I9 work the same way, with o-rings to secure the caps, but I think they have tighter tolerances and also the main seal is different which adds a bit more friction to keep the freehub body in place. I'm in contact with Onyx right now and I asked them if it would be OK to use a retaining compound to hold the end caps on. My hubs do have a cinch bolt on one of the end caps but even with it fully cinched there's still clearance to the shaft and the O-ring is the only thing holding it on. It seems the vespers are designed with a slip fit and then O-rings act as the retention feature. I watched a few servicing videos for I9 hubs and I believe the end caps at least had a light press and required a special tool to pull off so they should be more secure.

But I've also dropped my cassette juggling the wheel and the frame while trying to line up the cassette and rotor so to me that con kind of outweighs the pros. I don't think you should regret ordering them at all.įrom the few rides I have had on them I do enjoy the instant engagement and the silence. Regardless of this nit, they are pretty fantastic hubs in use. I did notice the axle ends on the last set that passed over my bench has a little locking bolt on the axle ends - running changes perhaps? First set I saw with them, and I have two other sets in house currently without, that are older as well as a number of other sets that have gone out the door so far this summer. The older classic hubs were a lot more secure. This is not a safety issue while they are on the bike, but I can se why it might be a pain in the butt when the wheel is off the bike and something drops off.like your cassette, into the dirt. This is not unlike Hope, I9, DT, and many many others, except they seem to require less friction tp pull apart. Like many hubs, the new Vespers work using just friction to hold everything together while not under the compression of a rear axle. I guess I should have done more research before placing the order. Overall it's kind of just a poor design so I don't think getting a warranty replacement will solve the problem unless they make updates. Easy servicing kind of goes out the window if you have to take the rear wheel off for a trailside repair and your cassette falls in the dirt, your sprags get dirty, or you lose your end caps in my opinion. Apparently the end caps coming off is a common issues because Onyx designed them for 'easy servicing' and they are relying on small O-rings as the sole retention feature.

I found a forum on a different site with a lot of information about these vesper hubs. I would warranty them if I was you, I had some issues with my Onyx hub a few years ago but your issue sounds completely unsafe, I wouldn't use them at all until you have spoke with Onyx. I'm going to contact NOBL on Monday to see what my options are in terms of fixing the issue or getting a replacement. They seem to be kind of low quality overall which is not what I'd expect considering the high cost. I'm wondering if anyone else has had similar issues with Onyx hubs? I've never owned hubs that have had this issue before, I literally had to hold the wheel completely vertical to prevent the 'lock' rings from sliding off either end when the wheel is off my bike. After playing around with the assembly I realized that the ring on the other side (Which has a bolt to cinch it down) was also really loose even though the bolt was fully cinched. Initially I thought the cassette lock nut must have come undone but upon further inspection I realized the hub had fallen apart and the only thing holding it together was a little slip fit ring.

As I was carrying the wheel I tilted it slightly and watched in horror as my brand new cassette fell from waist height onto the hard pavement. I discovered this the hard way after hand tightening the cassette and carrying the assembly to my car to go get the right cassette tool to torque it down. I just received my new NOBL TR37 wheels after almost 2 months of waiting and I opted for the Onyx Vesper hub option in fluorescent orange and right out of the box I noticed some issues.įor starters I noticed that the lock collars holding the hub assembly together are really loose and could slide off quite easily.

Vesper hubs