Archived Ride UK
Tech Articles
- Wheel Fiddling
- Chain Tension
- Chain
- How Tight is Tight?
- Isn’t that bike a bit small for you mate?
- Bent Frame Spotting
- Click Click Click
- Living in a Material World…
- Handlebars
- Bottom Brackets AGAIN!!!
- Flying Tonight?
- Bottom Bracket Compendium
- Steering Geometry
- Three Piece Crank Fitting
- They’re playing R-Tune… (groan)
- What the hell is a hidden headset?
- Avoid bicycle maintenance bloodlust
- Stretching
- Lard inspired quest for reliability and tranquility
- Wheel Truing
- Fits
- Super Small Gearing
- Headsets
- Brakes
- Frame Design Details
- Dropouts
- Gearing
- Euro/USA Bottom Brackets
Documents
- Ratchet Hub: Instruction Manual (updated July 2010)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q. Can I get some stickers please?
A. USA residents can get G-Sport stickers through Odyssey by sending them a self-addressed stamped envelope and letting them know you’d like some G-Sport stickers. International requests can be fulfilled by our distributors. - Q. Why are the hubs so big?
A. Big things are generally stronger than little things, when you hollow out a big thing it can often also be lighter than something smaller. So although our hubs are big on the outside there is a lot of air inside. Having a big axle and big bearings means that the hub ends up pretty big overall, but it also ends up strong, smooth and light. There is also no shortage of space inside a wheel so why not make the most of it. So quit looking at the middle of your wheels while you ride and concentrate on how fast you are going. - Q. How long do the bearings last?
A. If you look after the bike then there is no reason that the bearings shouldn’t last almost indefinitely. I get plenty of emails from owners of hubs that are 5 or even 10 years old looking for their first set of replacements. Even less well looked after it is very unusual for a set of hub bearings to last less than 2 years. Obviously if you set out to destroy them and ride through rivers etc and wash all the lube out then they wont last as long, but they will always outlast other hubs. - Q. I wanted to buy a limited edition colour part, but I left it too late and missed out. Can I buy the colour I want direct or get a special order?
A. Sorry, but the answer is no. The limited edition runs are just that, limited. You can check round bike shops for old stock or scour Ebay or get creative with some spray paint but when they are gone, they are gone. - Q. Why dont G-Sport make parts other than wheel stuff?
A. G-Sport is focused on wheel parts because wheels are so important to a bike, just as important as a frame. I do work on other parts under the Odyssey brand.
George French Q&A
Do you have a question for George? Read through the list of reader submitted questions below and if your question still isn’t answered, fill out the form at the bottom.
If you have a problem with a part and need technical help or warranty then please use email. The email address is on the “contact” page linked at the bottom.
Hey George,
I’ve lost my non drive side collar off my Ratchet hub, I read from some forums that the Homer/Monkey hubs have the same collar as the Ratchet, is this right?
Thanks
No, they are completely different lengths. The Homer one is 3.5mm too long.
Hey George
Been running a Ratchet hub for a good 8 months now and since im an apprentice machinist i though it would be fun to make a new non-drive side spacer out of 316 SS, so i just wanting to check if what well okay, and if so is the o-ring inside the spacer a 019 size?
Cheers D’Arcy
316 is likely to be a bit soft if you just reproduce the geometry of the existing collar. The standard collars are a spring tempered chromoly.
I ride street and to get where i need to go fast i like to run a small drive train so i can leave my options open will there be a chance of ever releasing an 8t driver for the ratchet hub. I see what you said at an earlier time but isnt the fact that doesnt run as smooth the riders choice?
No sorry. 8 tooth just isnt possible on the Ratchet, even if Chrodal action wasn’t a big worry, the 20mm axle doesnt leave enough space for it.
Have had a read through the description of the birdcage rim and read that it is designed to be cross laced, is this where the spoke enters the rim on the opposite side in comparison to which flange it came from? also is it possible to lace these in the tradition side. ie same flange to same side of rim?
Yes, that is correct, however the cross-over lacing is minimal, all the spoke holes are very close to the centre of the rim. No, you must do cross over.
Hi Bro,
I like to know the depth of the 3/8 pleg insert.Ive been trying to run nasty pleg copys but dont have enough axle to thread the wheel nut on safely.I have 22mm or bout 7/8 of axle from the fork dropout excluding the nut.
