One Up Components
Hubs. What do they do anyway? Without them, wheels couldn't be attached to our conveyances. After primitive peoples invented the wheel, they invented the hub, so they didn't have to keep collecting their wheels when they were spat out behind their load, and carry them to the front again.
Yet, we often overlook their importance. We talk about tires and rims but hubs rarely start conversations. While there are some interesting things happening in the hub space with E13 Sidekick and the WRP Zero Drag internals, there hasn't been a ton of new players aiming to fill the OE and wallet-friendly after-market spaces.
One Up Components has been cleverly solving mountain bike problems since 2013. That's 12 years of making anodized parts that change how we ride our bikes. What started as an extra green gear on a 10-speed Shimano cassette, evolved into a list of products, not only as upgrades to stock but as benchmarks of products that should be spec'ed on new bikes; posts with the most drop for their length, comfortable handlebars, grippy pedals that were the thinnest of their time and now a ratchet drive hub that is lighter and more affordable than the competition.
Lightweight, J-Bend spokes and many colours to choose from
While Red wouldn't be my first choice, I had some gold Tibolts lying around to make the bike a bit more fun.
Hubs
For the high engagement crowd, Industry 9 has been offering both Hydra and the 1/1 hubs for years. Sorting out their issues with bearing lifespans and axle breakage with recent production changes, the high buzzing American-made hubs have been a go-to for many consumers. Hope Pro 4 and 5 hubs have also been popular on both sides of the ocean. With reliable architecture the U.K.-made hubs have adorned many downhill oriented bikes as they often weighed too much for the weight weenies. That left the door wide open for DT Swiss with their generally lower engagement hub options that ar reliable, light and loved by mechanics all over the world.
OneUp had big battle on their hands. They took their time getting into the hub game and with the Ratchet Drive patent expiring, the door was blown wide open for them to show their design and manufacturing skills.
OneUp quietly announced their new hubs last year. In typical OneUp fashion, this new product would address existing issues in the performance/price matrix. Hubs that perform well and are durable and relatively light have become very pricy in recent years. A set of DT Swiss 240 hubs will set you back 1050 CAD at a local shop. That's 670 for the rear and 370 for the front. Industry 9 Hydras come in at 985. Lower-priced hubs often involve compromise and what's worse than blowing out the freehub (with a drive ring that is part of the hub body) on a new set of wheels. You'll be out a wheel build and the cost of a new hub, not to mention however long it takes for the work to get done.
There is a single spring on the Freehub side
The hub side ratchet drive also seals the bearings from the elements. Pawl-driven designs fail to do this.
There aren't many groundbreaking features here. They don't even have cool name to go with them. Rear hubs are available in Boost 12x148mm spacing only and 15x110 front. This excludes people with 12x157mm frames. With a focus on performance, reliability and price, OneUp managed to make one of the lightest hub sets you can mount on your mountain bike today.
Specs (from OneUp )
- Spacing: Boost front and rear
- Holes: 28 and 32
- Engagement: 44 points, 8.2 degrees
- Weight front: 142g
- Weight rear: 220g (with XDr freehub)
- Colours: Black, red, green, blue, orange, purple and grey
- Material: 7075 T6 Aluminum
- Freehub options: XDr, Microspline and HG (all with tool free installation)
- Spokes: J-Bend only
- Brake Mount: IS 6 Bolt only
- End Caps: Double sealed (tool free installation)
- Bearings: Enduro Abec 5 (Front - MR17287, Rear 6902, Freehub 6802)
- Freehub Seal: Enduro
The comparison matrix. I'll let the numbers tell you the story, but my test wheels came with heavier aluminum rims, negating some of the benefits of the lighter hubs.
Test Wheels
OneUp sent a pair of wheels for testing. The beautifully red anodized hubs with 32h spoke holes showed up laced 3 cross to Reserve 30HD|AL rims. This is a beefy setup. While I am not sure you can purchase these wheels complete, they could show up on bikes as OE spec. On my scale, compared to the 28H , Industry Nine Hydra built, three-year-old, Reserve 30HD wheels, there was an increase in overall weight. OneUp Hubs do not come with Freehubs. You will need to purchase the correct one for your application. This makes inventory management easier for shops.
This is all there is to the service parts in the drive mechanism.
Every part of the hub is replacable and is stocked by OneUp
Weight Comparison
| Front | Rear | |
| Reserve 30HD Aluminum ONE UP | 1027g | 1033g |
| Reserve 30HD Carbon Industry Nine | 881g | 923g |
Reserve 30HD Carbon Industry Nine FRONT.
