Voltz Hubs

Alan_RTH · Post by **Alan_RTH** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 12:24 pm

Just received these through the post as I'm helping Voltz out with some testing for their new hubs. I haven't had a chance to ride with them yet but I'll update you guys once I do! In the meantime have a drool over these:

barxx · Post by **barxx** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 1:12 pm

Saw these on facebook they look amazing, and am thinking about some new wheels.

What's the spec on them and cost if you know it, and when you get a chance how do they ride?

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 1:56 pm

Sex eeeeeeeeee

Alan_RTH · Post by **Alan_RTH** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 1:58 pm

Unofficial weight is 300g a hub I think which sounds a lot heavier than they feel on the board (I had a little hop around but haven't ridden any jumps just yet)! I'm saying that having been riding Trampa Superstars before so a pretty drastic change!

I'm not sure if they have put out a price for 100% yet but I have heard the figure of £200 a set which is steep compared to any rival hubs. Can't really comment on value for money yet as haven't tried them out properly but I will say build quality is better than MBS and up there with Trampa and they are all built and designed in the UK which is one of the main reasons for the high price!

I'll keep you updated as I give them a play! Just as a disclaimer they sent them to me to test for free but I'm not involved with the company in any other way so any feedback will be unbiased and honest!

LivEviL · Post by **LivEviL** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 2:56 pm

love that there is no nuts

Alan_RTH · Post by **Alan_RTH** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 3:50 pm

There's way too many jokes to make about this comment!

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 11:04 pm

lol true.

but honestly that nut-less feature could swing either way. have to be careful not to over-tighten the bolts or the thread will slowly wear out and then....well....then what? new hub? drill out and thread a for a larger bolt and drill through the other half?

still, they look amazing and if they could be used like manhiks, that is with brakes and no brake disc. that already makes them more valuable. cause that s**t wont melt.

Brennig · Post by **Brennig** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 5:41 am

I think it's amazing to see a new company delving into mountain boarding, huge kudos for them! Price may be a bit steep but it's great to see some high end gear, but more importantly products made in the UK.

As Ben said, if they had rims for brake pads they would be a lot more appealing. A pair of them on the front and a pair of hypas on the back would be sweet.

*WiL* · Post by ***WiL*** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 5:54 am

they look like giant sexy plugholes

do they come with the spacer thang in the middle? (ie photo of the insides plz Alan!)

Brennig · Post by **Brennig** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 8:30 am

And other question, do they accept 9s?

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:23 am

*WiL* wrote:they look like giant sexy plugholes do they come with the spacer thang in the middle? (ie photo of the insides plz Alan!)

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:25 am

Brennig wrote:And other question, do they accept 9s?

9" stikers if im not mistaken...

Alan_RTH · Post by **Alan_RTH** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:53 am

Not sure about whether they will take 9's but I don't see why not. I'll try and find out for you!

They don't have spacers, the hubs actually just meet in the middle. I'll take them back off my wheels and get a picture for you when I get the chance Wilz!

It rained before work so I didn't get to ride today but I'm going to Freestyle Fridays at Ride the Hill tomorrow so will update y'all after a good session!

Alan_RTH · Post by **Alan_RTH** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:54 am

Ben wrote:

The shape you can see on the right hand half has an opposite on the left one which slots into it when you join them together. Quite a cool little bit of design if you ask me!

_Kryten_ · Post by **_Kryten_** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 2:54 pm

They are real nice lookin and im sure there very well made but price is a big issue for me and way out of my price range so ill just have to drool

*WiL* · Post by ***WiL*** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:16 am

sweet. They look great, like re-engineered nu-skool Manhicks (which were also pricey but you really felt the quality of each hand-finished hub). Hope they do well for Voltz. Spinners next, please

Mikael · Post by **Mikael** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:48 am

They look good, but at the end of the day, it's about performance for me. Manhicks were great because of the taller rim, which gave you more control. They were heavy and expensive though. Then came the Rockstar Pros, which don't give you as much control, but are a lot lighter.
With these, it seems I'd get more weight, for no more control. Only bling. Not sure why I would want to buy them.

I realize it makes me sound like an ass. I'm happy to see a new company, but I'm afraid with the current price and lack of new feature, it's going to be hard for them to sell.

indigo_wolf · Post by **indigo_wolf** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:48 pm

Assuming milled aluminum for the hubs. Any chance the threads on the female side which replace the nuts are a stainless insert?

ATB,
Sam

Alan_RTH · Post by **Alan_RTH** » Fri Jul 26, 2013 3:53 pm

Sorry for the delay in writing anything up about these but I've been pretty damn busy lately!

So I've had a few proper sessions on the Voltz hubs now and am loving them, they feel nice and solid and the weight isn't a big factor on the way the ride at all. I gave them a good testing over the MBS Demo ramp last weekend and they held up nicely! They are definitely the most solid feeling hubs I've tried especially compared with my old Trampas which are a little bit rattley after 2 years of riding!

One of the most obvious downsides is the weight, despite being twice the weight of my old hubs they really didn't feel that much heavier when riding and once I'd gotten used to a slightly different feel in the air there was no problem whatsoever. If you are doing downhill riding or racing then the weight will give you no problems and I only found it took a couple of jumps to get used to them for freestyle. I found that I could still spin just as well as normal and the extra weight helped with the rotation once you got them started.

The quality of construction is the best I've seen in any Mountainboarding product, I've only been riding them for a few weeks but I really can't see them braking or bending anytime soon. The only downside I noticed was with the Blue ones that Andy Brind was rocking. It looks like the finish can be scraped off fairly easily so after a few months riding they could end up looking a bit battered! I don't have this problem with the Chrome ones though.

Another small issue that Andy mentioned is that there is a slight ridge just inside the hubs which can make taking the tyres off them a bit difficult. Personally I still think this ended up being easier than taking apart hubs with a bolt each end but that is personal preference and my dislike for spanners!

The biggest downside (and only one that isn't personal preference) that the hubs have is definitely the price, they are almost twice the price of the nearest priced hubs. From what Voltz have said the extra price is from the quality of the materials used, the quality of the construction and the fact that they are designed and manufactured purely in the UK. Obviously it is up to you whether you think this is worth the extra money but I think it is going to be the only real thing that holds these hubs back from being more popular.

On the plus side the looks are obvious and they are a little bit wider than any other hub I've seen which widen the tyre a bit and seems to help with stability. The extra weight also seems to help with riding mini-ramp and general pumping as the board seems to drag you along a bit more than with a lighter board, this could of course be achieved with a heavier board or trucks instead.

One thing I would say is to keep a good eye on the Voltz Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/voltz.bikes?fref=ts as they have a couple of quite interesting ideas coming up soon!

Lastly a quick disclaimer, I don't have anything to do with the company aside from the fact they sent my some hubs to test, I don't ride for them or have any obligation to talk them up. I've been as honest as I can above but let me know if you have any other questions about them!

Alan_RTH · Post by **Alan_RTH** » Fri Jul 26, 2013 3:58 pm

indigo_wolf wrote:Assuming milled aluminum for the hubs. Any chance the threads on the female side which replace the nuts are a stainless insert?

ATB,
Sam

They aren't an insert but you don't need to do them up tightly at all so I can't see there being an issue with screwing up the thread. It is a really good point though so I'll feed it back to Voltz.

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