Did you get the Hunts or the Mason Hunts? I think the Mason Hunts are a bit lighter but also have a lower weight restriction. I haven't seen the wobbly freehub body, but I'll look today. Did you do a rear axle swap? If so, did you use a torque wrench on the 17mm axle caps?
I have the 4 Season Gravel Discs, not the Mason Hunts. So the heavier, wider version. I think the hubs are the same.
I did do the rear axle swap, sadly I don't have a torque wrench. But I tried to play with different tightnesses and the freehub always wobbles. But it only does it if I have the rear wheel out of the bike and I just spin the axle with my hand. It's pretty strange.
It had the same wobble before I touched the axle tho.
Well, even if you had a torque wrench, you would need a 17mm crowfoot - which aren't exactly laying around. I checked my rear wheel - no wobble in the freehub. I didn't take the cassette off, but it all looks pretty straight to me. I agree the hubs are the same between the wheelsets. IIRC, the freehub just inserts into the shell, right? I think I remember it popping off on me during the axle swap. I don't know.
Yeah the freehub body just slides into the hub and the axle holds it all together, it's pretty simple. On mine you can see the whole cassette wobbling as you rotate the axle, but I have a 10-42 cassette so with the huge cog it's pretty easy to see.
The worst part is that I have no idea what's causing it. My best guess is that somehow the inner race of the drive side bearing is not as precise as it should be and as it rotates it makes the freehub wobble. I doubt that both of the axles and freehub bodies I have are faulty.
What size axle? IIRC, the axle slides through the freehub body and the freehub body sits on the axle with bearings? How could the freehub body wobble unless the axle was bent?
Could there be a bad bearing in the freehub body?
I actually have no idea what I'm talking about, so this isn't really me helping.
That freehub oscillation is typical in cheaper wheels where tolerances aren't the tightest. Unless it's causing shifting problems there's nothing to worry about.
Hunt thought that the axle was bent too, that's why they sent me a brand new axle too with a new freehub body. But that did not solve the problem. I think if the axle was bent I would get wobble when pedalling or freewheeling, which does not happen. I've seen that a bunch on cheaper hubs, but my freehub only wobbles if I rotate the axle which is just weird.
I don't think it gives me any issues although I do have a bit more drivetrain noise than I would like but i'm not sure if that's related. (My thinking here would be that the chain is not hitting the cassette at the right angle because of the wobble) It bothers me because even though this is not considered as an expensive wheelset i've never spent this much money on a wheelset before. This is a warranty issue anyway (if not all wheels are like this) but as I said I just don't want to let go of the wheels right now... If winter finally hits in full force i'll send them back for warranty.
Hunt thought that the axle was bent too, that's why they sent me a brand new axle too with a new freehub body. But that did not solve the problem. I think if the axle was bent I would get wobble when pedalling or freewheeling, which does not happen. I've seen that a bunch on cheaper hubs, but my freehub only wobbles if I rotate the axle which is just weird.
Here is the video i've sent Hunt:
That's weird. I wish I could come up with an explanation.
I think only the carbon models are hookless. My alloy 4 Season Gravel Discs definitely have hooks. They're very little, but they're there. They also have these "shoulders" next to the hooks and holy crap they lock the tyre in. Haven't tried tubeless yet but when you take the tyres off you basically have to pop them out of that channel before you can do anything. I'm running Vittoria Voyager Hypers, i'm pretty sure they don't have carbon beads.
Yes, I am a wheel builder. I hope I don't come off as pushy or too much of a shill.
I can see the attraction to Hunt Wheels. Trust me. A little jealousy? Maybe, a little. If I was in the market, and didn't have any hot tips on where to look (and wasn't an actual pro wheel builder) - I'd be all over them, too.
I'm not saying they suck, or they are low quality. I don't think they are.
What I will say is this -
The rims are sourced from China, or maybe Taiwan. The hubs are made by Novatec. The spokes are Pillar. I don't have problems with China. Novatec hubs can be pretty decent. Pillar, well, I have heard a variety of things.
So, I'm pointing out those details because - I can build very arguably better quality wheels for the same kind of monies we are talking here. What I offer is this: Better hubs, better spokes, and a reputation I intend to keep and protect. For the same, or lower price. (I haven't analyzed this yet)
I have nothing against the UK. I love the UK. I buy thing from there.
Give me, (or some other US builder you feel you can trust), the opportunity to match, or exceed what we are looking at here (Hunt Wheels).
