White Industries Hubsets

Doug White at White Industries in Novato California, (just down the road from us) produces five models of hubs. Our computer system is capable of selling these hubs in pairs according to your specifications, so we are going to discuss each of the bicycle hubs individually. At the end of this White Ind. section, we will provide you with pair prices, and options to make pair "kits" from among these five hub types and their options.

This is the original White front bicycle wheel hub, with a simple but very effective design.. The hub shell is CNC machined of billet aluminum rod at a lathe station. The shell is drilled through to reduce its total weight, and then bored from each direction to make a recessed cavity for each of the precision sealed bearing cartridges to seat within. The bores leave a shoulder for the bearings to seat horizontally against. The White logo is engraved in the center of the axle area, and after spoke hole drilling is given a high polish leaving a mirror-like finish. The axle is machined from Ti 6Al-4V rod. It has a 12mm outer diameter and a 9.5mm inner diameter. A machined aluminum cap is bonded to one end of the axle, reducing the diameter to the 9mm O.D. standard used for fork blades. The cap has a 5mm diameter exit hole for a skewer to pass through. The capped axle fits into the shell/bearing assembly just one way, leaving the more deeply recessed bearing exposed, which is capped separately. At the outer side of the flange of the now un-capped side is a small hole used to gain access to the locking collar that holds the axle in place. The locking collar is machined of aluminum, and has two 2mm hex head set screws to lock the collar to the axle. The set screws are tightened using a hex wrench through the hole outside the flange. The final piece of the bicycle wheel hub is a cap that slides tightly into the Ti axle. This cap piece covers the locking collar and reduces the spindle down to the needed 9mm for the fork blade. The White Ti front has a 42mm hub flange diameter, with 70.5mm spaced flanges. The Ti front spoke holes have a 34mm center circle diameter. It is available in either a 28, 32 or 36 spoke hole drilling. The entire bicycle wheel hub has mirror Silver finish. The weight of a 32 hole White Ti bicycle wheel front hub is just 98 grams. $ Price in Catalog

The Tracker wheel front hub is made using the same design scaled up to make an over sized axle for front suspension use. The shell is machined and polished like the Ti front above. The outer diameter of the axle area of the tracker is 34mm up from the 28mm of the Ti front. Larger diameter bearings, (the Japanese IJK 6903RS), are pressed into the each wheel front hub side. The Tracker uses a Cro-moly steel axle with a 17mm outer diameter & 15mm I.D., rather than the 12mm Ti axle above. The machined aluminum axle end cap and is again bonded to the axle, making a 20.3mm contact surface, and then reduces to the needed 9mm diameter axle for the fork blade. A locking collar, again with two 2mm set screws is used to hold the axle in place, and, like the Ti front, a machined aluminum axle end cap slides into the axle to complete the hub. The White Tracker front has a 48mm hub flange diameter, with flanges spaced 70.5mm apart. The Ti front spoke holes have a 40.5mm center circle diameter. It is available in either a 28, 32 or 36 spoke hole drilling. The entire wheel front hub has mirror Silver finish. The weight of a 32 hole White Tracker front is 153 grams. $ Price in Catalog