But now theres a distributor for G sport in New Zealand I can run quality parts
Thanks
The end of the insert is 7mm thick, so you need 7mm of axle plus the length of your wheel nut.
Hey man. So here is the deal a while back my bike got jacked and I finally
Got one back together. Right now I’m running on some trashed eastern hub
And a fly hub from like the 90′s. Anyway next week I’m ordering the racier and
Marmoset hubs. I have seen the rachet hub guard and defiantly getting it. But
What would you suggest on the marmoset?? Will the ratchet guard fit on the marmoset??
I trash my wheels all day and just need a good hub guard. If you could help that would be great…
Thanks man
Forrest
The Ratchet guard wont fit. A GLAND will though. Otherwise BSD and Knight do their own guards for the hub but I cant tell you how well they work.
Hey george, I am currently riding two hub guards on my marmoset.they are the knight ones and my hub is shaking side to fucking side.what can i do to fix it?
First step would be to try taking the guards off and putting the original collars back on to see if that fixes it, if it does then I guess you need to contact Knight for help, if it doesn’t then email me.
I am someone who purchased one of your hubs Almost 10 years ago. I knew about them longer than that but they were a little harder to get a hold of then. Its a 48 hole and what seems like a cromoly axle? Is that right? I see the newer ones have aluminum axles. As someone who came into the sport on the far tail end of aluminum thread on pegs, how are these axles holding up? You know your stuff so I would imagine good. I haven’t met anyone with one of your hubs so it is hard for me to get an idea of the evolution of your hub. They look lighter, but probably because of the AL axle? would a new AL axle fit my hub? My hub rolls like a champ on the original bearings by the way! You did it right bro!
It may well be a chromoly axle, even 10 years ago I was doing both. We always use a steel helicoil insert on the aluminium axles for the thread itself so that isnt an issue. Parts from modern hubs will not be interchangeable with these old ones sorry. If you want to email me photos I can identify the hub for you and let you know what your options are.
Hey if i want a different color on a set of your rims but don’t want/cant paint them myself, is there anyway to get them in a different color? can i special order, get them ordered somewhere in a different color, anything? Thanks.
We cant do custom colours sorry. But your local powdercoaters or car body shop can probably help you out.
hey george, i just got my new ratchet hub and i love it! i want to run a harder gearimg but don’t want to run a sprocket bigger than a 25T. therefor i need you guys at g-sport to make an 8T driver to fit the ratchet hub. i think that alot of people would like it and i that you would sell alot. i would really appreciate it.
This isnt going to happen, sorry. 8 tooth is just too small to get a reasonably smooth drive and is prone to excessive wear and damage. Google “chordal action” for lots of technical explanations.
hi there m8,i rang up the bike shop that i normally get parts through to get the bird cage rim and they said it dosent exsist??????iz it even avalible in australia…iz it out at all??????/thanx man
I think the Australian distributor should have it any day now, give them a call for solid details.
Just a quick shout out for you dude, been riding a marmoset and ratchet for a while, i even dare say they are better than my homer wheelset, thanks again for the innovation!
The G-sport hub guard is cold forged from 2014-T6 aluminum to keep the strength high, weight low and price affordable. The guard replaces the steel collar on the hub, for a super secure mounting and no spreading your frame’s dropouts to get it to fit. A hardened steel insert inside the aluminum spreads the pressure and prevents crushing no matter the abuse. Best used with one of the 5 ribs in the backside of the hub down, centered with your grinding area.
Can you explain that Sentence to me??
Should be self explanatory.
1. The G-sport hub guard is cold forged from 2014-T6 aluminum to keep the strength high, weight low and price affordable.
2. The guard replaces the steel collar on the hub, for a super secure mounting and no spreading your frame’s dropouts to get it to fit. (many hub guards fit between the threaded cone of a conventional hub and the dropout, this increases the effective over lock nut dimension (OLD) which forces the frame dropouts outwards to provide the extra space)
3. A hardened steel insert inside the aluminum spreads the pressure and prevents crushing no matter the abuse.
4. Best used with one of the 5 ribs in the backside of the hub down, centered with your grinding area. (the guard has pockets cut in the back to reduce weight, between these pockets are “ribs” or “webs” that maintain the structural integrity despite the pockets, it works best if one of these ribs is set at the bottom).