I live in Europe, maybe prices are that different here or I just did something wrong but I tried to come up with a custom wheelset that had about the same specs as the alloy Hunt 4 Season Gravel Discs and I couldn't do it for the same price. Other than the damn freehub wobble i'm pretty satisfied with my Hunts. (I still didn't send them back for warranty because i'm having too much fun on my new bike )
Just out of curiosity, what parts would you use to build a wheelset similar in price and specs to the 4 Season Gravel Discs? So 20mm ID tubeless ready rims, centerlock hubs, XD driver and 135QR option, weight in the lower 1600g range. (The alloy rims come from Kinlin btw.)
My last post was more in reference to the Hunt Carbon Disc Wheels, but I thought I'd take a look at the 4 seasons again and see what I could do.
Here's what I came up with-
I also build with Kinlin rims. I am a fan, personally and as a builder, and I've built quite a few. The rim that Hunt uses for those particular wheels I am not familiar with. It is stated it is offset and 27 deep, which doesn't match the specs of anything my supplier offers. I wish they did, though, because the specs sound good.
The hubs Hunt uses are Novatec. The spokes are Pillar.
Here's what I would build -
Bitex Hubs - 6 bolt or centerlock, your choice of axle and driver Sapim Spokes - which exactly depends on rider I'm building for DT R470 rim - 20mm internal, fairly light, reliable, tubeless - vinyl decal removeable
Weight for this build should be about 1630 grams. Price would be about $450 shipped (to US) I honestly don't know about shipping to Europe. I have to admit, for Europe you may have found the best bargain, if you factor in shipping costs.
But for US folks, I think what I would offer for $450 is better quality overall, for the money. And looking at the new carbon wheels for ~950GBP I think I can do considerably better.
975 GBP is about $1300. For $1300, I would be able to offer very good hubs, like I9 or DT Swiss 240, CX Ray spokes, and Light bicycle rims. With Bitex hubs, I could build the same wheels for under $1000. Again, with arguably better hubs and spokes (Bitex and Sapim vs. Novatec and Pillar).
Thanks for the information. I mainly looked for factory options. I live in a smaller town and don't have a proper LBS. I checked out a few wheel building webshops in Europe but usually their prices were a bit higher. Sadly shipping bigger stuff like a wheelset from the US is way too expensive and I would have to pay import taxes.
Interestingly, I was cleaning my wheels and I noticed there are two tiny dents on the rear rim and one tiny dent on the front rim. The dents are on the sides.
I've ridden these wheels on mountain bike terrain a few times, although I was riding pretty slow. Am I asking too much of these wheels? Or are they just low quality?
In the past I only had box section rims and never really had this problem. Is this common for deeper rims? Should I go for a MTB wheelset next time?
Thanks for the information. I mainly looked for factory options. I live in a smaller town and don't have a proper LBS. I checked out a few wheel building webshops in Europe but usually their prices were a bit higher. Sadly shipping bigger stuff like a wheelset from the US is way too expensive and I would have to pay import taxes.
Interestingly, I was cleaning my wheels and I noticed there are two tiny dents on the rear rim and one tiny dent on the front rim. The dents are on the sides.
I've ridden these wheels on mountain bike terrain a few times, although I was riding pretty slow. Am I asking too much of these wheels? Or are they just low quality?
In the past I only had box section rims and never really had this problem. Is this common for deeper rims? Should I go for a MTB wheelset next time?
My guess is that these Hunt wheels are using rims designed for pavement. Typically, alu. clincher rims - especially with deeper cross section for aerodynamics - use thinner metal to keep the weight of the rims as low as possible. This usually isn't a problem since it doesn't compromise the rims strength and durability for normal road hazards like pot holes and pavement cracks. However, it does make the rims more susceptible to side impacts from rocks and trail debris. Shallower box shaped rims can use heavier material without as much weight penalty compared to deep section rims, and can be designed to be more resistant to side impacts from rocks and debris. These are generalities. They may not apply to s specific rim design. I'm not an expert on specific wheel components. Here again, I rely on advice from experienced wheel builders.
They call them and market them as "gravel" wheels, I suppose they meant buttery smooth gravel roads... Might go with a shallower, maybe MTB rim next time, I don't care about aero at all. Although I love the look of deeper rims.
![[frown]](https://cdn.websitetoolbox.com/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif)
But I tried to play with different tightnesses and the freehub always wobbles. But it only does it if I have the rear wheel out of the bike and I just spin the axle with my hand. It's pretty strange. ![[biggrin]](https://cdn.websitetoolbox.com/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif)
My best guess is that somehow the inner race of the drive side bearing is not as precise as it should be and as it rotates it makes the freehub wobble. I doubt that both of the axles and freehub bodies I have are faulty. ![[smile]](https://cdn.websitetoolbox.com/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif)
![[rolleyes]](https://cdn.websitetoolbox.com/images/boards/smilies/rolleyes.gif "Roll Eyes - :rolleyes:")