Thinking about getting Onyx hubs

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Thinking about getting Onyx hubs
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flag TylerYarasi
Posted: Mar 20, 2022 at 12:51 Quote
I've got a 2021 YT Jeffsy core 3 and I absolutely love everything about this bike. The ONLY thing I would change is the hubs. It has DT Swiss 1900 wheels with some low end DT Swiss hub and the engagement is aweful.

I've been riding on these hubs for a little over a year now and I know I'm going to keep this bike for a while so I am thinking of upgrading the wheels or at least the hubs.

The wheels are still in pretty good shape, so if I buy new hubs I'll probably end up building a whole new wheelset and selling my old wheelset, as a whole wheelset will likely be easier to sell than just some low end hubs.

Thinking about ordering the Onyx vesper hubs. I really like the idea of a silent hub and the lower rolling resistance, but I have read mixed reviews. I am 250lbs (a strong 250) and I have read that the sprag clutch system can slip under heavy load. Anyone have any experience with that?

I have also read that it might be possible to just upgrade the engagement on the existing DT Swiss hub with some type of ratchet conversion. Is that possible?

And lastly if I do build up a wheelset, anyone got recommendations for rims? I probably won't go with carbon but I'm not well versed on the best rims.
flag Matt7082
O+
Posted: Mar 20, 2022 at 13:18 Quote
The conversion kit for your current DT Swiss 370 is not worth the cost. It is more cost effective to buy a whole new wheel. I blew out my 370 hub on my 1900s last year and Swiss warrantied it with a 350 ratchet. I upgraded the ratchet to 54 POE which was nice. You'd really be better off buying a new wheelset to be honest. I weigh 220lbs. I contemplated Onyx hubs for over a year. I finally bought a new wheelset with Onyx Classics, and honestly, I am not loving them. I do like the silent hub...that is my favorite thing about them. And the cool custom colors are great. But the hub has a bit of a spongy feeling to it when it engages. I don't think this hub will make it through this entire season. If you do decide on Onyx hubs, I would stick with the classics. The Vespers are notorious for for having problems, especially with heavier riders.
flag TylerYarasi
Posted: Mar 20, 2022 at 16:07 Quote
Well darn, that is what I was afraid of. I definitely don't want a spongy feeling hub, and I want it to be reliable as well.

I'm kind of annoyed that most Mountain bike stuff seems to be geared around 175lb riders. Most of the riders I know are in the 220s range. It's annoying that I have to constantly worry about whether a component will handle my weight considering I don't really think I am that big of a guy. I think the MTB industry needs to increase the center of the bell curve for what they consider their average rider weight. That's a whole nother topic though lol.

Anyways what do you think about the I9 hubs? Have any recommendations for wheels? I don't really like the noise of I9 hubs but I have read that you can apply grease instead of oil and quiet them down.
flag Matt7082
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Posted: Mar 21, 2022 at 6:58 Quote
I have not personally ridden i9s yet. Most of my bike buddies have them on their bikes and have never had a negative remark about them. The engagement on the i9 Hydras is over 600POE, which is basically infinite like Onyx except they don't have the spongy feel to them. They seem to last forever, and are easy to maintain. Another hub to consider if you don't want noise is the Shimano XTR ( I think). It is well known to be very reliable, affordable, great engagement, and nearly silent if you pack a bit of greas in it. For rims, I went with Nobl TR41s on my Yeti SB150. They are great so far. I've been riding them for about two months. I can immediately feel the stiffness when I am cornering at speed. They come with a lifetime warranty. But there are plenty of other rims out there besides Nobl.
flag kiranseligman
O+
Posted: Mar 27, 2022 at 18:53 Quote
The i9 hubs are nice, but they are loud and super slow. Especially if you stick some grease in them itlll slow it down more. I’be got project 321 hubs and love them. I’ve got the loud version but they have a quiet one. The loud is not obnoxious unless you leave it dry. Chris kings are also really nice and have a nice soft buzz.
flag melanthius
O+
Posted: Mar 28, 2022 at 14:53 Quote
I got the Onyx Classics (170lbs but I mash on drivetrains and don’t want to worry about the clutch) and the “spongy” feeling isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. It doesn’t clank into engagement from freewheeling so you don’t feel that hard impact through your foot. It provides not just silent freewheeling but silent engagement.

