Bike Reviews

Hope Pro II hubs
I had read and heard positive comments on the quality of Hop Pro II hubs and at the price point… they where hard to overlook. So when the time came for my next 29er wheelset, I decided to drop some cash on a set of Hope Pro II hubs. I had the Hopes laced up to a Mavic TN 719 rim using DT Swiss Champion spokes with brass nipples.

From the very first spin of this wheelset I could hear the distinct buzzing sound of the paw engagement… it was loud! And for the first couple of weeks I called my new wheelset “The Tommy Guns”. The buzzing sound of the hubs has subsided to a low buzzing sound now that some time has passed.

As for the hubs, they have performed great over the past year with only one instance. While out on a ride about 9 months into riding this wheelset I heard a loud ping come from the rear of my bike. I thought it must of just be a rock and kept on rolling. Later down the trail the guys and I stopped for a break and when we spun up our wheels to continue riding I heard the ping again. I got off the bike and checked out the rear of the bike for anything hung up in the rear wheel, loose spokes, a crack in the frame, etc, but found nothing visible on the exterior. Back on the bike and rolling I heard it happen again as I slowed to round a corner and then torqued up the cranks for a climb… ping! That time I heard where the ping came from and felt it through my drive train and had a very good feeling that there was an internal issue with the rear hub. We where on our last loop, I took it easy on the bike, hoping that I’d be able to finish out the ride without pushing the bike all the way out to the trail head.

Back at the home shop, I un-mounted the rear wheel, popped off the end cap of the Hope Pro II hub and disassembled the freehub. Maintenance on Hope’s freehub is a thing of beauty and accessing the internals of the freehub couldn’t be more easier. Hope’s paw spring design is so simple and yet smart! Unlike other hubs I’ve owned, you don’t have to worry about the springs flying across the shop when you disassemble the Hope Pro II hubs, because they are interlocked into the hub with an round loop at the end of the spring that slips into the body of the hub. This also creates the springs tension that is applied to the engagement paws.

Once I had the freehub removed it was quite obvious what was causing the ping… one of the springs had snapped off at the loop and was floating around inside the hub. The pinging sound was caused by the piece of spring as it would get lodged in the teeth of the freehub. The springs are not a coiled spring, but are actually more like a single leaf spring that creates resistance against the paws that pushes the paws outward and away. There are four of these leaf like springs within the freehub each with a loop that holds the spring in place as mentioned earlier.

So I contacted my LBS and they ordered me a new set of springs. Within a few days my LBS had the new springs I went to pick them up. Back at the home shop, I slipped the four new springs into place, slipped the freehub back on and snapped it back together. The entire process took under a minute to complete, I spun the wheel and it had that low buzzing sound I knew so well.

All in All, I’m really pleased with the Hope Pro II hubs and would definitely consider purchasing another set without giving it a second thought. But I do plan to change my springs out about every 8 months now as a way to avoid having one of the springs break on me while out on the trail. But don’t let this discourage you from considering one of these hub sets… the Hope Pro II hubs are nice, well built and very easy to perform maintenance on.

Hope Pro II
Manufacture Information:
Front Hub Specs:
Convertable to 20mm or Maverick by using the Hope Pro2 Hub converter sold separately
Front Axle Type: 9×1
Hub/Brake Compatibility: 6-Bolt Disc
Color: Black
Front Hub Spacing: 100 mm
Intended Use: Mountain
Front Wheel Type: Mountain

Rear Hub Specs:
The all new Pro2 range of hubs include a further development of our proven ratchet mechanism. This features a one piece 7075 aluminium rotor body and pawl carrier. Four pawls engage into a twenty-four tooth steel ratchet which is fixed into the hub shell and is sealed with a frictionless, non contact labyrinth seal. The axle runs on four cartridge bearings. The hub shell is machined from a solid
Hub Body: 2014 T6 aluminium
Hub/Brake Compatibility: 6-Bolt Disc
Bearing type: Cartridge (5 off)
Cassette Body Type: Aluminum Shimano 9/Shimano 10
Weight: 295g
Ratchet type: 4 pawl (24 engagement)
QR = Quick Release
Bolt On = Threaded axle with bolts that screw in
10mm Thru = 10mm bolt on thru axle

(1 votes, average: 6 out of 7)

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