Hey George, my question is towards a driver side hub guard to the ratchet..Anything you would suggest? I tried the primo with shadow chain, experiencing some problems…..may be the chain catching on the inside of the guard. Rather then to damage a hub a I just bought, thought id ask. Ive used this guard on other hubs with the same chain but didnt experience any problem. What happened is, after a rotation or so, everything would lock up…from my beliefs, it should be possible to run this type of guard with a ratchet hub, correct? Im going to try a more simple chain, inside the guard, it does show as if something did grind along the inside. its a perfect curve so I do think it could be the chain….If there is anything you can share some info on by reading this, please let me know
We dont have a specific drive side guard as yet. The problem with drive side guards is that they have to have a gap for the chain to go through and this destroys the strength that you normally get from having a full circle of material. My guess is that the guard is rubbing because the chain-line is a tiny bit further outboard than on your previous hub.
aye watsup just got a ratchet hub and at the moment it has a 9t driver and the thing is the chain rubs into the drive side press fit collar with the rubber and im not sure if that’ll damage it or worse , should i get a thinner plated chain ?
Never heard of a problem quite like that before. Please email me with photos if possible and details of the chain you have now.
Aloha from Hawaii George. Thanks for your killer rims and hubs. Im runnin ribcages on 5 of my bikes – Though ive also expired all your hub color combinations already; Wondering if maybe a red would be able to come out in the near future?
Shoots and Mahalo,
Dave.
We did fire engine red as a limited edition colour last year http://www.odysseybmx.com/dailyword/archivesV2/2009/09/fire-engine-red-kit_0480.jpg you may still be able to find this somewhere.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/5710664984_1e817219f0_z.jpg
So I have this case. Hub is almost brand new, driven for a week or so, but now I saw some serious scratches on my hub shell. I’ve read that only Shadow Interlock and other half link chains kill the G-Sport Ratchet’s hub shell, but as I can see, my normal KMC chain is rubbing the hub.
Is it okay or I have to do something to prevent this rubbing?
Most half link chains fit fine, and all fit fine on the newer hubs, it is only normally the Shadow that rubs, most KMC chains fit perfectly, maybe you have a masterlink on the inside which is hitting, or the pin where the chain was assembled is sticking through one side further than normal. Try rotating the cranks slowly and looking to see when the chain hits, my guess is that you will find a bent or misaligned or master link.
i was thinking of getting myself a g-sport ratchet hub considering my cassette is starting to go to hell. i was looking at the ratchet because of the lifetime warrenty and because everybody says they’re the best. but of course i’m a tinkerer and i like to take stuff apart. i was wondering if ai took apart the criver to flip it from rhd to lhd or clean it out or strengthen the spring or somthing will that void the warrenty?
No. We obviously expect and encourage owners to service and maintain their parts properly. If you look at the manual linked at the top of the page it will give you a good idea of what is involved.
Hiya George I just recently brought the G Sport ratchet and I love it but I’m running a shadow half link and the pins seem to be rubbing and skipping on the driver. Should I worry about this and would I be better off with a full link chain?
I’m not sure if you’ve come across this before but I would really love to know if it’s a problem or it can be sorted out ASAP.
Thanks for making the best stuff ever
Alex.
Yes. The older Ratchet hubs are not compatible with the Shadow chain, newer hubs (since about Oct 2010) have enough clearance though. I would always recommend running no more than one half link anyway due to their inherent weakness. It has long been standard in all disciplines of cycling to recommend replacing all sprockets and chains at the same time as all types of chain inevitably wear and the sprockets wear with them, so fitting any new sprocket to an old chain will cause problems anyway, half-link chains in general tend to “stretch” a lot more than normal chains so this problem is even worse.
