Super light European hubs are always great to look at, and adorn dreamy 11lb road bike builds. French company ACSE is building a line of hubs that fit the bill, yet also offer a 5 year warranty. Of course, following the mantra of “strong, light, cheap; pick two”, the pair of hubs runs €568, or about $670, even with today’s low exchange rate to the Euro.
The hub shells are made from 7075-T6, and ACSE says that even though the hubs are lighter than most, using this stronger material, and proper design means the hubs have no maximum spoke tension limit. Even without the low weight, a hub with no tension limit and a 5 year warranty is pretty impressive.
Take a look inside to see more details on the impressive hubs, and one unfortunate detail that will keep them from Americans for the time being…
The axles are interchangeable and the 6-bolt disc brake hubs can be used in QR 9mmx100mm or through-axle 15mmx100mm in the front, and QR 10mmx135mm or through-axle 12mmx142mm in the rear. They are very proud that all of the parts of the hub are made in France, except for the high-precision bearings that are made in Switzerland.
Sadly, owner Sebastien Arcile says that with French law and insurance, he cannot sell the hubs to the USA at this time. When dealing with North American markets, he says his insurance will increase dramatically (and further increase the cost of the hubs) to sell them to us. To get a set, you will need to take a trip across the pond.
The hubs are available in black, red and orange initially.
The engagement mechanism they use looks eerily similar to DT-Swiss’ Star Ratchet system, yet has enough distinguishing features that we know they are not DT-Swiss parts. ACSE says they use the design because it creates a 100% engagement when the two plates are engaged to each other, instead of transmitting the force through the tips of traditional pawls. They say this reduces the specific loads of the mechanism by 7 times, which can contribute to reducing material and weight from the overall hub. They do offer an option on the hub to have the clutch plates made from aluminum to further reduce the weight, for riders who weigh less than 70kg, and they also have a high-engagement-point 108t with traditional pawls, but you lose the 5 year warranty on that option.
The front hub comes in at 107g for the 15mm through-axle, and the rear comes in at 253g for the 12mm through-axle with an XD driver body.
SPECS –
Front Hub
- Body: 7075T6 aluminum
- Axle: 15mm hollow axle, 7075T6 aluminum
- Axle ends: 7075T6 aluminum
- Bearings: 61903, ACSE’s specifications
- Standards: 15×100 thru axle, IS disc fixing
- Holes: 32
- Diameters (L/R): 56mm / 40mm
- Distance to the center (L/R): 25mm / 37.5mm
- Origin: France, excepted bearings (Swissmade)
- €199
Rear Hub
- Engagement Mechanism Option -036 (36 notches, steel, Shimano 9/10/11v)
- Engagement Mechanism Option -036 XD (36 notches, steel, Sram X-Drive XX1/XO1)
- Engagement Mechanism Option -036 L (36 notches, aluminum, Shimano 9/10/11v – Pilot <70kg)
- Engagement Mechanism Option -108 (108 notches, aluminum, Shimano 9/10s)
- Body: 7075T6 aluminum
- Axle: 7075T6 aluminum
- Axle ends: 7075T6 aluminum
- Bearings: 4x 61902, ACSE’s specifications
- Standards: IS disc fixing
- Holes: 32
- Diameters (L/R): 56mm / 50mm
- Distance to the center (L/R): 37.6mm / 23.7mm
- Origin: France, excepted bearings (Swissmade)
- €369
