General: is annybody else dissapointed in surly hubs

amen

Why? What is wrong with them? I've had friends ride them for a long time and have zero problems. How much problems can a sealed hub actually give you?

Of course you have to be able to adjust the cones. There is no internal spacer between the bearings, so it is easy to put a side-load on the bearings if they are too tight. A sealed bearing just means you don't have to grease the bearings, it doesn't mean they don't need to be adjusted.

What probably happened was a cone locknut wasn't tight enough and when you tightened your axle nut it rotated the axle and put a side-load on the bearing. This is why whenever you take a wheel off you check the hub to see if it's too loose or too tight. Also expecting them to come from the factory perfectly adjusted is ridiculous.So is expecting them to remain perfectly adjusted forever.

I have heard that like the Suzue ProMax, the axle nuts occasionally cross-thread and then it is new axle time. Not that big of a deal, unless it's happening every time the wheel is taken off.

If the problem is adjustment, you just need to get back to the basics of the mechanism. Like Davey said above, just because bearings are sealed doesn't mean there is no maintenance required... You have bearings and you have cartridge bearings. Cartridge bearings don't need adjustments, basically you set them and go, regular bearings are generally loose ball bearings that require cone adjustments and have a jam nut which will keep them from loosening or tightening. A good example of a very high quality loose bearing hub is Campagnolo. Though I'm not familiar with the Surley hubs, based upon the other responses, they are probably not cartrige bearings and will require maintenance from time to time.

They are cartridge bearings. There is no spacer in the middle so if they are too tight it wears the bearing out. Some sealed hubs have a spacer in the middle or a raised middle section on the axle to keep this from happening.

also i just noticed i have 2 1mm spacers on the left but only 1 on the fixed side, is this normal or did i loose one?

Keep in mind that the OP was a teenager who consistently displayed his lack of knowledge and was made fun of routinely. And this thread is two and a half years old.

I am riding on a Surly free wheel. Had it laced onto a Weinmann Dp18. I actually just installed a 16T sprocket on it. I have been riding on it for at least one year and haven't had any problems. I am very impressed.

You can always get some Phil Wood hubs, and forget about cone nut adjustment for, well, like ever. The Halo track hubs as well I think.

The only issues I've seen with Surly hubs are cone nut/bearing issues, and with people who still think radial lacing is a good idea. Lots of stress pulling from the spokes on the weakest point possible and *crack* a dead hub. Still a better choice than Origin8 or Formula hubs.