Cycling UK Forum

Thanks for the info, all very helpful. Decision made, aluminium it is.
Cheers.

Haha, no-one wants to be a moving church bell!

Aha, two sets of rear stays it is then! Cheers for the heads up.

I had thought about doing that, but apparently VO have 'beefed up' up the rear stays and the supplier in this country- Velo Duo- have never seen any problems with just one set of stays.

The shaping issue is a very good point, thanks for reminding me. I really like SKS mudguards, I have them on my main touring bicycle, but since this is for a vintage bicycle- shiny and traditional looking is key!

Ok cheers, it is now in the consideration pot!

Ah, gotcha. Actually, the VO aluminium ones are polished..as far as I can tell, they are not plastic coated as many are.

Frustratingly, VO don't list weights..so I'm not sure..

Sorry, I didn't quite understand- did you mean that steel mudguards tend to be noisier than the aluminium variety?

Cheers.

As per the subject title..which is a better choice for a pair of Velo Orange mudguards, stainless steel or aluminium? Mainly I am thinking in terms of durability and longevity, but I'm sure that there are other considerations that I have not taken into account! Weight being one of them..but not sure how much of a difference this really makes?

Cheers.

Awesome reply, thanks I have now made my decision, based on all of your help.

Cheers to you all for taking the time to post, I'm really grateful.

Royce is the way to go for me..

Another question, mostly for those folks who own a Royce hub..I currently only have bicycles with cup and cone bearings or completely sealed bearings (SON dynamo hub/Rohloff) so I have no experience with ball-race/cartridge bearing hubs. Is there any way with the Royce hubs to remove/replace the bearings without specialist tools? Equally, is there any other servicing required..other than to the freehub body itself.
Cheers.

Thanks for your responses so far; it does seem that the Royce hubs are known for their quality and longevity. I am quite poor..this project is being funded by the sale of a family heirloom, so I really want to just do it right..and then not think about it again hopefully for a few decades!
It is sounding like the Royce hubs might be the way to go..
Cheers.

Thanks to you all for your helpful replies. I must say, I am rather intrigued by the lovely looking Royce hubs. I have done a bit of scouring on the interweb for more information..there ain't much! I did, however, come across one post on a forum where someone had quite a bit of trouble with his Venus rear hub..after much expense trying to sort it, he ended up finally abandoning it. He was very fair about the maker/owner and did say that he did his best to resolve it..but evidently the hub was manufactured poorly in the first place, hence the issues not being able to be resolved. I guess this is always a potential problem with very small companies making anything..if one of the 2 or 3 engineers has a bad day..you're in trouble! WI are quite a bit larger..so more QC one would expect.
Only one negative report, but since there are not many reports in total..it is a bit more of an issue. Especially since I can find literally NO negative reports (well, sensible ones anyway!) about the White Industry hubs. They seem to be very well regarded and ultra reliable.
Any one else with any experience of either the WI hubs or Royce hubs?
I'm also interested in how noisy the freewheel sound is on the Royce hubs? I've heard a few racing folks zooming along with VERY noisy hubs..reminded me of when a swarm of bees exited my chimney a few years ago!! Not my bag at all.
Longevity and quality are the keys for me in my search.
Cheers.

Hello folks,

As the title suggests, I am wondering if any of you have any experience or helpful advice about some nice hubs for a vintage touring bicycle rebuild project. I have mainly narrowed it down to White Industries MI5's vs Grand Bois hubs, but I'm open to other suggestions. The most important thing to me..is LONGEVITY. I am aiming for this to be a 'buy it once' job..the bike will only be used in fair weather, and it won't carry much weight..I am also quite a light rider (around 11 stone.) But it will probably do a few hundred miles a month; so not too much..but enough to warrant some good quality hubs.

The WI MI5 hubs seem to be very well regarded, but they are about 4x more expensive than the Grand Bois hubs! (which are on half price sale at the moment via Velo Duo.) Most of the expensive hubs come with lifetime warranties..but the WI hubs don't. I am struggling to get my head around paying 4x the amount for something that may/may not last the distance. I have looked at the Chris King and Phil wood hubs..but they're really a bit too rich for my blood, and I'd prefer a 36h hub if possible. They also need to have 130mm OLD.

Ease of maintenance is also very important to me..I don't want to spend time faffing about with cup and cone bearings on this particular machine. I have seen the Grand Bois front hub spinning (there's a video from 'velo duo' here in the UK..they spin really well. I can't imagine being able to feel much difference in performance between the two..so it really comes down to which is more likely to last, and the price/performance ratio.

Any guidance much appreciated.

Cheers.