Hope Technology has over 30 years of experience in building some of the best mountain bike components including its P4 mountain bike hubs regarded as a bench mark in the mountain bike hubs market. Hope Technology has aimed to combine all its experience and hub know-how to deliver the new Pro 5 hub, which they say will exceed the demands of the modern rider and future mountain bike technology.
When it comes to making upgrades to your mountain bike, hubs are often overlooked, but as our resident tech guru, Guy Kesteven, says in his article The Hub of the Matter, "they have a far more reaching effect on the design and performance of your bike than you might think..." and in the P5 Hope believe they one of the best choices around when it comes to wheel upgrades.
The Hope Pro 4 proved to be one of the most popular and reliable hubs on the market, and the Pro 5 Hope aims to build on its success with improvements throughout, offering the right balance between speed of pick-up, load capacity, durability and drag.
One of the key design objectives for the Pro 5 was to reduce drag in the drive mechanism. If effective, this would give real-world riding benefits and Hope says they have achieved this by upgrading the sealing with a new zero drag labyrinth seal, and an improved ratchet and pawl freehub system with new springs. These new upgrades are also said to increase durability and load capacity when compared with the Pro 4.
Another big update comes in an increase in the points of engagement (from 44 to 108) using an offset six-pawl freehub design, where there are three pawls engaged at any time. Hope says this achieves a balance between speed of pick-up, load capacity, drag and durability, which in real-world terms gives a speedy feel on the trail whilst keeping crank movement to an acceptable level without compromising the free running of the hub or its reliability.
Externally, the shell of the P5 gets stunning looking colorways and a new profile to add stiffness without adding any extra weight, whilst housing a new axle design enabling the use of bigger bearings in a better arrangement to fit the latest freehub standards whilst increasing load capacity.
As with every product, Hope makes durability and longevity a main priority and they say everything about the Pro 5 has been considered and tested to work in the worst conditions possible from seals to bearings. If something does wear out, the Pro 5 is fully serviceable and rebuildable with simple tools, or if you need to change drivetrain standards one hub works with everything. So swapping freehubs is easily done, and changing end caps to suit different frame and fork axle standards also should future-proof your wheels.
The Pro 5 comes in a plethora of options including stunning colors, disc fitment choices for six bolt and Centrelock, along with choices of J-bend pull spokes and straight pull spokes too. Available in 24, 28, 32 and 36-hole drillings, there are also, as mentioned, freehub choices for different drivetrains, and spacers to suit frame and fork standards.
Completely new for the Pro 5 is the option of Centrelock disc fitting and an e-MTB specific hub that comes with a freehub tailor-made for the stresses and strains of e-bike use.
Availability and pricing
Hope Technology say that the Pro 5 will be in stock and available at retailers from March 1st. Pricing on front hubs from £95.00 / €106.00 / $113.00 and rear hubs from £220 / €247.00 / $263.00.
We will be seeing the new Pro 5 at Core Bike Show this weekend and look forward to seeing these beauties close up. More information is available at Hope Tech.
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