While at Sea Otter last April, I rounded a corner to see some wheels hanging off a display. They drew my attention to the hubs, an outlandish looking affair with a large black center and polished aluminum ends. I just had to draw closer for a better look.

They were the Chub Hubs and they are manufactured by an outfit calling themselves “the hive“. All insect jokes aside, it turns out that these guys have been pretty busy cranking out some different ideas. These hubs are just one of them. If you can get by the startling size factor, there are some pretty cool features to these components.

The theory on the oversize hub shell is that it increases torsional stiffness and fatigue life, and minimizes spoke windup. Spoke stress is claimed to decreased 70% over conventional high flange hubs. Not only that, but the axles on the Chub Hubs are 15mm through, and are fixed to your rig by massive M10 titanium screws.

The center section of the hubs are made of carbon fiber and have the fibers oriented for optimum torque transfer. Offered only in 32 hole drilling, 135mm spacing, and with a claimed weight of 286 grams. The rear is matched with a front Chub Hub that has 100mm spacing and the same massive flanges, hub shell, and fixing bolts as the rear. The front is said to be a great design for disc brake usage since it minimizes spoke length and wind up during braking.

“the hive’ will have a fixed gear specific set for sale as well any day now with these single speed hubs coming by the end of the month. MSRP on the hubs is as follows:
Mtn Disc ft: $192
SS Disc Rr: $240

Track Ft: $111
Track Rr: $240

Check back for any updates and for my story on “the hive’s” new idea for a crank/bottom bracket interface, coming soon!