Freehub: An overview of the most important mounting standards

It is important for the freehub to be compatible with your desired cassette. Unfortunately – as is often the case – each manufacturer does its own thing here. Therefore, here is an overview of the common standards:

Shimano HG (Hyperglide) for MTB

• For eight-, nine-, ten-, and eleven-speed Shimano mountain bike cassettes with a smallest cog of at least eleven teeth
• Cassettes from various other manufacturers including SRAM are also possible, but not SRAM XD/XDR (see below). In case of doubt, pay attention to the compatibility notes of third-party providers!
• The Shimano HG for MTB is also referred to as HG spline M

Shimano HG (Hyperglide) Road

• Suitable for eight-, nine-, ten-, eleven-, and twelve-speed road bike cassettes from Shimano and third-party providers where the smallest cog has at least eleven teeth
• SRAM is compatible, but not SRAM XD/XDR (see below)
• A spacer is necessary for eight- to ten-speed cassettes
• The Shimano HG Road is also referred to as HG spline L

Shimano Micro Spline

• For twelve-speed MTB cassettes from Shimano and licensed third-party providers (note compatibility information)
• Allows the use of a smallest cog with ten teeth

SRAM XD

• For eleven- and twelve-speed cassettes from SRAM and various third-party providers
• Introduced to allow for a smallest cog of ten teeth or less
• Not usable with HG-compatible cassettes or SRAM XDR

SRAM XDR

• For SRAM road twelve-speed cassettes
• SRAM XD cassettes possible with a spacer

Freehub mounting standards for Campagnolo

• Various proprietary standards, e.g., Campagnolo N3W (with space for the use of thirteen-speed cassettes)
• All have in common: Not usable with Shimano, SRAM, or third-party providers compatible with these

Axle Standards

As if it weren't complicated enough, in addition to freehub standards, there are other mounting standards to consider: namely, the installation width of your hub and the respective axle types. All you need to know about this, as well as an overview table of common standards, can be found in our information text on "Quick Release & Thru-Axles".