Looking for tested rear hubs for BBSHD

[s.g.hermansson@gmail.com]

Hi. I have a bike with a BBSHD and I've used rear wheels with the Shimano FH-M525A hub for years and this hub model has never failed due to the power output of the motor. Great hub. Now, I once tried a wheel with a fancier, lighter hub, and it held about a day before it was completely shredded. Now to my problem.. I'd like to get a sturdier rear wheel, but can't get one with the Shimano FH-M525A hub. If I had a local bike shop I'd pay them to build one for me but there's no shop here. My question to you BBSHD owners is which rear hubs you use and would vouch for to withstand the torque of the BBSHD.

Cheers!

Simon

 

[Chalo]

If your frame takes a regular quick-release axle hub, then you'll be best served by any ordinary Shimano hub that uses a 10mm threaded axle and steel freehub body.

 

[AHicks]

2 big factors when shopping is the spoke hole count (36 for most e-bikes) and the drop out width (OLD dimension).

 

[MoneyPit]

I have had nothing but good luck with the DT Swiss ratchet engagement hubs. Much stronger engagement with the ratchet mech.

The alloy cassette bodies of a standard 350 get eaten alive by the BBSHD, but DT Makes a steel body that is unfazed by the HD's torque digging cogs into it. Cost is about $50. Less if you buy a take-off on Fleabay.

The DT 350 Hybrid hub is a beefed up version that comes with that steel body from the factory. Its ratchet is 24T vs. the 18T that come with the standard 350. Better engagement without any real loss of strength (also that ratchet is more sturdily constructed although I have never had an issue with a stock 18T). I have also upgraded to a 32T ratchet without incident, although I have heard that bikes that see singletrack should not go there.

ZTTO hubs use the same ratchet engagement and are lower cost - apparently the DT patent ran out - but I have no idea if they are acceptably durable.

I hear the SunRingle hubs used by WattWagons and their Bafang Ultra-powered bikes are able to withstand even higher torque numbers.

The DT 350's come in 32H. The Hybrids are available in 32H and 36H. Because the 36H's are unicorns, I have always built wheels with them using 32H, even on cargo bikes. Use a strong rim, proper high quality spokes, brass nipples, built by someone who knows what they are doing: 32H is fine.

Steel on the right, alloy after some time on the road on the left.

 

[Chalo]

To my knowledge, the DT 350 Hybrid is only available with a through axle. It's a good hub, but it won't fit a lot of good bikes.

 

[ebbsocalMTB]

All dt350 hub end caps are interchangeable. I only use dt star ratchet hubs on my fleet of mountain bikes because of how reliable they are. I will second the DT with an 18t star ratchet as the gold standard in not slipping and being durable. Chris King hubs are also strong as hell and bomb proof with regards to load.

What you want to avoid is any 3 pawl, traditional pawl hub. I can pop/explode and slip any of those with just my legs without any assist, which means they will let loose at 500-800 watts, so they stand no chance with a motor pushing them.

 

[DanGT86]

The DT star ratchet system with 18 teeth seems to be one of the strongest designs for handling torque. After opening one up I can see why it would be superior to pawls. Its a simpler design that engages at all teeth at the same time compared to pawls. Seems like you would have to break all 18 teeth of the ratchet at the same time to overpower one. As far as I can tell pawl designs are all about quick engagement over torque handling.

I also like how it takes about 2 minutes to swap out a new star ratchet if you think it might be wearing out.

DT sells special grease for their star ratchets. I reluctantly bought some and it dramatically quiets down the hub. Its a bit pricey but I'm a believer.

Just a word of caution:
They recently revamped the star ratchet design in the 240 and 180 hubs using their new EXP ratchet. There have been some issues with them. Its a known problem and there is a fix for it. Just be careful shopping for them. Make sure if you buy one with the EXP ratchet that its been updated or be prepared to do it yourself.

