Hub Review - DT240 EXP

After what seems like forever of quietly doing a job well, the DT240 has gotten an overhaul. We'll start with the rim brake version here. 

Notable first because, well, they've made a rim brake version. The razing of the rim brake product market has been one of the big stories in 2020 here, and so at least we know that DT stays in the game with their flagship (but not range topping -- that's the 180) hubs. They also look quite nice, maintaining their understated presentation with a nicer matte finish and cool logo graphics to which photos don't do adequate justice.

The geometry is the same as it's been, within our measurement precision. Flanges are I think a tiny bit thicker than before, which we'd heard of but had never experienced being an occasional weak spot in the old version. The diameter and position of the flanges have generally been the biggest gripe against 240s, so it's interesting that they stay the same.

This photo shows the biggest changes - or would if it was an X Ray photo. First, the drive side bearing in the hub shell is now under the ratchet ring, which moves it outboard by several mm, and that's a good thing for stability and bearing life. Second, the drive mechanism has been simplified, going from 7 parts down to 5. Third, the drive engagement speed has been doubled to 36 points. For the quintillionth time, I'll say that this matters bupkis on the road, but it's more valuable the knobbier your tires get and, more significantly, the shallower your gearing gets. In 32-48 mountain bike gearing, higher engagement speed is an absolute benefit. 36 seems to be DT's happy place for this for now, as there were often reports of their accessory/upgrade higher engagement ratchets (generally 56 POE) skipping on the previous generation. 

If the weight is different, it's not by much, with the front coming in a 118g and the rear at 214g. Certainly not weight weenie land, but you're not missing any KOMs or Everesting records because of it. 

The sticking point with these remains the price. At $655/set retail, it's a bit to choke down for a hub that does what hubs do about as well as hubs do it. Retail on a set of 350s is a hair under $300. The 350s have yet to be updated with the new EXP bits, and weigh 80g more for the set, but that's a big price difference between the two, which is why we've traditionally favored the 350 over the 180.

Another sticking point for some of you will be the lack of a Campy driver. Whether it's the lack of general demand for Campy flavored hubs or the fact that Campy 12 speed cassettes sometimes don't play nicely with maxed drive side flange spacing (which is why Chris King stopped making Campy hubs), I can't say. These come in HG and XDR. 

We actually didn't intend to have this set in stock, but the customer who really really wanted this and for whom we sniped these things earlier this fall when availability was even worse than it is now said "oh by the way, I need those for Campy." Uhhh..... So this 24/28 set is available for a great build with HED Belgium+, Boyd Altamont Ceramic, Rail 25 or Rail 55 rims (Velocity Quill, too - once they come back into stock) at a friendlier price than normal. Contact us if that floats your boat. 

The final word? It's a nice update and we're glad to see continuing options for rim brake parts, but the price tempers our enthusiasm.