Kings vs Hadley vs Industry Nine
- Thread starter Andrew_D
- Start date
garfield84
NSWMTB
chris kings for sure
Reubs
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I chose the Chris King 150x12mm with a stainless drive shell (cassette body) for my dh bike. Why? well both Hadley and King are pricey BUT I've serviced 10 year old king hubs that have been on bikes that were otherwise destined for the scrapheap. The hubs were still in awesome condition despite millions of Km's. Hadley's are still great quality dont get me wrong but *not quite there*. I openly admit that i've not had the oppotunity to pull a hadley to pieces but i can say that the king is easy to service by the user, if you need to...
Industry 9 makes full wheelsets only, if i'm not mistaken and are therefore a different idea since you need their spokes. they seem ok too from what I've heard but they havent been around long enough yet for any real comparison.
Industry 9 makes full wheelsets only, if i'm not mistaken and are therefore a different idea since you need their spokes. they seem ok too from what I've heard but they havent been around long enough yet for any real comparison.
cretin...rider
Likes Dirt
Truth, reliable long lasting and generally awesome hubs.
Spanky_Ham
Porcinus Slappius
We've got a couple of hadleys (though 108's that you can't get any more) and they're a great hub. Easy to work on, but possibly need a bit more upkeep. Also require special tools to disassemble. Lots of Axle choices
Chris King hubs are super nice, never pulled one down, but they are also top quality.
I9 hubs make the pig all sweaty..... the hub engagement system is uber trick - straight pull spokes that may not be readily avaliable everywhere... once again, never owned them.. just stared in that inappropriate way at them..
all top of the line hubs though.
s
Chris King hubs are super nice, never pulled one down, but they are also top quality.
I9 hubs make the pig all sweaty..... the hub engagement system is uber trick - straight pull spokes that may not be readily avaliable everywhere... once again, never owned them.. just stared in that inappropriate way at them..
all top of the line hubs though.
s
DW-1
Dirt Works
mmmm sweaty bacon...
anyway... back to hubs.
I9 also make hubs to suit regular spokes and rims. "normal" flange design. Same I9 internals though.
Elvis.
rstwosix
Likes Dirt
I've got a hadley on my bike and so has my wife - been perfect for the 3 years we've had them. The instant engagement is fantastic. We got whole wheelsets built by Dirt Works for the same price as just buying a pair of King hubs. I'm not knocking King at all, just saying Hadley are better value. We have 2 mechanics at our bikeshop who are running Hadley as well and they're very happy with them. We're all running the optional bolt up alloy rear axle instead of quick release skewers for added strength. By the way if you go to dropmachine.com they've got a hub showdown test online. All 3 hubs you've mentioned are in the test and Hadley wins.
fairy1
Banned
I have used many different hubs on my bikes, I do have a Hadley rear hub on my On-One and it has outlasted two frames so far and it is in perfect condition. Would I buy another one? No, I can't see enough difference between the Taiwanese hubs I own and the US/UK made hubs to justify the price difference. However I wish I had of bought a Stealth or Tune hub instead of my Hope hubs, they are rubbish.
fairy1
Banned
I have never notice much difference with my hubs except for the Hopes they are a bit tardy with their pickup. Why is instant pickup such a good thing? I like a bit of freeplay as it helps reduce pedal feedback on a DS bike.
SideFX
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I thought i .9 where hubs and you just matched them up to a rim . When i was OS it was all i.9 hubs on mavic, 729 , 721 ect ect .
rstwosix
Likes Dirt
Instant pickup makes a big difference in stop /start pedalling situations.
k3n!f
leaking out the other end
High end hub review:
http://www.dropmachine.com/Reviews/...y-industry-nine-dt-stealth-and-hope-a581.html
http://www.dropmachine.com/Reviews/...y-industry-nine-dt-stealth-and-hope-a581.html
Landon
Likes Dirt
Top End Hubs
I own / have owned both King and Hadley hubs as well as the tools to properly rebuild them. Quality wise, they're both right up there.
I don't particularly like the King hub bearings. They take quite a while to break in and free up. It seems the grip of the King bearing cage is a little too tight on the bearing balls when new. The standard Hadley bearings are super fast and smooth, but don't last a long time on a DH bike. The bearings tend to pit and become a little rough with no contamination apparent. I must say that it was about 5 years ago when I bought my 108 point Hadley hubset. They have probably speced a higher quality bearing by now. The Enduro Zero ceramic units are the ultimate Hadley upgrade.
The bearing seals on both hubs are quite good. With the Hadley hubs they do have an extra layer of protection with outside seals on the hub end caps. Water will eventually find its way into any hub if not maintained on a regular basis, so the standard stainless bearings in the King hubs are a nice feature.
You can use a small pin spanner on the Hadley preload ring if you don't have the complete tool kit. For the King hub, you can also use a larger pin spanner in place of the proper adjustment tool. For anything more than preload adjustment, you're going to need the proper tools for either hub.
Both hubs build nice wheels that can handle a reasonably high spoke tension without the bearings falling out. I'm sure you would be happy with either hubset.
I own / have owned both King and Hadley hubs as well as the tools to properly rebuild them. Quality wise, they're both right up there.
I don't particularly like the King hub bearings. They take quite a while to break in and free up. It seems the grip of the King bearing cage is a little too tight on the bearing balls when new. The standard Hadley bearings are super fast and smooth, but don't last a long time on a DH bike. The bearings tend to pit and become a little rough with no contamination apparent. I must say that it was about 5 years ago when I bought my 108 point Hadley hubset. They have probably speced a higher quality bearing by now. The Enduro Zero ceramic units are the ultimate Hadley upgrade.
