DT SWISS Africa: Tech Q&A

[PhilipV]

Lifetime supply

What people forget when repairing/servicing/fitting things themselves is that consumables used need to be on spec for it to be done correctly.

 

It's akin to doing an oil-change on your vehicle at home, but then using the wrong oil for that engine.

 

And while it will be a lifetime supply, and useful for someone who will service it himself regularly, the guy who needed it for a one-time use would probably have been cheaper off to have his lbs fit the freebody, or buy a scoop or two of grease from them.

[DieselnDust]

What people forget when repairing/servicing/fitting things themselves is that consumables used need to be on spec for it to be done correctly.

 

It's akin to doing an oil-change on your vehicle at home, but then using the wrong oil for that engine.

 

And while it will be a lifetime supply, and useful for someone who will service it himself regularly, the guy who needed it for a one-time use would probably have been cheaper off to have his lbs fit the freebody, or buy a scoop or two of grease from them.

 

 

 

tell you what, at R330 I'll be servicing my hubs just as regularly. With regular use I reckon I'll get 2years out of the tub across the 3 DT Swiss star ratchet hubs I have.

My bottle of ring drive lube was R110 in 2016 and I've just run out. LBS gave me a replacement bottle because thye bought a box and haven't even got to the 2nd bottle yet.

[MarcHD]

tell you what, at R330 I'll be servicing my hubs just as regularly. With regular use I reckon I'll get 2years out of the tub across the 3 DT Swiss star ratchet hubs I have.

My bottle of ring drive lube was R110 in 2016 and I've just run out. LBS gave me a replacement bottle because thye bought a box and haven't even got to the 2nd bottle yet.

 

If we want, we can actually pretty accurately calculate the expected lifespan of a 20g tub...

 

As per the DT Swiss user and technical manuals one is expected to service their star ratchets

a Minimum of annually (in the case of normal use)

a Maximum of quarterly (in the case of extreme use such as dust and rain)

 

On average it takes about half a gram (0.5g) to correctly coat the star ratchets once they have been cleaned of old grease

 

20g / 0.5g = 40 total uses (minimum)

or 10 quarterly uses. (maximum)

 

Going for the conservative worst case scenario of every 3 months/quarterly this means you have a minimum of 2.5 years/30months of use from one tub (assuming it's one hub you are servicing) 

 

In your case Tim, that is 10months of servicing with your three sets of DT hubs you have, again assuming you ride in UK mud and/or Gauteng dust all year around!

 

 

 

 

Yes it's a slow Friday.... 

[thebob]

Hi Marc

Are you going to be bringing in any of the 36t ratchet kits? Keen to try the halfway between the 54 and 18 to see how it affects my bike's rear suspension

[MarcHD]

Hi Marc

Are you going to be bringing in any of the 36t ratchet kits? Keen to try the halfway between the 54 and 18 to see how it affects my bike's rear suspension

 

Hi there,

 

Yes we have actually have a few coming in our next shipment.

I can get in touch with your closer to their time of landing? 

 

Thinking of it another way, the 36T hub won't so much affect the suspension as the suspension will affect the 36T hub.

 

Meaning a bike with high percentages of pedal kickback will obviously tug on the chain at a higher rate, which is then exacerbated the higher your hub's engagement is as there is less room for the chain growth to be taken up.

 

Noticing you have a Giant Trance 29er listed as your personal ride, we can look at the kinematics of your bike in detail through this blog spot:

 

https://linkagedesign.blogspot.com/2019/09/giant-trance-29-2019.html

 

Here we see the Giant Trance (at least the 2019 model) has a relatively low pedal kickback value - roughly middle of the spectrum found on contemporary bikes. 

 

For this reason both the 54T and the 36T would be fine for your use, and I personally ride a Giant Reign with a 54T upgrade and have had no negative feedback.

 

Cheers

[thebob]

Thanks Marc. I'll work through my LBS to get hold of one

[Hairy]

If we want, we can actually pretty accurately calculate the expected lifespan of a 20g tub...

 

As per the DT Swiss user and technical manuals one is expected to service their star ratchets

a Minimum of annually (in the case of normal use)

a Maximum of quarterly (in the case of extreme use such as dust and rain)

 

On average it takes about half a gram (0.5g) to correctly coat the star ratchets once they have been cleaned of old grease

 

20g / 0.5g = 40 total uses (minimum)

or 10 quarterly uses. (maximum)

 

Going for the conservative worst case scenario of every 3 months/quarterly this means you have a minimum of 2.5 years/30months of use from one tub (assuming it's one hub you are servicing) 

 

In your case Tim, that is 10months of servicing with your three sets of DT hubs you have, again assuming you ride in UK mud and/or Gauteng dust all year around!

