# White Industries Hubs?



## drankk (Dec 15, 2010)

Thinking of building a custom wheelset with white industries hubs. The H2 and H3 specifically. Has anyone used these and liked them, they look pretty awesome.


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## SBH1973 (Nov 21, 2002)

WI Hubs are fantastic. I had them on a set of custom wheels built in 2002 and they are still riding today (just not with me) and probably have over 15000 miles on them. I think I had them serviced once. My wife still has them on a custom set of 650s built in 2003. They probably have 8,000 miles on them and are still going strong. I kind of like the DT Swiss 240s a little more (and I'm hard pressed to say why), but you certainly won't go wrong with WI. I imagine that others will tell you the same.


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

The H2/H3 are a great set of hubs. I have always thought that they easily have the best dollar to quality ratio that you can get. They aren't the lightest ones out there (350 grams) but they sure are some of the most durable. The polished silver that they have is almost as good looking as an Alchemy silver as well. Most importantly (from a mechanics standpoint) they are quite easy to service. Wether your checking bearings or swapping freehub bodies, it is all doable with a basic allen wrench set. 

Here is a picture of an H2 that we buit up a while ago. They are subtly understated with just the right amount of flash.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

*I like them a bunch.*

I've had them for about three years. Beautiful to look at. Trouble free. No complaints.


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## littlewing6283 (Sep 15, 2009)

Zen Cyclery said:


> The H2/H3 are a great set of hubs. I have always thought that they easily have the best dollar to quality ratio that you can get. They aren't the lightest ones out there (350 grams) but they sure are some of the most durable. The polished silver that they have is almost as good looking as an Alchemy silver as well. Most importantly (from a mechanics standpoint) they are quite easy to service. Wether your checking bearings or swapping freehub bodies, it is all doable with a basic allen wrench set.
> 
> Here is a picture of an H2 that we buit up a while ago. They are subtly understated with just the right amount of flash.


hey zen. anymore pics of that wheelset ? looks exactly like what ive been looking at


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## medimond (Apr 26, 2009)

I'm running a pair of WI hubs that Zen assembled for me and I have nothing to say bad about them, they roll really smooth.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

They're beautiful hubs. I'd consider them the cartridge bearing version of DuraAce. Like DA they have a nice titanium cassette carrier. They are easily serviceable with normal shop tools - unlike King and DT240. With the silver ones you get a new hobby too - polishing them, as they're not anodized and they stain easily but OMG do they look nice when you're done. Everything considered they're probably, arguably, the best hubset going. This set from Zen -


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

littlewing6283 said:


> hey zen. anymore pics of that wheelset ? looks exactly like what ive been looking at


LittleWing- Unfortunately, this particular wheelset was just a front wheel build. Below is a picture of the entire wheel though. The weight of just this front is 656 grams.


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## backinthesaddle (Nov 22, 2006)

Two sets here...
I won't buy anything for hub replacement or new custom wheelset builds...plus, they're made here in the US. The guy who answers the phone at WI might be the same guy who machines them! They are all very hands on and service oriented.


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## Mackers (Dec 29, 2009)

+1 for the WI lovefest.


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## bent steel (Dec 28, 2007)

Love their hubs, I've run various versions on my mountain bikes for years, and still run their crankset on my single speed. Great people to work with, they were at NAHBS and very friendly. I do plan on getting a set of H2/H3 hubs this year.

If Alchemy would drop a twenty on website development and come out to events, I'd consider them, but for now, they seem a little too much like Hadley and could go to vaporwear all too quickly.


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## ergott (Feb 26, 2006)

Not known for their strength.









   

-Eric


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

I would love to see WI begin to offer their hubs in more colors. Imagine if you could get WI hubs in colors like Chris Kings...


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

I like my wheels with the silver WI hubs, all 6 of them, and really don't mind keeping them shiny with my trusty tube of Semichrome polish, but you do wonder why they don't do a silver anodizing since they aready offer them in Black? I would be first in line for a set of Red WI hubs....unless you beat me to them.


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## teleguy57 (Apr 23, 2006)

*Mmmmm, WI hubs.....*

You can see mine from Zen here 

Sorry for the multiple clicks; you can get to the wheel gallery on Picasa but just not directly the way I originally posted....


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

cdhbrad said:


> you do wonder why they don't do a silver anodizing


I suspect that they dont do a silver ano because if they were to the finish would be much more flat. The shiny finish achieved on those hubs is a function of the naked alloy.


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## cdhbrad (Feb 18, 2003)

Understood and I like the look, my point was that they already do anodizing on their hubs, so why not the silver too? I don't know for sure, but it is probably not as labor intensive as all the polishing they do now.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

I recently bought a pair of Katmandus from Zen for an Eddy Merckx frame I was building up (older steel frame). I got the silver WI hubs, spokes and Kinlin rims. They're nice, reasonably light, and in a world of everything_has_to_be_black_and_carbon, they're beautiful to look at. Went with the 2010 Camp Athena group in silver.