This problem doesn't affect the 350 or 370 hubs or the last generation of 240s with the non EXP ratchet.

https://www.dtswiss.com/en/ratchet-exp-maintenance-notice

[youtube]TeZXukqzon4[/youtube]

 

[Manbeer]

apparently ztto copied the old star ratchet mech when the patent expired. if you feel like going the cheap route. doesn't mean the materials are good, but for 60 bucks not a bad thing to try

 

[3vilbassist]

If by "shredded" you mean that the freehub stripped itself, then you simply need a steel freehub. The general consensus is that steel is real when it comes to bbshd drivetrains. I've had good luck with all kinds of hubs, even cheesy quanta/novatec as long as they have a steel freehub. I'm running Halo 6drive/supadrive on the rear for last 1000km and that's working great. I'm also using a cheesy quanta hub with a thread-on freehub and a solid axle conversion with my street wheels, and that's also working well. If your rear dropouts are 10mm QR then it could be worth it to do a solid axle conversion, wheels mfg does 10mm axles, as does mtbtools on ebay. The advantage over qr for heavy ebikes cannot be overstated.
I have no experience with the dtswiss ratcheting mech, but other people love it because the ratchet mech is field-replaceable, and it's built like a brick s--thouse.

 

[Chalo]

What you want to avoid is any 3 pawl, traditional pawl hub.

I think that describes the 10mm axle Shimano freehub body mechanism, but that's probably the most thoroughly proven one around. You have to let the lube get hard and sticky, or let it seriously corrode, or flagrantly abuse it, to make it misbehave.

As for big axle cassette hubs with inboard pawls, well... none of them are as reliable as big axle hubs with threaded freewheels. But using one of those, even if it's the best, is somewhat contrarian. I have a couple I use regularly.

 

[Deafcat]

Onyx Racing hubs are an excellent option as well. No backlash in the engagement, no noise from pawls. Uses a very robust patented sprag design. Definitely capable of high torque loads from Ultra motor, bbshd, etc. Available in any axle config. Very durable and reliable with no maintenance. I love mine!

 

[MoneyPit]

To my knowledge, the DT 350 Hybrid is only available with a through axle. It's a good hub, but it won't fit a lot of good bikes.

As noted above, DT 350 end caps are interchangeable. To expand on that: That means you can sub in end caps for a QR connection that is sized for a proper QR width.

I built this cargo bike out of a Mongoose Envoy factory frame and fork. Besides that only kept the headset. Anyway, the rear wheel build uses a Hybrid 350 hub meant for Boost spacing. The Envoy uses 141mm spacing on the hub, and that oddball size is Boost using a standard quick release. So I bought the Boost version of the Hybrid, a set of QR end caps and it fits like a glove. You could do the same with the other sizes/versions of the hub.

Likewise the basic DT 350 in Big Ride (fat) width can do the same thing. For this bike, since the classic 350 has an alloy body, I bought the steel cassette body upgrade. Frame is a rescued and stripped/powder-coated Motobecane Lurch, and as you can see its QR.

I have put the 350 with steel cassette thru positively brutal singletrack climbs. Other steel cassette bodies are out there, but nothing has the ratchet advantage on the inside. Maybe a Phil Wood 5-pawl. But nobody would use one of those on an ebike.

I put a 32T ratchet into this bike when it was a street commuter/Costco Run bike. I very recently converted it completely to trails use (32T chainring on the front after this pic was taken). But the finer ratchets have been known to shred when used on singletrack. This thing is a monster so that strength reduction may bite me on the ass in the Lower Sierras where this thing will be getting its real workouts. I'd better add the original 18T ratchet to my tool kit just in case.

 

[MoneyPit]

oops duplicate. can't find a post delete button

 

[Tomblarom]

Do IGHs count? Running a Shimano Nexus SG-C7050-5D (converted to C7000 mechanical shifting). Had to use an external spring for conversion. More about that in my German post: https://www.pedelecforum.de/forum/index.php?threads/anleitung-umbau-shimano-nexus-di2-sg-c7050-5d-auf-mechanisch-schaltzug-sg-c7000-5d.89104/