I'm probably the absolute worst use case for hubs: 150kgs, 6'3" and I like to winch and plummet at a low cadence.
I've owned lots of hub brands and unfortunately only had one experience with CKs which was negative (noisy under power). They were fixed under warranty but I lost faith and sold them.
My current min/max champions are the Funn Fantoms from AliExpress. They share bulletproof internals with the Spank Hex and Nukeproof Horizon V2 so spares are cheap and plentiful. The bearings are high end Taiwanese ones and are miles better than the rubbish ones in Hopes.
IMO every brand has its foibles so it's really about choosing what you will tolerate.
P321s sometimes lose magnets from the pawls that get munched in the mechanism.
I9 pawls can skip disconcertingly under power. The freehubs can warp and the drivering can get chewed out but are replaceable.
DT 54t star ratchets are for weight weenies only and sometimes the driverings get really stuck, which makes changing bearings impossible.
Hope bearings are rubbish. The inboard freehub bearing will almost certainly disintegrate first and cause the pawls to lockup. This can be solved with good Japanese bearings.
Novatech axles are weak and can often break.
Don't get me started on Mavic or the old Eastons.
Feb. 7, 2022, 4:42 p.m. - Andrew Collins
I'm probably the absolute worst use case for hubs: 150kgs, 6'3" and I like to winch and plummet at a low cadence. I've owned lots of hub brands and unfortunately only had one experience with CKs which was negative (noisy under power). They were fixed under warranty but I lost faith and sold them. My current min/max champions are the Funn Fantoms from AliExpress. They share bulletproof internals with the Spank Hex and Nukeproof Horizon V2 so spares are cheap and plentiful. The bearings are high end Taiwanese ones and are miles better than the rubbish ones in Hopes. IMO every brand has its foibles so it's really about choosing what you will tolerate. P321s sometimes lose magnets from the pawls that get munched in the mechanism. I9 pawls can skip disconcertingly under power. The freehubs can warp and the drivering can get chewed out but are replaceable. DT 54t star ratchets are for weight weenies only and sometimes the driverings get really stuck, which makes changing bearings impossible. Hope bearings are rubbish. The inboard freehub bearing will almost certainly disintegrate first and cause the pawls to lockup. This can be solved with good Japanese bearings. Novatech axles are weak and can often break. Don't get me started on Mavic or the old Eastons.