Installing Freehub Bodies on VO Hubs

 by Scott

One of the great things about VO Hubs is their tool-free disassembly. This gives you the ability to swap out the freehub bodies, replace a driveside spoke, or remove the cassette for travel all without the use of any cassette tools - a key feature of convenience and roadside serviceability on our hubs for years. How easy is it to do it? We'll use this short blog post to illustrate how easy it is.

The first step is figuring out what you are starting with. The stock freehub body that comes on our current-generation disc rear and cassette rear hubs is the HG11 spline for Shimano/SRAM 8-11spd.  If you want to run something other than an 11 speed cassette, you'll need one of these spacers to allow for a 8/9/10 speed cassette to sit properly on the freehub body. We'll next look at the two other freehub options for you to change to:

Campy - This freehub allows you to use any 9/10/11 speed Campagnolo cassette on it. Campy did not change the overall spacing of their cassettes over the years like Shimano did, so you can use a variety of speeds on it without the use of an adaptor spacer.

SRAM XDR- This freehub body is designed by SRAM to allow use of a 10 tooth cog in the smallest position on the cassette. Taking up the same width as a Shimano HG11 freehub, it allows XD and XDR cassettes to be used on our hubs built into wheels designed for road spacing.

Now that we've established what we have and what we want to change to, lets get going on changing the freehub body. We're going to show how to switch out to the SRAM XDR to show how and when to use the spacer described above.

Start by removing the installed freehub body- Grab onto the freehub body or cassette and pull it outward. Clean off any excess grease to enable a solid grasp. The dust seals may be tight, but it will come off.

                                                                        Freehub on

                                                   Freehub off (the axle does not come out)

Be sure to take this time to inspect your bearings (if you're making this switch after a period of use). Also be sure to remove the freehub barrel that fits around the axle and rests in the back side of the freehub body. These barrels are specific to the freehubs, and you'll want to be sure you use the correct one.

When the freehub body comes off, don't let those endcaps wander off. 

                                                                  Barrel inside freehub body

                                                          Barrel removed from freehub body

Now install the new freehub body - Remove your new freehub from the packaging. You'll notice that the freehub comes with a plastic retainer ring around the pawls. You will need to remove this ring before installing the freehub. 

                                       Ring installed from factory - You'll need to remove the ring

                                                                    Ring removed

After removing the ring, put a little bit of light oil or grease on the pawls. Slide the new freehub body's barrel into the freehub body. Then slide the new freehub body assembly on to the axle (rotating helps the pawls to click into place), and slide on the silver super thin washer onto the outside of the freehub body. Finish up by popping the end cap on top of the washer and you are good to go!

There you have it - quick and hassle-free freehub replacement, and if you run into any trouble, don't hesitate to reach out at info@velo-orange.com.