This is the third part of our series reviewing the design philosophy, performance and ride of the Kappius Components Hubs. You can see our first look, plus part one and part two by following the links.
Much has been written about the Kappius Components Hubs since they were shown to the world at the 2012 Sea Otter. Since then, they have featured on Cyclingdirt and Mountain Bike Review amongst other cycling news sites and magazines around the world. Of particular note, they were used by Christophe Sauser in the Leadville 100, as he had found their efficient and reliable performance matched well to his needs.
Having heard much about the hubs since early 2012, I was very keen to try them out. In part, due to being excited about something new and different. Part of it was also to see whether it was just a slightly different take on the standard hub design and drive system.
This thought was allayed when I met with the designer Russell Kappius. With a long history of competitive cycling, and a well accomplished engineer, Kappius has put years of thought into his design. As I struggled up the infamous Powerlines Climb on my now Kappius Hub equipped bike the day before the Leadville 100, Kappius rode alongside me. With ease, he was able to point out how I was able to catch that extra pedal stroke with faster engagement due to the oversized drive system and 240 points of engagement.
I hadn’t noticed, due to the hypoxia induced tunnel-vision that I was experiencing.
Thankfully I had more time on the hubs. Running both the Kappius Components hubs front and rear on my bike, they were laced to ZTR Crest 29 rims, with a QR15 setup in the front, and the 9mm through axle by DT in the rear. The end caps for this had been custom drilled, and it was an easy tool free swap to fit my rear wheel up.
Kappius riders were out in force at the Leadville 100. Racing or feeding.
With another ride during the Leadville 100 while supporting a mate, I really started to appreciate how fast the pick up on the rear wheel was. More than that, I was appreciating the stiffness afforded by the oversize hub shell and bearing spacing. That’s a fine point, I agree. But with the same rim and tyre combination that I would normally use, and similar spoke tension in the wheel build, the back end felt very sure in corners and under acceleration.
The next six days would be a brilliant test, as I was attending the Breck Epic MTB Stage Race. With six days of climbing at altitude, long descents, rocky singletrack, rutted jeep roads and brilliant bench cut singletrack – anything on my bike was about to be tested quite hard. As well as my body.
Infact it was the latter that was most severely punished, with fatigue and a flu virus combining with racing to turn into a pretty vicious break out of hives as my immune system called time on the whole racing affair. I had won the polka-dot skinsuit and it was time to chill out a bit.
More than just an oversized and relieved hub shell – it’s what is inside the Kappius Hub that counts.
Mike McCormack, who runs the Breck Epic, let me ride on within the race. And for that I am eternally grateful. The (internal) pressure was off and I could ride for fun. So it turned into multiple days of hard riding, bridging between different mates out on the course, and enjoying having my skills being pushed by those around me. Descending the Colorado Trail wheel to wheel with Johs Huseby and Russ Kappius will be a long lasting memory.
The terrain we encountered showed how the Kappius hubs shine. In the cold weather of Stage 2, being able to ratchet the pedals through parts of the Colorado Trail. With such a fast take up due to the 240 points of engagement, you get get power back down much faster when others may need to coast through some sections. Another bonus was on technical climbs. Hitting one on Stage 4, I was surprised to eventually clear the whole lot. Although I was gasping and wheezing, each part of the pedal stroke was used. There was no lag from a free hub. I can only describe it as feeling highly connected to what your rear tyre is doing regarding traction. you feel exactly what your chain is putting through to the bike. The result of clearing this climb was I was no longer riding midfield, but had passed many riders and was up riding with some masters category leaders again. Not getting off your bike is almost always faster. And in this case, it was.
The 240 points of engagement make a truly noticeable difference. This was perhaps noted best once returning towards Boulder after the Breck Epic and spending time on a ‘cross bike equipped with NoTubes Alpha wheels. The amount of lag between pedalling and engagement felt awkward and lead to a highly insecure feeling out of corners. And while I’m not one to lust after a great freewheel sound – it’s hard to find something that compares to Kappius.
Six days of racing in varied conditions do require some bike maintenance. The Kappius hubs I was using were using a cartridge bearing system. They did experience some noise under strenuous climbing where they experience high loads. As a response to this, and via some design tweaks before moving to production, the hubs now ship with angular contact bearings.
There were a few main questions I had with the hubs, and they were pretty much all answered by riding them, talking to Russell Kappius, and from my own experience. I certainly could notice the faster pick up and broader bearing stance for rigidity. Russ was easily able to explain why it made sense to design a hub in this way (read his design philosophy) in terms of performance and parts longevity. I was worried about being tied to an XX cassette. But having run for a whole season on one XX cassette from the Cape Epic through to the Croc Trophy – they do last an amazingly long time. Having the driver built into such a cassette is a good thing.
Perhaps the proof is in the result though, and after riding the hubs I’ve been busily saving up, and have ordered my own set to grace my bike.
For further hub details such as pricing and availability, go to the Kappius Components site.