Reserve 30HD Carbon Industry Nine REAR
Reserve 30HD Aluminum OneUp front
Reserve 30HD Aluminum OneUp REAR
Ease of Service
Opening up the new hubs, the simplicity of the Ratchet Drive system is evident. There are no pawls or impossibly tiny springs to deal with, making this system robust and simple to work on. All you need to do is occasionally remove the freehub, the ratchet drive, and the spring and give the grabby bits a good cleaning with some 90% Isopropanol. No portion of this procedure requires special tools. Once cleaned, 2.5ml of Dumond Tech Freehub Grease will ensure water repellency and will quiet the racket these hubs make if they are run dry.
If you want to replace the bearings on the rear hubs, a Shimano cassette tool gives you access to the lockring on the non-drive side. The bearings come out and go back in from the non-drive side of the hub. This is a clever bit of engineering allows for easier home maintenance. My biggest issue with the I9 Hydras has been the frequency of bearing replacements I've had to perform and the need for over-the-axle bearing tools. I much prefer using the axle itself to drive new bearings in. This makes road trip wrenching a breeze.
There are also great instructions on the OneUp Website.
No pawls to lose or strip
Inspecting the teeth is easy and the bearing is extremely accessible too
On The Trail
These hubs have been rolling trouble free for a while now. They are on the Orbea Rallon with plenty of suspension travel and Goodyear Wrangler tires. The sound on the trail is different while rolling, obviously. Switching to aluminum rims on this bike has made a bigger difference however. I have never run alloy rims on the Rallon, so it has been interesting comparing them to the reserve 30HDs that I really like. There seems to be less pop out of supported corners with these wheels. The alloy doesn't have the springiness of the carbon hoops. But over the rough stuff, the bike feels a little more planted and holds a line better - and it feels more comfortable through my hands and feet. I have no reason to worry about the durability of the Reserve 30 HDAL rims however. When and if they do fail to hold a tubeless setup reliably, I will most likely cut them off the OneUp hubs and re-lace the Reserve Carbon rims in their place.
OneUp hubs are an excellent option for most every rider. They are simple in construction, reliable and have features that should make home mechanics happy. That said, there hasn't been a OneUp product I haven't liked.
Final Thoughts
There are many reasons why you may choose a certain brand of hub to run on your bikes; where they are made, how they sound and engagement could all factor in. I've run Industry Nine Hydras on my bikes for years and have gotten used to their quirks and appetite for bearings. But, if I wanted to build some new wheels for a bike today, I would put these hubs on the top of my list.
Hubs do not come with freehub bodies. You need to buy them for your use case. Shimano HG/Shimano Microspline? Sram XD Photo: OneUp Components
Hubset Price: 370 USD / 500 CAD / 370 EUR / 315 GBP
Front Hub: 100 USD / 135 CAD / 100 EUR / 85 GBP
Rear Hub: 220 USD / 270 CAD / 220 EUR / 186 GBP
Freehubs Bodies: 50 USD / 70 CAD / 50 EUR / 44 GBP
5'8"
162lbs
Playful, lively riding style
Photographer and Story Teller
Lenticular Aesthetician
Comments
boomforeal
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I appreciate that this article is not billed as a review. Still, it’s disappointing that it seems limited to nice pictures, cut-and-paste spec sheet info and marketing copy, and some (non hub-related) riding impressions. I miss Andrew’s beer fueled ocd tear-downs and 12-months-of-singlespeeding-in-the-rain destructive tests. Nice of the comment section to introduce some critical thinking into the mix.
Reply
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I really want to get mad at you but I can't. When these wheels showed up a few months ago, everything was ready to be tested through the winter with a full tear down, but the delivery of these wheels took a little longer than expected and whole bunch of other reviews got in front of it with more time sensitive deadlines. So, this will be more of an introductory piece and I will definitely be doing a full teardown and inspection mid to end of the summer to see how they survived abuse on the big bike.
Reply
Coiler
3 weeks, 2 days ago
These are basically way cheaper DT Swiss 240s, which is a pretty insane value proposition. The 240s have been my hub of choice on my last two builds, and they are absolutely fantastic, just expensive. It is hard to see a reason to buy anything but these One-up hubs, they hit the extremely rare trifecta: light, durable, cheap.
Reply
Mick-e
3 weeks, 2 days ago
The star ratchet is why I’m a DT fanboy. They’re so easy to maintain except when you need to remove the bearing from the drive side hub. Then you need a special tool. I’m curious how you can push both bearings in from the non drive side. It doesn’t make sense in my head.