Yes, when you lock up the rear brake and stand on the pedal it feels spongy, but in motion it just feels smooth.

I have a set of Kings with a nice soft buzz and they’re great but still clank into engagement. That clank is practically jarring after spending time on the Onyx.
flag Taildragger
O+
Posted: Mar 28, 2022 at 18:24 Quote
melanthius wrote:
I got the Onyx Classics (170lbs but I mash on drivetrains and don’t want to worry about the clutch) and the “spongy” feeling isn’t a bad thing in my opinion. It doesn’t clank into engagement from freewheeling so you don’t feel that hard impact through your foot. It provides not just silent freewheeling but silent engagement.

Yes, when you lock up the rear brake and stand on the pedal it feels spongy, but in motion it just feels smooth.

I have a set of Kings with a nice soft buzz and they’re great but still clank into engagement. That clank is practically jarring after spending time on the Onyx.

Yup, you nailed it. Such a 'smooth' feeling. No clanking is noticeable, probably my favorite feature.
flag flattoflat
Posted: Apr 3, 2022 at 13:20 Quote
Onyx is local to me and I'm shopping for a wheelset as well. My well respected LBS recommends the classics over the vespers in most all applications. For your size I'd definitely go the classic route.
flag cmi85
Posted: Feb 15, 2023 at 6:55 Quote
I've been researching hubs solid for the past couple weeks. Been reading anything and everything I can about Onyx and your comment is truly the first I've seen that is negative/critical about Onyx. It has me curious -- if everyone is talking about instant engagement with Onyx sprags, why do you say it is spongy? Can you elaborate what you mean by that? Those explanations of functionality couldn't be more 180° from each other.

Matt7082 wrote:
The conversion kit for your current DT Swiss 370 is not worth the cost. It is more cost effective to buy a whole new wheel. I blew out my 370 hub on my 1900s last year and Swiss warrantied it with a 350 ratchet. I upgraded the ratchet to 54 POE which was nice. You'd really be better off buying a new wheelset to be honest. I weigh 220lbs. I contemplated Onyx hubs for over a year. I finally bought a new wheelset with Onyx Classics, and honestly, I am not loving them. I do like the silent hub...that is my favorite thing about them. And the cool custom colors are great. But the hub has a bit of a spongy feeling to it when it engages. I don't think this hub will make it through this entire season. If you do decide on Onyx hubs, I would stick with the classics. The Vespers are notorious for for having problems, especially with heavier riders.
flag melanthius
O+
Posted: Feb 15, 2023 at 8:00 Quote
cmi85 wrote:
I've been researching hubs solid for the past couple weeks. Been reading anything and everything I can about Onyx and your comment is truly the first I've seen that is negative/critical about Onyx. It has me curious -- if everyone is talking about instant engagement with Onyx sprags, why do you say it is spongy? Can you elaborate what you mean by that? Those explanations of functionally couldn't be more 180° from each other.

Matt7082 wrote:
The conversion kit for your current DT Swiss 370 is not worth the cost. It is more cost effective to buy a whole new wheel. I blew out my 370 hub on my 1900s last year and Swiss warrantied it with a 350 ratchet. I upgraded the ratchet to 54 POE which was nice. You'd really be better off buying a new wheelset to be honest. I weigh 220lbs. I contemplated Onyx hubs for over a year. I finally bought a new wheelset with Onyx Classics, and honestly, I am not loving them. I do like the silent hub...that is my favorite thing about them. And the cool custom colors are great. But the hub has a bit of a spongy feeling to it when it engages. I don't think this hub will make it through this entire season. If you do decide on Onyx hubs, I would stick with the classics. The Vespers are notorious for for having problems, especially with heavier riders.

