Hubs for Singlespeed, Fixie and More

Those who assemble their own bike from scratch and thus want to retain maximum control over every aspect of the bike's performance, also assemble their wheels from the necessary individual parts. Of central importance here is the bicycle hub, which has now developed into a true marvel in terms of its technical properties. The bicycle hub is a construction of axle, hub housing and bearing, among other things, the spokes and can be supplemented with pinion, freewheel body or brake.

A modern bicycle hub consists at least of an axle, bearing and hub shell. With the help of a screw or quick-release axle, the wheel is clamped into the fork dropouts or dropouts on the bicycle frame, while the bearing forms the movable hub body on the axle. The task of the hub shell is to accommodate bearings, gears and freewheel if necessary, and to be connected to the rim by spokes on the hub flange. As a cycling enthusiast with technical expertise, you can use different components to assemble your own bicycle hub according to your wishes from a variety of possible models and materials. However, already assembled bicycle hubs reduce the amount of work here considerably. If you are looking for a prefabricated bicycle hub, you should always keep in mind that these are usually designed for a specific type of bicycle, for example, road bike, singlespeed or fixie, mountain bike or city bike and accordingly have different driving characteristics, different installation widths and different axle variants such as thru axle, hollow axles for quick release systems or solid axles for axle nuts must be compatible with the corresponding frame or the dropouts of the frame. A distinction is generally made between front wheel hub and rear wheel hub. In principle, these are constructed differently.

Bicycle hubs generally consist of an axle, bearing and hub housing. The axle is firmly installed in the frame, the hub shell transmits the rotational movement via the spokes, rims and tires to the ground. The bearings inside the hub play an important role. The bearings not only allow the rotation of the wheels, they must also absorb all vertical, horizontal or tangential forces that occur when driving and braking. In the front wheel hub are usually 2 bearings installed, in the rear wheel hub up to four. A wide variety of bearing types are used. In modern wheels are often installed deep groove ball bearings according to industrial standard. Industrial bearings are wear parts that are pressed into the hub and positioned between the hub body and axle. Advantage: they are usually well sealed against moisture and dirt, are maintenance free, and when worn, can be replaced with relatively little effort. Disadvantage: an immense mass of sizes and variants at first glance. To find the right bearing for your hub is sometimes difficult because of this. Cone bearing: the classic. Older, classic or simple bikes usually have cone bearings installed. But even brand leader SHIMANO holds on to cone bearings in its hubs up to high in the Dura-Ace class. For good reasons! Conical bearings consist of two concave cones (fixed cone which sits on the axle and loose cone which is part of the hub shell) between which ball or ball carrier sits freely movable. Compared to industrial bearings, cone bearings are more maintenance-intensive - but also maintainable. The bearing clearance in conical bearings due to wear can be adjusted. Cone bearings can be easily opened, cleaned and regreased. Components such as the fixed cone or the balls inside can be replaced. A well-maintained cone bearing can last forever, unlike many industrial bearings.

Bicycle hubs for front wheels usually have an installation width of 100 mm, which corresponds to today's industry standard. Front wheel hub housings are often made of aluminum, in more cost-intensive variants made of carbon, while in the bearing ceramic can be used as a particularly high-quality and thereby more cost-intensive material. Front wheel hubs can be equipped with optional hub brakes or a hub dynamo, but are in principle simpler in design than rear wheel hubs, since neither the drive nor the gears have to be considered for the front wheel.

The bicycle hub for the rear wheel can also be made of various materials from aluminum to carbon, but usually has a hub width of 130 to 142 mm. The main difference to a hub for front wheels is that a rear wheel hub must absorb the driving force of the cyclist through the bicycle chain and transfer it to the road via a sprocket or sprocket set via spokes, rim, tire.

In a derailleur hub, either a freewheel body is mounted on the hub, on which in turn a sprocket set or the cassette are attached, or - in simple or older systems - directly a sprocket with integrated freewheel mechanism screwed to a thread on the hub body similar to that of singlespeed and fixie hubs. In both cases, the bicycle chain rests on a sprocket. Shifting to other smaller or larger gears is made possible here by diverting the bicycle chain from one of the sprockets to the next with the help of a rear derailleur. In the case of a bicycle hub with hub gears or gear hub, on the other hand, the chain only runs over a sprocket attached to the hub. The actual gear shift is located here in the form of a gearbox inside the hub housing, which can mean less maintenance effort on the one hand, but at the same time somewhat more weight and an often more cost-intensive purchase as well as a constructively "rigid" transmission ratio range of the respective gear steps.

We at BIKE PUNK offer a wide range of front and rear hubs. We offer hubs of different models, quality levels and manufacturers such as BLB, Dia-Compe, Miche, Ridea or Paul with focus from track hubs or hubs for track bikes and singlespeed. If you have questions about our range of hubs, are not sure whether or which are compatible with your bike and drive train or want a general advice, contact us via email or just visit us in our BIKE PUNK SHOWROOM in Berlin-Kreuzberg! If we do not have a certain product in stock, we will try to get it for you in a timely manner. We are happy to advise and accompany you on all topics related to your bike. For the latest products, inspiration and information follow us on Instagram!