Reply
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Have a look at the link I posted of the tech documents. It is super cool. Basically the driveside bearing is supported by a shoulder on the axle from the inside and the hubshell from the outside. Time will tell if thats good or bad
Reply
Jotegir
3 weeks, 2 days ago
For what it's worth, they haven't really been in the wild long enough, or with sufficient market saturation, to determine the "durable" portion of the trifecta.
Edit: If you're going to downvote this style of comment on a new product, try not to make your biases too obvious.
Reply
Gavin Francis
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Haha quite the callout! If I was worried about trying to hide my biases, I wouldn't have used my full name on my NSMB account.
My qualm with your comment is in regard to looking at market saturation as a way to determine durability. There are lots of products out there that are market leaders in terms of volume, that don't hit the "durable" point of the trifecta.
Reply
Jotegir
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I wasn't looking to use saturation as an indicator of durability in itself - otherwise that would mean that the J-bend Bontrager hub must be the holy grail in durability (heh).
Rather, a new product with relatively few end-users won't have a whole lot of trail time compared to something that's been around for years. You can internally test all you like but until these are out there for a significant period of time and on a decent number of bikes, the information isn't really going to be there.
When a friend and I were looking into these a few weeks ago, we found very little information that wasn't marketing copy. Nothing like if you were to look at something from the big players, or even the small players who've been in the space longer. In any event, he picked up a set and I picked up a rear hub - so there, we bought your product anyway!
Reply
Gavin Francis
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Ah totally fair, I misinterpreted your original comment then.
There will be more full teardown reviews from various folks (Including from Mr.Deniz Merdano!) that come out over the coming months, but obviously, long-term durability tests take time.
I've had a great experience with the hubs so far, but yaknow, that's not exactly revolutionary (or unbiased!) to hear from me haha.
Hopefully your experience with them is just as glorious.
Reply
Jotegir
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Cheers Gavin, thanks for both popping by (I like to see industry people in the comments) and having good humour about the call-out.
We'll be putting them through their paces. Small sample size but fingers crossed we can enjoy them for years without issue.
skywalkdontrun
3 weeks, 2 days ago
They seem more like cheaper 350s than 240s. Also, I'd be interested to see aside by side comparison between the DT ratchet and the OneUp one. It was pretty evident that the OneUp cleat (that was also a copy of the Shimano one) suffered from some quality control issues due to inferior machining and finishing. The machining quality of a star ratchet is significantly more important as it's literally in use all the time, and even minor imperfections can lead to catastrophic failure. I've been running a set of 350's (with an upgrade to the 54t ratchet) for the last 4 seasons and have had absolutely zero hub issues over the course of two full wheel rebuilds. If the OneUps have that same reliability and performance, that's amazing, but I have a hard time believing that they can offer these at the price they are with the same kind of durability.
Reply
Graham Mattingly
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Word on the street is that newer DT Swiss hubs of the 240 and 350 variety have been suffering from clutch-related issues. Given the timing, there is probably a covid story somewhere in there, from when the whole supply chain was F-ed. DT kind of opened up space in the market for One Up by allowing that to happen. I love the design of both, but price and reliability are going to keep me from DT for the near future. I will probably either wait for a longer term review of these, or just gamble and try them myself for a rear wheel I have planned.
I'm sticking with those options because I really like the idea of all those teeth on those clutch plates engaging at the same time, as opposed to a more traditional ratchet design. And even on the southern side of the border, and as a shop employee with EP pricing access, I cannot justify the expense/hassle of buying and then breaking in Chris King hubs.
Reply
Jerry Willows
3 weeks, 2 days ago
This comment has been removed.
Offrhodes42
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I think you need to add the freehub into your chart for pricing. At MSRP it ends up being only $4 cheaper than DT 350 and more expensive than Hope.
Reply
BewaretheKragle
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I don't think the hub weights include the driver either. Basically its a wash between these and DT swiss 350.
Reply
Dustin Meyer
3 weeks, 2 days ago
According to a picture on a scale on the Nobl Wheels website, the rear hub weight does include the driver.
Reply
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
240s only come in Centerlock and 350s are just too peasantry unless you get the Hybrid model with the better internals. Then they are too heavy.
I would rate the oneup hubs as a great middle ground to 240-350 spectrum.
Reply
Flatted-again
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Dt 295, as it were.
Reply
finbarr
3 weeks, 2 days ago
What’s the difference between the 350s, OneUps, and the Hybrid?
