Grand Cru 4 Bearing Hub from Alec Burney on Vimeo.
17 May, 2011
How to Disassemble the Grand Cru Touring Hub Without Tools
Kyle shows us how to disassemble the Grand Cru Touring Hub, a VO Cinema Presentation, photographed and directed by Alec Burney.
Grand Cru 4 Bearing Hub from Alec Burney on Vimeo.
Consider how easy it will be to service the hubs or change spokes while on the road. These hubs should arrive in about two weeks.
Grand Cru 4 Bearing Hub from Alec Burney on Vimeo.
How about the bearings? Do they come out and back in by hand, or is a tool needed?
ReplyDeleteMark
Okay, now blindfolded.
ReplyDeleteNow THAT is ingenuity. Seems ideal for loaded touring.
ReplyDeleteThe two bearings in the body are easily accessible and, in an emergency, can be pressed out with a screwdriver or almost anything that fits in there. The two bearings in the freehub body are held in with a cir-clip, but Nick just removed it with his pocket knife and fork (as in eating utensil). In practice I doubt you'd ever need to replace bearing while on tour. If you hear bearing noise you can almost certainly make it to some kind of shop. Even a third-world scooter or tractor shop will have cir-clip pliers and can easily replace bearings once you disassemble the hub (if you have a spare set).
ReplyDeleteThose look great! Are you going to offer them in higher spoke counts like 40 or 48?
ReplyDeleteAlso, 6902 bearings are a very common size that should be available almost anywhere. They are used in many machines, not just in bikes.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! (both the hub and the video)
ReplyDeleteIs there no chance of anything loosening up on it's own?
Hi, when do you start to sell this hubs, I have waiting for them.
ReplyDeleteIt is for my Passhunter bike.
Jan-Olov
Any chance of a campy cassette compatability. ???
ReplyDeleteThe hubs arrive in port next week, add a week for customs and trucking.
ReplyDeleteNothing can loosen or be removed while the hub is in the bike frame since all the parts slide outward.
If they sell well we will have a Campy version. And maybe a 40h version.
Wow. And the QR holds it all together. That's very clever -- nice stuff!
ReplyDeleteI built a front wheel with the VO RAID rims and the Grand Cru hub. Really rock solid construction on both the hub and the rim. Building them was a pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI have another RAID rim at home, waiting for the shipment of rear hubs to arrive. Can you advise on what spoke lengths will be needed for the drive and non-drive sides? That way I can have all of the pieces ready when the rear hubs arrive.
I built a front wheel with the VO RAID rims and the Grand Cru hub. Really rock solid construction on both the hub and the rim. Building them was a pleasure.
ReplyDeleteI have another RAID rim at home, waiting for the shipment of rear hubs to arrive. Can you advise on what spoke lengths will be needed for the drive and non-drive sides? That way I can have all of the pieces ready when the rear hubs arrive.
The french song on the video is great. It's not really a song for cyclists: the guy says he drinks
ReplyDeletevery bad wine to forget the sadness of life.
Jazzy music is great.
Thanks for that !
V.
So, in a real world situation, would you just pull the cassette off, along with the freehub?
ReplyDeleteI've got my credit card warmed up and ready to go!! What price range can we expect?
ReplyDeleteAnon 5/18 9:03:
ReplyDeleteYep, you've got the right idea. Leave the cassette on, with lockring in place, and remove the whole freehub just like in the video.
Is the Grand Cru Touring Hub 126mm or 130mm. Will it use a standard 8-speed Shimano cassette? Does the cassette need to be modified in any way?
ReplyDeletePlease have a Campagnolo version!
ReplyDeleteI'll buy when the Campy version arrives!
ReplyDeleteCurious about the spacing, 130 or 135, and also about the noise level. Ultegras seem about as quiet as they get. Can you compare, please?
ReplyDeleteYes! Very nice.
ReplyDeleteThe spacing question, please. Is there a 126mm version?
These should be fabulous in use.
Thank you (yet, again!)
The axle, end caps and freehub mechanism appear to be the same as the C-4 RH-225 (http://c-4bicyclecomponents.com.au/site/RH-225-Rear-Road-Hub.html?st=menuJump). Are the Grand Cru hubs from the same factory?
ReplyDeleteI've been using the C-4 hubs for over a year trouble-free. The freehub mechanism is brilliant, makes maintenance a breeze. Also, the freehub is very quite (not as quite as Shimano though).
There will be a 130 and 135mm version. the cassette will take 8/9/10 speed shimano casettes. You can fit a 7 speed cassette with a 4.5mm spacer.
ReplyDeleteRe: freehub noise, we'll ship them without oil - they're loud like that, not exactly campy-like... but I bathed one in Phil's tenacious oil and put some grese around the seals to help keep it in place. It's asically silent after that, definitely quieter than shimano...
ReplyDeleteOMG, that is brilliant. Can I assume they'll have a 36 spoke count? I love this.
ReplyDeleteShucks! Just like French threads, there are a LOT of 126mm frames out there – many that have already been spread from 120. It would be so nice to have an option of a Freehub over freewheels. Much of the C&V market looks to VO already. Wouldn't it be clear that there is a real market for a 126mm freehub?
ReplyDeleteI remain a fan.., and customer!
Cro-mo, Brooks saddle, 8-speed, friction shifting, Q-ship sounds cool to me.
ReplyDeleteSpacing 132.5? The new standard. Heh. Just joking around--very nice work.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the song used please.....
ReplyDeleteThe song is Je Bois, from the album Serge Reggiani Chanti Boris Vian..
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I also totally love my DT 240s hubs for ease in pulling apart. I can get 'em down to just the freehub body, star-ratchet (as opposed to pawls) system, dust caps, and the hub shell in about the same amount of time. Granted, they're not beautiful polished lovelies like these! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to get one, but looking at those C-4 hubs, it appears that we should expect the VO one to be over $300. That'll be tough to swing.
ReplyDeleteThe C4 hubs are priced in Australian dollars and they are not the same hubs as the Grand Cru hubs.
ReplyDeleteThe price will be around $160.
ReplyDeleteUnder $200 would be delightful.
ReplyDeleteAustralian dollars always mess me up. Are they weighed in Australian grams, too? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris for the ballpark pricing. That's tremendous news.
Will someone give a review of these hubs if they get them? Interested in how people find these hubs on their touring bicycles.
ReplyDelete