Wilderness Trail Bikes (WTB) hubs

On this page: WTB Grease Guard 40-hole rear hub | Momentum SL Grease Guard 32-hole front hub

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Wilderness Trail Bikes (WTB) was founded in in 1982 in Marin Country, California, where mountain bikes were born. The firm was begun by mountain bike pioneers Charlie Cunningham, Steve Potts and Mark Slate.

WTB began by making components for the founders' own bike brands. As the company grew, its designs and products have been used by Specialized, Blackburn, SunTour and Trek, among others.

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Wilderness Trail Bikes Grease Guard 40-hole hubs New. $150/each individual hub

Current stock: 1 rear hub

The rear hub is 145mm wide. If needed, we can put the buyer in touch with a machine shop that can shorten the left endcap of the rear axle for a reasonable price.

Unlike conventional cartridge bearing hubs, these hubs have angular contact cartridge bearings, similar to cup and cone. In standard radial bearings, only three or four balls make contact during the load at any given time. In angular contact bearings, all balls are engaged and spread the force over a larger surface area, decreasing friction and minimizing wear.

Keeping bicycle bearings lubricated while preventing contamination from dirt and water is a problem that has probably plagued cyclists since the first time a foot was put to a pedal to propel a two-wheeler.

The patented Grease Guard system prevents air voids or grit from being left in either bearing after greasing. The grease flows through each bearing uniformly from the inner protected side to the outer exposed side. The seals that keep out contaminants are patented by WTB. The makers emphatically note that Grease Guard puts grease only on the bearings, keeping the system's weight as low as possible.

The front hub, which we no longer have. You can see the two grease ports.

The double-side rear hub. The left side is threaded for a drum brake. It is currently 145mm wide, but it can be machined shorter.

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WTB Momentum SL Grease Guard 32-hole front hub. New $80.00/each

Hub weighs 147 grams

Unlike conventional cartridge bearing hubs, this hub has angular contact cartridge bearings, similar to cup and cone. In standard radial bearings, only three or four balls make contact during loading at any given time. In angular contact bearings, all balls are engaged and spread the force over a larger surface area, decreasing friction and minimizing wear.

This hub uses the Grease Guard system to keep the bearings lubricated with minimal drag and weight.

The other side of the hub showing the Grease Guard ports