 

 

 

 

Yes it's a slow Friday.... 

Hi Mark

 

DT are proud RE the ease of service for their hubs, and rightly so.

 

Would it not be an idea for the brand to look at doing smaller pillow packs for the "average home user" who will be doing this every now and again.

 

What brings me to this line of thought:

1. Cost will be minimal for a little pillow pack that can maybe cater for 2 or 3 services
2. Low cost for a small item like this being kept in a jar on the LBS point of sale counter would = a person just quickly adding a pillow or two when paying.
3. The person would then be more prone to "just quickly" clean out and service the free hub. This in turn means that your products being used would generally be cared for better and get a better lifespan, and so doing entrench a reputation of being super reliable and easy to work on.

See the Fox Pillow packs

Edited April 30, 2021 by Hairy

[MarcHD]

Thanks Marc. I'll work through my LBS to get hold of one

 

Happy to reach out to your LBS to give them all the details for you?

[MarcHD]

Hi Mark

 

DT are proud RE the ease of service for their hubs, and rightly so.

 

Would it not be an idea for the brand to look at doing smaller pillow packs for the "average home user" who will be doing this every now and again.

 

What brings me to this line of thought:

1. Cost will be minimal for a little pillow pack that can maybe cater for 2 or 3 services
2. Low cost for a small item like this being kept in a jar on the LBS point of sale counter would = a person just quickly adding a pillow or two when paying.
3. The person would then be more prone to "just quickly" clean out and service the free hub. This in turn means that your products being used would generally be cared for better and get a better lifespan, and so doing entrench a reputation of being super reliable and easy to work on.

See the Fox Pillow packs

 

A good point, and DT Swiss have actually already answered this question.

 

Going forward all tubs have been replaced with a toothpaste style tube that makes application much easier. All Star Ratchet upgrade or service kits will come with this tube as standard as well now.

 

It is still however a 20g serving, I suspect due to DT wanting to keep the expectations the same.

 

I will however forward your query to DT for [hopefully] an addition to their range. 

 

Thanks for the feedback

[Hairy]

A good point, and DT Swiss have actually already answered this question.

 

Going forward all tubs have been replaced with a toothpaste style tube that makes application much easier. All Star Ratchet upgrade or service kits will come with this tube as standard as well now.

 

It is still however a 20g serving, I suspect due to DT wanting to keep the expectations the same.

 

I will however forward your query to DT for [hopefully] an addition to their range. 

 

Thanks for the feedback

If they got for it I will accept 1 x pillow pack as commission

[DieselnDust]

Hi Mark

 

DT are proud RE the ease of service for their hubs, and rightly so.

 

Would it not be an idea for the brand to look at doing smaller pillow packs for the "average home user" who will be doing this every now and again.

 

What brings me to this line of thought:

1. Cost will be minimal for a little pillow pack that can maybe cater for 2 or 3 services
2. Low cost for a small item like this being kept in a jar on the LBS point of sale counter would = a person just quickly adding a pillow or two when paying.
3. The person would then be more prone to "just quickly" clean out and service the free hub. This in turn means that your products being used would generally be cared for better and get a better lifespan, and so doing entrench a reputation of being super reliable and easy to work on.

See the Fox Pillow packs

 

 

Look at you neh Mr MBA Marketing

[Hairy]

Look at you neh Mr MBA Marketing

T'was nothing

[PhilipV]

tell you what, at R330 I'll be servicing my hubs just as regularly. With regular use I reckon I'll get 2years out of the tub across the 3 DT Swiss star ratchet hubs I have.

My bottle of ring drive lube was R110 in 2016 and I've just run out. LBS gave me a replacement bottle because thye bought a box and haven't even got to the 2nd bottle yet.

I have a feeling that like myself, yiu also have a crate full of specialized oils and lubes and greases for home servicing of everything.

 

That reminds me, I need to get some sram butter again.

[Alouette3]

What is the official DT approved tool or best way to hold a straight pull spoke and stop it from rotating while working on nipples?

[MarcHD]

What is the official DT approved tool or best way to hold a straight pull spoke and stop it from rotating while working on nipples?

 

The official tool used in house by DT is a pneumatic clamp that costs hundreds of euro's.

 

For literally everyone else, the accepted practice by DT is one of these pliers  

[Alouette3]

For literally everyone else, the accepted practice by DT is one of these pliers  

Felt like a monkey when I pulled a pair out last time, good to know its more universally accepted then I thought. 

 

At least wrapped some leather around them