Illicit Industries - Australian designed, Australian-made and with their sights firmly set on producing blinged-out components to rival any of the world's major manufacturers. We've got their 20mm Front Hub and brand new sealed 1-1/8" Headset for you to drool over.
Illicit Industries Hub and Headset
- Thread starter Ryan
- Start date
udi
swiss cheese
You really need to publish weight figures and go into detail about what makes the parts special, rather than just saying they are "bling" and great because they slap a serial number and a signature on a card.
$270 is a lot of money for a 20mm front hub, and similarly priced options such as king and hugi boast features like light-contact labyrinth seals, stainless steel bearings, one-piece axles, and very low weight figures.
The headset was covered a lot better, but again things like stack height are important at the top-end of things - and that one looks somewhat tall.
Just my horrific dissection of the review... I think they call it constructive criticism these days?
$270 is a lot of money for a 20mm front hub, and similarly priced options such as king and hugi boast features like light-contact labyrinth seals, stainless steel bearings, one-piece axles, and very low weight figures.
The headset was covered a lot better, but again things like stack height are important at the top-end of things - and that one looks somewhat tall.
Just my horrific dissection of the review... I think they call it constructive criticism these days?
Sorry, I forget that people don't click on links these days. Don't know why I even bother putting them in the review.
Claimed weight for the hub is 210 grams, I got 212 on an accurate digital scale with the hub and was happy with that, didn't see a reason to challenge it in the review and had you clicked on the link that said "20mm front hub" all of this could have been revealed. To be honest, everything that is "special" about it was covered, there's not that much about a front hub that can be "special" in my eyes. It's light, it's individually numbered, it runs on quality bearings and it's locally made. That is what is special about it. If you really need labrynth seals on your sealed-bearing hub, you obviously don't actually live or ride in Australia, where nothing ever gets wet or muddy
Claimed stack height on the headest is 33mm, my verniers agree, not the lowest out there but not unreasonable by any means. Again, clicking the link that said "1/18th Sealed Headset" could have told you this as well.
I will add these pieces of information to the actual review text though, so as to save people the horror of having to click hyperlinks.
Claimed weight for the hub is 210 grams, I got 212 on an accurate digital scale with the hub and was happy with that, didn't see a reason to challenge it in the review and had you clicked on the link that said "20mm front hub" all of this could have been revealed. To be honest, everything that is "special" about it was covered, there's not that much about a front hub that can be "special" in my eyes. It's light, it's individually numbered, it runs on quality bearings and it's locally made. That is what is special about it. If you really need labrynth seals on your sealed-bearing hub, you obviously don't actually live or ride in Australia, where nothing ever gets wet or muddy
Claimed stack height on the headest is 33mm, my verniers agree, not the lowest out there but not unreasonable by any means. Again, clicking the link that said "1/18th Sealed Headset" could have told you this as well.
I will add these pieces of information to the actual review text though, so as to save people the horror of having to click hyperlinks.
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udi
swiss cheese
Ah sorry, my mistake.
Last time I visited their site they had nothing up - no weights no stack heights, nothing. Just assumed it hadn't changed. Any news about what's on the cards for the rear hubs?
PS. in regards to wet and mud, damn that first toowoomba race was dry and dusty... and all those canungra rounds were cancelled due to sandstorms I heard?
Last time I visited their site they had nothing up - no weights no stack heights, nothing. Just assumed it hadn't changed. Any news about what's on the cards for the rear hubs?
PS. in regards to wet and mud, damn that first toowoomba race was dry and dusty... and all those canungra rounds were cancelled due to sandstorms I heard?
arpit
Banned
What TYPE of bearings do they use? I've seen pics of full complement bearings being used in bottom brackets made by companies such as race face. It'd be nice to know that that stupidy doesn't manifest itself in the wheel bearings at the whim of a braindead designer who gets impressed by the higher load ratings.
I run an illicit headset and oh so smooth is the feel. I have checked the front hub , that thing just spins all day. When your at the next vic races, check out Evan Winton's and Jarl Jensen's rides they are sporting some illicit product, nice, smooth and a nice AUSSIE product what more is there to say.
Frantic_on_manik
Likes Bikes
Airel australia also make this sorta stuff and its just as good, cheaper to! so when did these guys become the only small DH parts in aus?
downhill'r
Cannon Fodder
Stuff
Last time I checked and Aireal front 20mm was 290 grams "just as good"?