I hope this makes sense if you need further clarification please email.
i just got my second set of ribcage rims. this set are the anodized blue rims. im having issuse with squeeling brakes. i purchased some new clear fly brake pads before building my new wheels in hoope that the clear pads would help the life span of the blue color on the rims. have you heard of any other issuse with squeeling brakes on anodized rims? do you have any recomendations for a different brake pad?
my pads are currently both toed in and ive tried different combinations on both pads so im at a stand still but any recomendations you have would be appreciated!
thanks a ton
ryan
Clear pads are very soft and do tend to be very noisy. I would suggest trying a solid coloured pad for a good compromise between the extreme softness of clear and the normal black blocks. You should also make sure that the pads are correctly toed in.
hi george, just ordered a pair of ribcage rims, can u tell me what spokes are best to use? was thinking of using dt swiss stainless steel straight gauge spokes but would double butted spokes be better? if so, what do u recommend? (besides dt swiss double butted spokes as they are bloody expensive!)
DT swiss are good, the Odyssey spokes are good too. If you grind I wouldn’t recommend double butted spokes, but if you dont grind they are fine. Check out the Odyssey Race Spokes if you want double butted.
Hey george i was just wondering if you get a life time gaurantee on the marmoset to and also which axle you find the strongest. Also would you cal the ribcage rims and the two hubs ‘Street Proof’ because i was also thinking of getting the superstars could you tell me what G Sport hubs have that superstars dont
thanks Ryan
Yes.
http://www.gsportbmx.com/products/hubs/marmoset/
What does “street proof” mean? Will they corrode when exposed to a street or highway? No, so yes I would say they are “street proof”. Are they the best BMX hubs and rims available? Yes.
I dont want to comment on another brand, but we are the ONLY company that uses 20mm axles in BMX hubs, that’s why they are the strongest. We’ve been making this hub for over 10 years now and it has an unparalleled reputation for strength and performance.
Hi George,
I just received my shiny new ratchet in the post, I’m very happy with it. On taking it apart, I’ve noticed the internals are quite different to those posted in the instruction manual… I have no black steel backing washer or plastic bash washer for example, and the driver internals seem different. I just wanted to double check this was not a fault and was due to design upgrades…
While I’m here, will I still need to put an extra two turns on the drive side spokes when lacing it up? I’ll be using 192mm spokes in 4x to a hazard lite.
Cheers,
Alban Leiper
Edit: For some reason I’d found the old instruction manual, on finding the new one my question has been answered. thanks.
Check the manual. The photos are old, but all the drivers are shown in exploded views later on.
HISTORY LESSON.
1996 Chris Gack of (Hoffman bikes) presses a machined pvc sleeve over a steel peg.
(Hybrid peg)
1999 T1 Comes out with their version of Aluminum and Steel
2000- The Plastic Applicator -aka – - Plastikator – first known all plastic peg is born, unless somewhere in the world someone else can claim it..
2001 Knight bmx copies the local design NORthern CALifornia.
2002 Demolition copies it
2002 Hoffman Bikes copies etc etc …
(If you find this in error please correct with proof. Thanks)
sebas01@gmail.com
1990 (ish) Riders in the UK putting yellow plastic gas pipe onto GT-tuberides.
1990 (ish) Bully Bikes sold a plastic ended peg (that was hopeless).
Sorry never heard of the Plastikator (but I also dont see your “proof”) or the Knight bikes one but the Demolition and Hoffman ones were certainly not all plastic so in what way were they “copies”?
And in any case these were all AFTER my crash in about 1997 or 8 after which I developed the first prototypes..
Never claimed that the Pleg was the first partially plastic peg, or all plastic peg (because it isnt), but as far as I am aware it was the first peg to use the plastic structurally with a short insert.
Fair enough?
May i ask why this was brought up? If you have ever paid attention the reason for the pleg was an injury to the hand back in the late 90′s.
What length spokes do i need for a G-Sport Ratchet laced to an Odyssey Hazard Lite 36 hole ? ? ? ?
3cross? 184mm
i took my ratchet hub (with the rest of the wheel obviously) off of my bike to replace some spokes, and then when i put it back on and tightened the driver side axle the wheel wont budge…. sometimes it’ll go backwards but not forwards. i am very confused and i took it apart and put it back together many times and it still is not working. help?
Most likely you have the drive side collar on backwards. If not please email photos.
hey, i was wondering when you guys will have some more ribcage rims in stock?and how good are your guys ratchet hubs?
I think more came in with the latest shipment and should be available within the next week or so.
The Ratchet hub is very good (but I would say that wouldn’t I?) We warranty the axle for life against bending or snapping for ANY reason (including being run over by a truck). Bearings are extra large so that they are never overloaded so spin as smoothly as possible. Material etc are all top spec… etc. See the product page for more.