This is a threaded rear for use with a freewheel. The hub shell is cleverly machined from a single piece of aluminum rod stock. The shell is drilled through to reduce the general weight, then bored from each end to make a recessed cavity for the sealed bearing cartridge. Each of the bearings, (Japanese SMK 6902RK) butts against an inner shoulder at the back of this recess. The Titanium 6Al-4V axle has a 15mm outer diameter and a 12.6mm inner diameter. Like the two previous hubs, there is an axle end cap pressed tightly into the axle which provides a 19mm contact face and reduces to the needed 9mm diameter for the fork blade. A drive side spacer slides over the axle before it's pushed through the bearings and hub shell. This spacer comes in three lengths making the over lock nut length 126mm, 130mm, or 135mm depending on whether the hub will be used for a 6, 7, or 8 speed freewheel. This spacer has a broad base that encloses and covers the cartridge bearing. At the non-drive side, a locking collar recesses flush into the hub shell. Two 2mm hex head set screws accessed through a small hole hold the locking collar to the axle. The final piece is a machined axle extender which slides into the Ti axle. The axle extender has a 19mm diameter fork blade contact face which reduces to the needed 9mm to fit in the fork tip. We mentioned that there are three drive side spacers to build the axle length and its proper spacing on the drive side. The axle extender also come in three lengths which space properly and effectively create three axle lengths, 126mm for 6 or 7 speed Road use, 130mm for 8 speed Road and 6 speed Mountain use, or 135mm for 7 or 8 speed Mountain use. Each Ti Freewheel rear hub comes with all three spacers and all three axle extenders, with simple instructions so you make the combination your bike requires. The White Ti Freewheel rear has a 53mm hub flange diameter, with flanges spaced 53.5mm apart. The Ti Freewheel rear spoke holes have a 45mm center circle diameter. It is available in either a 28, 32 or 36 spoke hole drilling. The entire hub has mirror Silver finish. The weight of a 32 hole White Ti Freewheel rear, set with a 135mm, 8 speed Mountain spacing is 158 grams. The same hub set with 130mm, 8 speed Road spacing is 156.6 grams $ Price in Catalog

White makes a Shimano compatible cassette styled rear hub. It is capable through changes with included parts to make the hub work as a 7 or 8 speed Road cassette with a 130mm axle, or a 7 or 8 speed Mountain rear hub with a 135mm axle. The hub shell is machined from 6061 aluminum rod. The 48mm outer diameter core of the shell has its interior milled way, hollowing it to reduce a considerable amount of weight. This material extraction performed from the non-drive side leaving a hole around 46mm in diameter. The upper interior of this hole has threads for a machined plug that screws in flush with the outer hub flange. This plug has a recessed cavity for the non-drive side 61901RS sealed cartridge bearing. The recess also houses the locking collar which hold the axle in place using three 2mm hex head set screws accessed through a small hole. The drive side of the hub shell has at its center another of the same 23.5mm diameter bearings lodged 16mm from the outer drive face. Seated within the flange area is a steel ratchet ramp ring with 24 precisely cut ramps.

The cassette carrier and pawl mechanism are a separate assembly. There are three pawls made of S7 tool steel, they are forced into the ramps by a Beryllium Copper leaf springs. This pawl and spring assembly is built into a lightweight Titanium carrier. The cassette body, which is the splined piece that actually comes in contact with the cassette is beautifully machined from 7075 aluminum. An O-ring at the base of freehub body closes any gap as the body seats into the hub shell. There is a sealed cartridge bearing inside each end of the freehub body that the axle passes through. The axle is machined from Titanium 6Al-4V rod. It has a 12mm outer diameter and a 85mm inner diameter. One of the axle ends is turned to make a frame drop-out contact with a 10mm O.D. axle end. We've mentioned the Ti Cassette is capable of two axle lengths, this is performed by changing the axle extension which is machined of aluminum rod and slides well into the Ti axle. The extension is longer in the 135mm case. Both axle extensions are included with each hub. Also included is a 4mm spacer to slide down the outside of the cassette body reducing its capacity from 8 to 7 cogs. The freehub will achieve 8 speed gearing using either the Shimano CS-M737, HG-90, or M-900 cassette sets. Use of cassette cogs that have several separate cogs isn't ideal. The stress of the thin independent cogs can deform the aluminum freehub body and make the idividual cogs difficult to remove from the body, so the CS- M737 with the aluminum carrier spider is most advised. The White Ti Cassette rear has a 63.2mm hub flange diameter, with 56mm spaced flanges. The Ti Cassette rear spoke holes have a 55mm center circle diameter. It is available in either a 28, 32 or 36 spoke hole drilling. The entire hub has a mirror-like Silver finish. The weight of a 32 hole White Ti Cassette rear, set up with a 135mm, 8 speed Mountain spacing is 268 grams. The same hub set with 130mm, 8 speed Road spacing is 266.5 grams $ Price in Catalog