Hope Pro4 Microspline freehub inboard bearings going walkies

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Hope Pro4 Microspline freehub inboard bearings going walkies
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flag b-rass
O+
Posted: Jun 17, 2020 at 22:40 Quote
kia ora folks,
just wondering if anyone has come across any inner freehub body bearings going for a walk...? I run a pro 4 hub with the hope micrsospline freehub and I have been encountering issues where the innermost freehub bearing wanders out from the freehub body itself causing a greater distance between the ratchet surface and the freehubs pawls. resultantly this reduces the clearance between the cassette lockring and the inner chain/seat stay junction surface (of my 2020 trek slash). After diagnosing my issue I recently fixed it (which dissolved any previous clearance issues) until I was out for a ride today and the same initial problems have resurfaced. Low and behold after the ride I see that the bearing has again decided to go for a stroll away from its seated position flush with the rest of the freehub body.
Any theories/comments/pseudoscience would be much appreciated.
flag Davec85
FL
Posted: Jun 18, 2020 at 1:20 Quote
That's odd. The end cap on the hub should prevent the freehub from moving towards the chainstay. When you say a greater surface between ratchet surface and pawls, is the freehub extracting itself from the hub?
flag b-rass
O+
Posted: Jun 18, 2020 at 4:57 Quote
Davec85 wrote:
That's odd. The end cap on the hub should prevent the freehub from moving towards the chainstay. When you say a greater surface between ratchet surface and pawls, is the freehub extracting itself from the hub?
yeah, I guess so. when it sits the way it is designed, the green plastic seal is nice and flush, but after some riding, you can see a developing protrusion of the green seal as if the cassette/freehub was being yanked off. this is all happening while the bike is set up correctly, and the thru-axle is done up snug, and no signs of abnormal binding within the freehub ratchet and a smooth bearing feel when the bike is backpedalled.
flag Reaperactual
Posted: Jun 18, 2020 at 7:33 Quote
Never heard of this one before. Possible there is too much grease around the axle getting behind the problem bearing, once all tightened and loaded could hydraulic pressure be pushing the bearing outwards?
flag fullmetaljacky
Posted: Jun 18, 2020 at 8:37 Quote
had the same problem when i switched bodies for the hope specific cassette, so i took everything appart and made really sure that the green seal was pushed all the way, no problems anymore. Did you try to remove the cassette and see if the green seal can't be pushed more? Mine doesn't sit flush with the end of the hub, it "enters" the hub for 1 or 2mm
flag Davec85
FL
Posted: Jun 18, 2020 at 13:06 Quote
fullmetaljacky wrote:
had the same problem when i switched bodies for the hope specific cassette, so i took everything appart and made really sure that the green seal was pushed all the way, no problems anymore. Did you try to remove the cassette and see if the green seal can't be pushed more? Mine doesn't sit flush with the end of the hub, it "enters" the hub for 1 or 2mm

Good shout. Watch this video at 13.05 on how to ensure the seal is seated correctly.

https://youtu.be/LeQYfb9PvqU
flag b-rass
O+
Posted: Jun 18, 2020 at 13:58 Quote
thanks a bunch, guys, will take the advice and see if the seal can go just a smidge deeper into the hub body and run it from there. hopefully, this solves my issues.
churr.
flag Josef-Coburn
Posted: Jul 12, 2020 at 10:00 Quote
Same issue for me straight out of the box! tried stripping down and reseating and it just shifts away from the rub within about 30 mins of use. It moves right across and touches the frame as such indexing is out and worst of all chain has cut into my frame.
I have contacted Hope and CRC who I am sure will replace the wheel but who will sort the damaged frame. ? are hope what they were ?
flag b-rass
O+
Posted: Jul 24, 2020 at 16:04 Quote
An update for anyone who cares.... the inboard freehub bearing continued to go for a stroll out of its home (avoiding COVID-19 precautions) and was leading to a continual lack of social distancing between the cassette and the chainstay.
I got in touch with my local hope dealer and they sorted me a replacement freehub. I have good faith that this was a one-off scenario however only time will tell. I'm well pleased with the customer service I received from them, Good on ya Hope.
flag Sean0711
FL
Posted: Feb 15, 2021 at 8:17 Quote
b-rass wrote:
kia ora folks,
just wondering if anyone has come across any inner freehub body bearings going for a walk...? I run a pro 4 hub with the hope micrsospline freehub and I have been encountering issues where the innermost freehub bearing wanders out from the freehub body itself causing a greater distance between the ratchet surface and the freehubs pawls. resultantly this reduces the clearance between the cassette lockring and the inner chain/seat stay junction surface (of my 2020 trek slash). After diagnosing my issue I recently fixed it (which dissolved any previous clearance issues) until I was out for a ride today and the same initial problems have resurfaced. Low and behold after the ride I see that the bearing has again decided to go for a stroll away from its seated position flush with the rest of the freehub body.
Any theories/comments/pseudoscience would be much appreciated.