The bearing seals on both hubs are quite good. With the Hadley hubs they do have an extra layer of protection with outside seals on the hub end caps. Water will eventually find its way into any hub if not maintained on a regular basis, so the standard stainless bearings in the King hubs are a nice feature.
You can use a small pin spanner on the Hadley preload ring if you don't have the complete tool kit. For the King hub, you can also use a larger pin spanner in place of the proper adjustment tool. For anything more than preload adjustment, you're going to need the proper tools for either hub.
Both hubs build nice wheels that can handle a reasonably high spoke tension without the bearings falling out. I'm sure you would be happy with either hubset.
stingray4100
Squid
I haven't used either King or Hadley hubs, but I have a set of I9 wheels. I'm happy with them - I have been able to maintain them using standard tools which is a bonus. The construction of them is amazing, fantastic machining, a real work of art. I have had to replace the axle due to the previous owner cross threading the bearing preload cap. Dealt with I9 directly in the states and they were fantastic.
I'm not sure if I noticed the extra engagement points, but I no longer get the cracking sound that the bontrager hubs used to make. I did find that getting the preload on the bearings took a couple of goes, but probably no worse than the old cup and cone style. They use standard bearings which I should be able to buy at the local bearing shop. What more can I say? they work and I haven't had any problems aside from the axle which was operator error.
My hubs use the proprietry straight pull aluminium spokes. I have noticed that some of the heads of the spokes are corroded and will need replacing - they are laced to DT swiss rims with stainless eyelets, so I am assuming they are corroding due to dissimilar metals being in contact. If you don't want to use their spokes, they do make hubs to suit standard spokes.
I'd be keen to know who the distributor is in Australia now, I need a couple of spare spokes
I'm not sure if I noticed the extra engagement points, but I no longer get the cracking sound that the bontrager hubs used to make. I did find that getting the preload on the bearings took a couple of goes, but probably no worse than the old cup and cone style. They use standard bearings which I should be able to buy at the local bearing shop. What more can I say? they work and I haven't had any problems aside from the axle which was operator error.
My hubs use the proprietry straight pull aluminium spokes. I have noticed that some of the heads of the spokes are corroded and will need replacing - they are laced to DT swiss rims with stainless eyelets, so I am assuming they are corroding due to dissimilar metals being in contact. If you don't want to use their spokes, they do make hubs to suit standard spokes.
I'd be keen to know who the distributor is in Australia now, I need a couple of spare spokes
nickz
Likes Dirt
+1 for Hadley
I've had a Hadley rear since 2005, only today I have to replace a bearing , which I thought would be a daunting job. You need two tools to service the thing, and once you have them or their equivalent ( I have a 21mm spanner ground down to make it thinner, and a pair of snap pliers from Repco for $24) and that's it.
I found which bearings were needed, bought them at a bearing shop (for $26) and it took me all of 10 mins to have it back together with the new bearings installed. The internals are simple and of high quality, and very user serviceable.
I opened the hub once to grease it and to see how it worked in 2006, and opened it yesterday to do the bearings. I have not had an issue until yesterday, 5 years after I bought it and have ridden DH for most of it's life.
I'd get a Hadley again for sure.
I've had a Hadley rear since 2005, only today I have to replace a bearing , which I thought would be a daunting job. You need two tools to service the thing, and once you have them or their equivalent ( I have a 21mm spanner ground down to make it thinner, and a pair of snap pliers from Repco for $24) and that's it.
I found which bearings were needed, bought them at a bearing shop (for $26) and it took me all of 10 mins to have it back together with the new bearings installed. The internals are simple and of high quality, and very user serviceable.
I opened the hub once to grease it and to see how it worked in 2006, and opened it yesterday to do the bearings. I have not had an issue until yesterday, 5 years after I bought it and have ridden DH for most of it's life.
I'd get a Hadley again for sure.
evObda2
Likes Bikes and Dirt
+1 to the above. If you go hadley buy the tools needed and you'll never need another hub again if you look after them.
Ive had mine for 2yrs now and they spin as smooth and stay as tight as when i bought them. Ive opened them up a couple times just to clean and lubricate.
Also its worth noting with Hadley you can change axle sizes. Eg: i had a 150mm axle on a GT Dhi, and i needed a hub to suit my Orange 223 (with floating brake) so i needed a 137mm offset axle. Luckily Hadley make this to suit and it was a simple task of just getting the axle. So this is an advantage if you intend to keep the hubs and change frames which use a different size axle.
For supply of these i would tend to try buying from overseas from Balle Racing. Much cheaper and there service and pricing is second to none.
They shipped a 137mm axle (for floating brake) to me in a week for $60Au. Of which is worth mentioning, Dirtworks didnt even get back to me with an ETA or price, as they didnt have this in stock.
Ive had mine for 2yrs now and they spin as smooth and stay as tight as when i bought them. Ive opened them up a couple times just to clean and lubricate.
Also its worth noting with Hadley you can change axle sizes. Eg: i had a 150mm axle on a GT Dhi, and i needed a hub to suit my Orange 223 (with floating brake) so i needed a 137mm offset axle. Luckily Hadley make this to suit and it was a simple task of just getting the axle. So this is an advantage if you intend to keep the hubs and change frames which use a different size axle.
For supply of these i would tend to try buying from overseas from Balle Racing. Much cheaper and there service and pricing is second to none.
They shipped a 137mm axle (for floating brake) to me in a week for $60Au. Of which is worth mentioning, Dirtworks didnt even get back to me with an ETA or price, as they didnt have this in stock.
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