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## backinthesaddle (Nov 22, 2006)

cdhbrad said:


> Understood and I like the look, my point was that they already do anodizing on their hubs, so why not the silver too? I don't know for sure, but it is probably not as labor intensive as all the polishing they do now.


Black is easier to do than any other color.


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## grande (Mar 18, 2003)

*WI vs. Ultegra or DuraAce*

I considering a DA 7900/HED Belgium build. I am looking for alternatives however. Curious as to any of the White Lovers can compare and contract WI to Shimano hubs


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## KMan (Feb 3, 2004)

teleguy57 said:


> You can see mine from Zen here
> 
> Sorry for the multiple clicks; you can get to the wheel gallery on Picasa but just not directly the way I originally posted....


Mind me asking the price of that exact wheelset - that pretty much dead on what I was looking for.

Michael


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## valleycyclist (Nov 1, 2009)

grande said:


> I considering a DA 7900/HED Belgium build. I am looking for alternatives however. Curious as to any of the White Lovers can compare and contract WI to Shimano hubs


Both of them are excellent hubs. One of the main differences is that Shimano hubs do not use cartridge bearings. White Industries hubs weigh slightly less than Dura-Ace hubs. Dura-Ace hubs include nice skewers.


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## dookie (Oct 1, 2007)

+1(000) for both white hubs and zen. ~7k trouble-free miles on this one (and haven't even polished them yet).


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## grande (Mar 18, 2003)

Right. So do folks notice the DA (w/ loose bearings) roll better? I'm thinking more feel, performance. I dont log a ton of miles as I'm part time MTB/part time Road


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

grande said:


> Right. So do folks notice the DA (w/ loose bearings) roll better?


I have both the DA and the WI and even in the hand there is no appreciable difference. On the road it's impossible to tell.


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## Zen Cyclery (Mar 10, 2009)

bent steel said:


> If Alchemy would drop a twenty on website development and come out to events, I'd consider them,


Absolutely. I have really been trying to push this one to Sarah and Jeremy but they seem to be too tied up in other things to want to pursue a website. I just find it amazing that a company that has no website and does no online promotion can be as successful as Alchemy.


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

Word of mouth works quite well... especially with the internet. Marketing is mostly about convincing people to buy inferior products at inflated prices.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

rruff said:


> Marketing is mostly about convincing people to buy inferior products at inflated prices.


You'd better copyright that one in the next 5 minutes or *I'M* gonna steal it!


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## penn_rider (Jul 11, 2009)

Mike T. said:


> You'd better copyright that one in the next 5 minutes or *I'M* gonna steal it!



I think Trump beat you t it....


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## Tallsedo (Jul 18, 2012)

For the price, it seems to hard beat the deal at prowheelbuilder for the velocity deep v with WI h2 and h3 hubs standard for $479 assembled...Im sure if you shopped around and ordered from 4 different places you could do it for less.... the hubs alone sell for around 300.... well it at least SOUNDS like a good deal


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## taki5 (Mar 7, 2011)

Question on the WI hubs, I understand the bearing preload procedure (loosen the small set screws, push on the collar (only the collar), tighten the set screws), but I always seem to get hub play, even after one ride. 

Are they designed/intended to have a slight amount of hub play?


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

Yes, they usually have a little play. It could also be that the collar is hanging up in the indents you've already made. You could try pulling the collar completely off and reinstalling it in slightly different angular position relative to the axle.


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## dookie (Oct 1, 2007)

rruff said:


> Yes, they usually have a little play. It could also be that the collar is hanging up in the indents you've already made. You could try pulling the collar completely off and reinstalling it in slightly different angular position relative to the axle.


this.


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## dookie (Oct 1, 2007)

Tallsedo said:


> For the price, it seems to hard beat the deal at prowheelbuilder for the velocity deep v with WI h2 and h3 hubs standard for $479 assembled...Im sure if you shopped around and ordered from 4 different places you could do it for less.... the hubs alone sell for around 300.... well it at least SOUNDS like a good deal


and holy thread revival!


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## taki5 (Mar 7, 2011)

thats good to know, thanks!


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## 62westwallaby (Aug 5, 2008)

*Love my White Industries hubs*

White Ind. H2/H3 hubs laced 3x to Stan's 340 Alpha rims
Phil Wood spokes and brass nipples
32 hole front and rear
Ti freewheel body

Never needed truing after 2,000 miles! I'm a White Ind. devotee after this wheelset.


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## Dfrensdorff (Oct 1, 2012)

I am in the process of researching a Wheelset build. Definitely WI H2/H3. Looking into Stan's, mavic open pro and DT Swiss. What do any of you think?


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## jpaschal01 (Jul 20, 2011)

Dfrensdorff said:


> I am in the process of researching a Wheelset build. Definitely WI H2/H3. Looking into Stan's, mavic open pro and DT Swiss. What do any of you think?


I'm having a new set of wheels built, but opted for WI's new 11-speed compatible hub (t-11). I'm running 10-speed now, but will be set with this set of wheels if I end up going 11-speed in the next few years.


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