Hello,

I have encountered exactly the same problem as you have described here.
It turns out, that the end cap on the drive side of the hub is too short. Hope makes an end cap specific to their microspline freehub, which is called "X12" I think, and should be 25mm long. The end cap should sit flush against the inner race of the freehub bearing it is facing, if it is too short, it will leave a gap of 8-9mm for the freehub to move on the axle. Apparently the bearings of the freehub will generally stay in their position on the axle, while to outer bearing is secured with a snap ring, the inner bearing will wander out of the free hub.
I guess this is no one off, as I recently bought 2 sets of Pro 4s, both with microspline, and both have the wrong, too short end cap fitted.
I just hope, I easily get the correct end caps for my hubs, unfortunately the frame is also scratched pretty badly from where the cassette lockring was grinding on dropout/chainsty, but I can live with that.

Cheers,
Sean
flag Josef-Coburn
Posted: May 2, 2021 at 9:07 Quote
Ive had this same issue on 2 Hope Pro4 hubs both with MicroSpline, first one Hope forgot to fit a circlip or something inside the freehub second one is in the shop for investigation. While Hope were quick to sort the first one theres no help for the damage you do to your frame or drivetrain i chalked the first one down to bad luck know im not so sure and doubt id buy another Hope hub.
flag SiWalder
Posted: May 10, 2021 at 5:10 Quote
Hi Guys - been having this exact issue for a couple of months and this is the first and only place I've seen it discussed on the internet so I'm relived I'm not going mad.
I've suffered the same issue with my freehub and cassette creeping towards the chainstay (causing my indexing and limit screws to be off) to the point where the cassette lockring and mech hanger are touching, causing friction and chain slack. I'd also had a popping sound coming from the hub along with the clicking. This was due to two of the pawl springs being slightly folded where they had only been half in contact with the pawls which themselves had begun to creep out of the seat. I've order some replacement springs but to be honest, I've just straightened the existing ones out with pliers and they seem fine for now at least.

I've contacted Hope who had suggested it may well be a missing circlip that Josef-Coburn referred to above.

In terms of the service I got from Hope, it was really good. They responded almost immediately to my email and were really friendly and helpful.
flag b-rass
O+
Posted: May 25, 2021 at 15:00 Quote
Interesting to see this isn't just a one-off tolerance issue.

I'm revisiting this thread to report no further issues from the freehub my hope dealer replaced for me.
Considering this is the only problem I have ever had while running hope hubs on the last three bikes over the last 5 years, id be happy to run them again on another bike considering the lack of any other problems with hope hubs.

Heres hoping..... anyone else with this issue finds this thread before they mince their frame too much.
flag Lexusstefan
Posted: Feb 22, 2022 at 4:50 Quote
Had this same issue happen to me twice, however on the second one the bearing towards the frame decided to disintegrate, first time whole free hub body was thrashed this time I cought it early so only new bearings needed and that circlip put back inside
flag bmxconan
O+ FL
Posted: Nov 1, 2022 at 11:41 Quote
Yep, just had this happen for the second time today - Microspline hub / hope pro 4. Presumed it was just a rogue set of bearings and replaced them and now 3 months later it’s happened again. Cassette migrating into aluminium hanger and freehub engagement is off. Ran a pro 4 with sram freehub for 2+ years on my previous bike no issues. Will check circlip and spacer.
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