As for stainless bearings, if you are getting enough water in your hubs that you need a stainless bearing I would you think you have bigger problems than rusty bearings. "stop pressure washing your bearings"
Last time I checked and Aireal front 20mm was 290 grams "just as good"?
As for stainless bearings, if you are getting enough water in your hubs that you need a stainless bearing I would you think you have bigger problems than rusty bearings. "stop pressure washing your bearings"
The Illicit Hub is therefore 80 grams lighter than the Aireal, that's 28% lighter, which is a pretty significant difference. Whether it justifies the price difference is up to you.
I never denied the existence of Aireal either, just said that there weren't many onshore manufacturers. Everyone on Farkin already knows Aireal exist anyway.
I never denied the existence of Aireal either, just said that there weren't many onshore manufacturers. Everyone on Farkin already knows Aireal exist anyway.
arpit
Banned
Questions about the review
1. Was there any reason why you didn't compare these hubs to the aireal ones?
2. Did you buy the hubs and headset? Or were you given them as 'gifts' ? Understandably, this information is crucial when determining the neutrality of the review.
3. Did you disassemble them at all?
1. Was there any reason why you didn't compare these hubs to the aireal ones?
2. Did you buy the hubs and headset? Or were you given them as 'gifts' ? Understandably, this information is crucial when determining the neutrality of the review.
3. Did you disassemble them at all?
t
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've rode a pair Aireal Hubs for nearly years and will confidently vouch that they are rubbish, after six months the bearings in the front developed so much play you could pop them out by hand not to mention that the crush tube wobbles around in the middle and the spacers are really easy to lose.Frantic_on_manik said:
The rear is even worse, my free wheel jamed after a week, apparently that was an assembley fault, the after 3 months it jammed again, this time it was a dag on the crush tube causing problems. After about a year one of the QR adaptors failed, this is because of a design fault which creates a week spot right near the dropouts where it is subject to high sheer loads. Then after a another six months a bearing collapsed and destroyed the internal axel and the free body.
I put all that down to not prototyping thouroghly enough and comming at the whole thing from a manufacturing perspective.
Illicit on the contrary don't rush into things, they've been prototyping their rear hub for over 18 months and they have some of melbournes fastest riders putting them through their paces. They have set their sites on matching it with King, Hadley and Ringle and the most important part of that is having a near zero failure rate.
They've gone a long way to restoring my faith in Australian made parts.
1. I don't have a set of the new Aireal hubs to compare them to. Aireal recently changed owners and are apparently improving the old 20mm hubs, which were rubbish under their old owners. It didn't seem fair to criticise Aireal comparatively when I know they're working on improved designs that I haven't yet seen.arpit said:
2. Bought them both but at industry prices. Fear not, if you know farkin you know we will never bullshit you in our reviews. See Chlorophilia and some of the review archives for examples. The hub for example, really is buttery-smooth and "holy shit!" light, lighter than a Hadley infact and for $50 less. Try and get your hands on one and you'll see what I mean.
3. Disassembled the headset but not the hub...will take the hub off and do a full service and pictorial after 6 months or so of riding. Anything you want to know about the headset?
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arpit
Banned
Thanks for the quick reply Ryan, It's really good to hear that they weren't freebies.
Thanks for the offer, but no, there wasn't anything in particular I wanted to know about the headset.
I wanted to know what type of bearings the hub used. A common mistake is for bicycle parts companies to use full complement bearings in 'spinning' situations like bottom brackets. This makes for a very strong device, but as soon as a grain of dirt works itself in, it acts as an abrasive, and can't be pushed out. The demise of the device becomes imminent.
Good to hear that you are planning to follow up the review with a dissection and inspection of the hub after use.
Thanks for the offer, but no, there wasn't anything in particular I wanted to know about the headset.
I wanted to know what type of bearings the hub used. A common mistake is for bicycle parts companies to use full complement bearings in 'spinning' situations like bottom brackets. This makes for a very strong device, but as soon as a grain of dirt works itself in, it acts as an abrasive, and can't be pushed out. The demise of the device becomes imminent.
Good to hear that you are planning to follow up the review with a dissection and inspection of the hub after use.
Frantic_on_manik
Likes Bikes
if i want to save 80 grams of weight ill take a dump before i ride Lol
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