They are both instant and spongy. Instant because the sprag clutch grips at any point on the circle, not just where a ratchet tooth is (because there are not ratchet teeth), and spongy because once it starts engaging it “winds up” for a few degrees as the sprags cam over to fully grip the inner sleeve.

The feeling is just different than a ratchet when going from freewheeling to pedaling. Instead of having a random amount of completely free play while you start from some point between ratchet teeth and move towards an instant, impact-like lock-up, you have an instant start to engagement and a completely consistent (and small) amount of take-up as the sprags engage fully.
flag Frank191
O+
Posted: Feb 15, 2023 at 9:41 Quote
I9’s are really good but have crappy Chinese enduro bearings. Chris king are the best but I have heard good things about project 321 and Factor components.
flag kiranseligman
O+
Posted: Feb 15, 2023 at 12:09 Quote
Frank191 wrote:
I9’s are really good but have crappy Chinese enduro bearings. Chris king are the best but I have heard good things about project 321 and Factor components.

Love my project 321 hubs. Have had them for two years now and the bearing are still rolling super nice and smooth and they’ve has zero issues with minimal maintenance.
flag Matt7082
O+
Posted: Feb 15, 2023 at 15:32 Quote
cmi85 wrote:
I've been researching hubs solid for the past couple weeks. Been reading anything and everything I can about Onyx and your comment is truly the first I've seen that is negative/critical about Onyx. It has me curious -- if everyone is talking about instant engagement with Onyx sprags, why do you say it is spongy? Can you elaborate what you mean by that? Those explanations of functionality couldn't be more 180° from each other.

Matt7082 wrote:
The conversion kit for your current DT Swiss 370 is not worth the cost. It is more cost effective to buy a whole new wheel. I blew out my 370 hub on my 1900s last year and Swiss warrantied it with a 350 ratchet. I upgraded the ratchet to 54 POE which was nice. You'd really be better off buying a new wheelset to be honest. I weigh 220lbs. I contemplated Onyx hubs for over a year. I finally bought a new wheelset with Onyx Classics, and honestly, I am not loving them. I do like the silent hub...that is my favorite thing about them. And the cool custom colors are great. But the hub has a bit of a spongy feeling to it when it engages. I don't think this hub will make it through this entire season. If you do decide on Onyx hubs, I would stick with the classics. The Vespers are notorious for for having problems, especially with heavier riders.

Yeah my feedback is a little confusing. Looks like a few folks pinged on the “spongy feeling” already. For the record, I’ve been on these wheels for two full seasons now and I have really grown to love the Onyx hubs. No complaints about the hubs at all. I don’t even notice that spongy feeling anymore. I was also worried early on that the hubs wouldn’t hold up very long, but they are running just a good now as they were on day one.
flag gsspirit
O+
Posted: Apr 24, 2023 at 7:15 Quote
I have had a set of Onyx Vesper hubs on my aggressive HT for 2 years and they are my favorite hub by far. The "spongy" feel that people mention is just the sprags rotating to bite harder not slipping. I only notice it when stopped and putting weight in the pedal when riding they are smooth unlike other hubs that I notice the little gaps even on higher engagement hubs when riding. They are a little weird to set up but once the rear is locked into place they are ready.
flag Hobbanero
Posted: Apr 27, 2023 at 18:40 Quote
I had an Onyx Vesper on my Kenevo SL, and after a couple of years the hub failed. It was replaced under warranty, but they sent a Classic hub to handle the extra load of the lightweight motor. No issues so far with the new hub, but it has only been a few months. Given your size and likely torque, the Classic may be the better option.

I love the quiet running and instant engagement. I don't notice a spongy feeling, but I do appreciate what other posters have mentioned about "no clank" engagement.

Now that O-chains are becoming popular, I wonder if instant engagement is a good thing. Might depend on your bike and whether its kinematics are prone to pedal kickback. Personally, I don't notice any kickback on my KSL, but then there is a lot going on in situations where kickback might be an issue.

I think the Classic is about 300g heavier than a DT240, if that matters. Personally, I like the quiet, but some people go faster if it sounds like they are being chased by angry bees.
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