Wheel hubs...

[migrantwing]

More of a post of curiosity than anything else but, when it comes to hubs, is there much of a difference between a Joytech, Novatec (same company), Ambrosio, Shimano 105, Dura Ace hub in terms of quality vs price, or does it just come down to weight, aesthetics and finish?

What makes for a good hub?

TIA

 

[jazzkat]

In my opinion it's the quality of the bearings that are the most important part. Sealing is also important if you are riding in all weathers and weight is a lesser issue unless you are a skinny whippet racing up hills.
Sealed cartridge type bearings are easily and cheap to replace. Easier and cheaper to lose weight off the midriff than off the bike.
When I replaced the wheels on my 'race' bike a few years ago I went for Ultegra hubs, seemed to be the sweet spot as far as weight and cost goes. They are old fashioned bearings but it's no big deal to repack with grease once in a while.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

There is a big difference between good and bad hubs.

A good hub will have properties that won't even present. For instance, a good hub will give you increased spoke life.

I'll attempt to list the properties of a good hub and why.

Forged vs CNC'd from a billet. A forged hub can be made stronger by using less material. Strength is required at the flange holes to prevent cracking.
Chamfered spoke holes - this makes the spokes last longer.
The flanges will be curved inwards to follow the spoke line. Again, spokes will last longer. This you'll find on quality hubs like Ultegra, Campag etc but not on CNC'd hubs.
A good hub will have bearings with adjustable preload. There's a live thread here on Mavic hub bearings, have a look.
A good hub will have bearing with two seals - one will be a labyrinth non-contact seal, the other a contact lip seal.
A good hub will have an axle designed without stress risers.
A good hub will have a serviceable freewheel body and pawls or, be so common that a replaceable cartridge freewheel body is a no-brainer and cheap (Shimano is a case in point).
A good hub will have bearings which can be laterally loaded. Cartridge bearings cannot take lateral loads, only angular contact bearings can do that.
A good hub will have some convenience features such as grease ports. Campag excels here.
A good hub will have larger bearings than a poor hub.
A good hub will have flange sizes designed in such a way that it minimizes the number of different spoke lengths required to build a set of wheels. Typically a good hub will require only two different lengths for both wheels. This could be as bad as four.
Bearing quality is not important for performance, only for longevity, by the way.
A good MTB hub will be designed so that it can be adapted for the various width standards on MTB by simply adding a spacer or adapter. MTB front wheels can be 100 or 110mm and rear wheels can be 135, 142, 150 and some other odd sizes. Road bikes don't have that problem.
A good hub will be supplied with a good QR skewer. Here only Shimano and Campag skewers are worth looking at. Even when buying other wheels, upgrade them with Shimano skewers.
A good hub will require no special tools to service.
A very good hub will make the mechanic's job of preloading the bearing very easy by making it an on-bike affair, like Campag.

 

[migrantwing]

There is a big difference between good and bad hubs.

A good hub will have properties that won't even present. For instance, a good hub will give you increased spoke life.

I'll attempt to list the properties of a good hub and why.

Forged vs CNC'd from a billet. A forged hub can be made stronger by using less material. Strength is required at the flange holes to prevent cracking.
Chamfered spoke holes - this makes the spokes last longer.
The flanges will be curved inwards to follow the spoke line. Again, spokes will last longer. This you'll find on quality hubs like Ultegra, Campag etc but not on CNC'd hubs.
A good hub will have bearings with adjustable preload. There's a live thread here on Mavic hub bearings, have a look.
A good hub will have bearing with two seals - one will be a labyrinth non-contact seal, the other a contact lip seal.
A good hub will have an axle designed without stress risers.
A good hub will have a serviceable freewheel body and pawls or, be so common that a replaceable cartridge freewheel body is a no-brainer and cheap (Shimano is a case in point).
A good hub will have bearings which can be laterally loaded. Cartridge bearings cannot take lateral loads, only angular contact bearings can do that.
A good hub will have some convenience features such as grease ports. Campag excels here.
A good hub will have larger bearings than a poor hub.
A good hub will have flange sizes designed in such a way that it minimizes the number of different spoke lengths required to build a set of wheels. Typically a good hub will require only two different lengths for both wheels. This could be as bad as four.
Bearing quality is not important for performance, only for longevity, by the way.
A good MTB hub will be designed so that it can be adapted for the various width standards on MTB by simply adding a spacer or adapter. MTB front wheels can be 100 or 110mm and rear wheels can be 135, 142, 150 and some other odd sizes. Road bikes don't have that problem.
A good hub will be supplied with a good QR skewer. Here only Shimano and Campag skewers are worth looking at. Even when buying other wheels, upgrade them with Shimano skewers.
A good hub will require no special tools to service.
A very good hub will make the mechanic's job of preloading the bearing very easy by making it an on-bike affair, like Campag.

Very informative. Thanks, @Yellow Saddle. For the record, I use ONLY Shimano QR skewers