Hey George,
I have had my ratchet for about 2 months, and it has been brilliant up until now. Today the driver has started skipping every 3 cranks or so, is this something a little grease will sort out or could it be more of a problem? Thanks dude.
mark
“If you have a problem with a part and need technical help or warranty then please use email.”
hey George,
do you know what the spoke length is for a primo mix cassette hub laced to a gsport ribcage(3x lacing). thank you the hex nipples stand up great.
No sorry. There are too many possible combination of parts so we can only really advise on our own.
Hello,
I have only bought a new wheel (of a different brand) and have had the driver crap itself within 2 months, now it has been 3month and the whole hub craped itself.
Only yesterday I bought myself a ratchet hub and laced it up today.
I have also noticed though, my dropouts are not parallel, and the last hub I had was a really well known good quality one, and shiting itself after three months is not normal. My question is, can my unparallele dropouts cause uneven pressure when tightening my wheel resulting in constant bearing damage?
Also, I had two of my last hub, BOTH shat itself haha.
Thanks for any help and advice.
Fritz
Yes. Out of parallel dropouts will tend to put a slight bend in the axle which means that the hub bearings are no longer aligned with each other, this causes them to orbit as the wheel spins and “cone out” the bearing seats. It can also upset the relationship between the driver and hubshell. Obviously with the much bigger stronger and stiffer axle in our hubs this isnt anything like so much as a problem and unless your dropouts are radically misaligned the Ratchet should be immune to it.
There is a tech column about checking and correcting dropouts on the site. It is a pretty old article but the advice still stands.
G’day
Apparently its dangerous to the 3/8 Ratchet Hub. I was wondering why, since Aaron ross runs pegs on his ratchet, and also you make a hub guard for it. Can i damage my hub by running pegs on it?
thanks
I assume you mean someone told you it was dangerous to run pegs on the 3/8″ bolted Ratchet axle?
Who told you this? It is absolutely NOT the case. The entire hub is specifically designed to cope exceptionally well with running pegs on either axle. The 3/8″ axle is about twice as strong as a solid 14mm chromo axle so it handles pegs brilliantly. Both axles are lifetime warrantied against bending or snapping for ANY reason.
Hey George,
One of my friends was playing around with my hub and he tightened the bolts on my Gsport Ratchet hub without it being on the frame. So now I can’t get one of the bolts off because if I use two socket wrenches I can get one of the bolts off, but the other one is still tight and I can’t get it off because the axle just spins when I try to unscrew the bolt and I can’t hold the axle tight enough to keep it from moving. Pleaze help.
Thanks,
Chris
Use the bolt that you CAN move, to bolt the hub (and wheel) to the OUTSIDE of one of your dropouts. Snug that bolt up tight, then you should be able to loosen the tight bolt. I hope this is clear, and sorts it out. If not drop me an email.
Hey man could you guys possibly sort me out with some pawls and the circlip that holds the needle roller bearing in place for the ratchet hub?
Yes. Please drop me an email.
George,
I was wondering what is up with the shortages of the marmoset hub in black? I have been searching endlessly thru the distributors at my local bike shop and every one that he has says they are out of stock. Is this just a set back in production or is it something bigger? He has SBS QBP and FF. All of which say they are out of stock for a while on the black hubs. Please lemme know what the deal is. I really want/need one asap lol.
Thanks,
Chris
i bought a marmoset hub about two months ago and the bearings are nearly broke already i do not have the box or receipt any more because my mum has put in in the bin
That obviously isnt normal. Please email. Not having the packaging and receipt is no problem.
its not letting me send a email out…..what should i do ????
hey george i need help to decide what rim to get ive had a look at the ribcage but is it as strong as everyone says it is?
Yes. The Ribcage is very strong indeed, there is no rider weight limit or any restriction on how you should ride it.
yo
I’m building myself a bike check for the summer and I want to count those Birdcage rims in, so I was wondering if you could assure me that they will be released (as you said before to Arron K) mid April and that they will not be delayed. The best thing would be if you could give me the exact date but i understand if you can not.
//The rims looks sick so far.
It still looks good, but sorry no I cant guarantee it until they pass final quality control on arrival.