Reply
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
350 classic has alloy ratchets, hybrid has steel. OneUp has alloy as well, but slightly lower engagement than the 54t DT Swiss.
So my mind put them in-between the classic and the hybrid 350 in terms of strength
Reply
Andeh
3 weeks, 2 days ago
What does "too peasantry" mean? When I replaced wheels last, I specifically "downgraded" from Hydras to DT 350s (on Reserve 30 HDs) specifically because I was tired of swapping bearings and drag. The 350s weigh less and I haven't had to touch them since I got them a year and a half ago, and that's with a lot of ebike miles on them.
Reply
Flatted-again
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Our feudal lord Sir Deniz has given us peasants dt350 scraps, and we must never dream of such luxuries as the fabled lower dt numbers.
Jokes aside, the Oneup seems to have a lot going for it.
Reply
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
It's a joke, obviously.. if you wanted 6bolt disc mount hub, 350 is excellent. But I'd shy away from 54t driver as they are less reliable.
44t One Up fills that j bend, 6bolt, void nicely.
Reply
Vincent Edwards
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Any experience with the new DT350 EXP hubs with 72t engagement (like chris king)...? If I were building up new wheels today I'd be deciding between these OneUp hubs and those.
I've never been a fan of the i9 sound... and I have over a decade of riding on DT and Chris King hubs with zero issues to report.
I like everything OneUp is doing to make these easy to service... like the majority of their products the engineering and design hit a sweet spot.
skywalkdontrun
3 weeks, 2 days ago
The reliability issues with the 54t drivers was due to a specific issue in a specific run of hubs from a few years ago. I think it had something to due with the viscosity of the grease that was being used or something. In the last 4 years I haven't heard of a single failure.
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Edited**
Recently had a 72T hub explode on it's maiden ride. Problems are still problems
Andy Eunson
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I speculate that some reliability problems with the faster engagement hubs is due to sticking pawls or drive star ratchets with too much or too sticky a grease. My Torch hubs skipped during my first ride. I pulled the freehub apart and lo and behold, packed too full with some blue grease. Cleaned most of it out and no problems at all for four seasons. Maybe 5, I don’t recall. Similarly I chipped the hell out of the star ratchets in a 350dt hub with I think a 54 tooth? They were replaced at no cost to me but I was told to use a minimal amount of grease. Those bits are only under load when locked up. Not much load if any when coasting.
Chris D
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Smart move! I’ve had 350s on a single speed for (i had to go look to remember) 12 years now. Going strong but they need a re-grease as they’ve gotten loud this season. To be fair most of that riding was in Marin County.
Reply
Kos
3 weeks, 1 day ago
Friday, so I really, really wish somebody less lazy than me would post the Python “peasants in the bog” clip here!
Reply
Andy Eunson
3 weeks, 1 day ago
https://youtu.be/YAA-G947ofg
There you go Kos.
leon-forfar
3 weeks, 2 days ago
240s come in 6 bolt as well.
Reply
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
You are right Leon, I somehow thought they didn't probably because DT website was misleading for me
Reply
skywalkdontrun
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I’m interested to know what 54t hub it was that blew up in you, was it something that came 54t stock or had the ratchet been swapped out? I also wonder what spacing the hub was (148, 157). Legitimately just curious.
Alex D
3 weeks, 2 days ago
This comment has been removed.
almost-local
3 weeks, 2 days ago
That listed price is right, includes freehub. Complete hub set costs $369.97 USD.
Reply
bishopsmike
3 weeks, 2 days ago
These sound great - would be nice to see We Are One offer these as a build option.
Reply
Andy Eunson
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Yeah it would be great if We Are One offered this hub as an option but IMBY in Coquitlam (?) do offer these hubs with We Are One rims.
Reply
Dave Smith
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Pon (Santa Cruz parent-co) owns OneUp which is a direct competitor to Wr1. Plus Wr1 and i9 have a strategic partnership.
Reply
Jotegir
3 weeks, 2 days ago
You can send whatever hubs you like to WAO and they will build wheels a la carte. If you can time a sale for both you can probably come out with a very fair price.
Reply
Frorider
3 weeks, 2 days ago
To round out this review I think it’s important to include Project 321 hubs, which Andrew reviewed back when they were made in Oregon: https://nsmb.com/articles/project-321-hub-long-term-review/ The magnetic pawls work great, overall durability is outstanding, and now they are made in Canada—a country many here are familiar with.
