the dmr and onones are the exact same hub , shipped in from taiwan , i used to have the address for the site , they did all kinds of things very cheap
im surprised the freewheel/cassette thing hasnt come up before
with a make shift hub the flanges are close together as there used to be 9 sprockets where you are now putting 1 . so the wheel is weaker than it needs to be . a freewheel is nice and narrow so the hub can be made with flanges wide apart making a strong wheel . then theres the actual mechanism . when you use a hub that used to have gears you often end up putting the sprocket about an inch away from the pawls and ratchet whereas with a freewheel they are directly under it so there is no chance of flex or twisting that adds wear and will eventually skip which is my next point . when my freewheel feels worn or even skips once ill unscrew it and throw it away , go to the shop and buy another acs for a tenner . when your old geared hub has worn or is skipping you have to decide whether or not its worthwhile sending it off to have a new ring gear ( thats what ive decided to call the toothed ring that is press fit in the hub shell
) and pawls put in . so theres the price of a hub service , if its economically viable , if the hubs cheap its new wheel time . theres also the problem of the sprocket digging into the freehub unless you buy an expensive one that is wide . thats a big cost for something that isnt as well suited as something thats available cheaper
chris theres a dmr hub on the bay at the moment sans disc mount as thats how they came when they started selling them in around 2001 . its 32 hole though and postage is over £9 which i see as a bit much for something that size and weight
sure bmx has gone cassette hub but they break easily . i remember kye telling me years ago not to buy a profile hub and he was sponsored by them