5 yrs ago I felt like an early adopter but these days p321 have become widely known & available. Eg Nobl offers them, and they are sold in the Stan’s and WAO wheelsets. The combo 6 bolt / centerlock compatible rotor interface is an example of rare innovation in hubs.
I’m a huge OneUp fan in general, and I was bummed to hear about issues with the new hubs. Hoping actual data on that get discussed here.
Reply
BewaretheKragle
3 weeks, 2 days ago
What was the issue with new hubs? Disappointingly there have been very few reviews on these hubs.
Reply
Deniz Merdano
3 weeks, 2 days ago
I too am curious to hear
Reply
Jenkins5
2 weeks, 5 days ago
I have a friend that had freehub issues on his new OneUp hubs....He was taken care of quickly, but still disappointing. He also had the release issue with his new OneUp clipless pedals. He's no longer the diehard OneUp fanboy he used to be. Guess growing so fast and having a new ownership stake has it's challenges...
Reply
Jotegir
3 weeks, 2 days ago
You can hunt down some reports of freehub issues on these. Can't recall the nature of it but seemingly solved with new internals/heavier springs under warranty.
I picked up a rear hub a few weeks ago and am currently building it onto a Spank Vibrocore rim. I'll report back if there's issues over the summer.
Reply
Andy Eunson
3 weeks, 2 days ago
There are rumours of the drive ratchet getting stuck in its bore I think. Ie freewheeling both ways. This was a problem with DT240 exp hubs. It was claimed that DT used the same metal as the regular hubs but for whatever reason the moving ratchet would get stuck in the bore and not engage. Mine was replaced very quickly under warranty but the wheel had to be shipped to Montreal for repair.
I had a set of I9 Torch hubs which were excellent over the 4 seasons I had them. When the Hydra was released and I read that full pawl engagement relied on axle flex I thought I will wait and see how that goes. So when I bought new wheels in 29 to replace the 27.5 with the torch hubs I chose the 1/1 I9. Those were said to be an improved Torch. Disappointed as those skip now and again. I have read about Hydra axle failures. So I do feel justified in not going that way on that pair of wheels. I won’t buy I9 again for a while.
The wheels on my Trek are starting to make noises and I broke one spoke. So a new rear wheel may be coming in my near future. Not sure which hub to go with when the time comes. Nice to know there are good options though. Oneup has been on my potential list but I’m going to wait and see how their durability pans out.
Reply
JVP
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Too bad P321 killed off the quiet version of the hub, I definitely would have been on board for those. DT350s with good grease work fine, but I personally won't go any louder than that.
Reply
Jerry Willows
3 weeks, 2 days ago
you can take some of the pawls out to make them quieter.
Reply
Jotegir
3 weeks, 2 days ago
If you take all the pawls out they're dead silent!
Reply
Roman H
3 weeks, 2 days ago
i9 is the most overrated brand I know. Expensive, poor quality,..
I also had a Torch. The material around the pawls was pushing out after 1600km. The price of the driver is almost the same as the price of a DT 350 hub on which I have driven thousands of kilometers without a single problem.
Reply
BewaretheKragle
3 weeks, 2 days ago
The comparison chart shown needs more information to be useful
Where are is the pricing coming from. Currently Oneups has the hubs on sale. The sale price for the hub bundle driver including hubs is $399.97CND. The regular price, which is what should be compared, is $499.97 CND. Where are you getting the $370.00 pricing from? Oneup Hub bundle including driver
Currently the chart isn't usefull and quite misleading on price and potentially weights as well.
Reply
Flatted-again
3 weeks, 2 days ago
Normally, $370 usd for the bundle. The sale price is $296 usd. That pesky dollar sign used for both sides of the border…
Reply
jhtopilko
3 weeks, 2 days ago
They are a cheap option and I might give them a try. The price is definitely attractive with the current sale.
Reply
Tjaard Breeuwer
2 weeks, 6 days ago
If these would come on some of the complete wheels that currently only offer exorbitant costs for 240’s or still quite high prices for 350’s that would be nice.
I like the idea of saving some weight, especially sprung weight, but when looking at complete wheel sets, the prices for the lighter hubs gets pretty steep, just to save a very small amount of weight.
Reply
FlipSide
3 weeks, 2 days ago
This comment has been removed.
Jon
2 weeks ago
No 157x12? Even though 157x12 is at least 20% stronger than 148x12?
Receipts: https://www.pinkbike.com/u/redfoxrun/blog/redfoxrun-rundown.html
Reply
Please log in to leave a comment.