Suntour XC Pro Hubs…am I getting into trouble here?

[PanoIgano]

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of buying some NOS Suntour XC Pro Hubs like these ones:


They don’t have a cassette of course so I will need a micro drive one in 7 or 8 speeds (seller says it takes either!)

From a quick look I had these cassettes are hard to find and usually expensive.

Do they worth the trouble or should I stick to shimano from that era?

Thanks for your input!

 

[ishaw]

They are no doubt great hubs, but cassette compatibility is zero so you will need to find a source of the ones you need and stock up.

As to whether you should, what's you goal? I amassed lots of xc pro for builds years ago to do something different to the Shimano of the day and it is arguably better in most ways than xtr, aside from cassette compatibility.

 

[PanoIgano]

Thanks mate!

I just wanted to try something different from shimano DX or XT and them hubs having the grease guard that is quite praised made me curious.

Now the cassette issue is a big downside.

I will see whether I can find one before purchasing them. Makes no sense to have them and not being able to use them.

 

[DrDaveTampa]

Check the Ebay vendor pb*bikes ("Vintage NOS Bicycle Parts") -- he has a bunch of NOS cassettes. They are expensive but he takes offers, I feel like I got a good deal on the one I bought over the summer. I figure, it nets out, because the hubs don't seem to fetch much of a price even for NOS gear. The whole setup should survive the zombie apocalypse, it's nice gear.

Collecting a complete Suntour groupset will cost a pretty penny. I would at least consider investing in a pair of Suntour thumbies. They are kind of expensive, but the durn things last forever, I'm restoring some from 1983 and they are still like buttah. If they don't index well enough to suit ya, run em in friction mode.

 

[Thame Game]

I'm in the same boat with my Mavic 577 hubs. They are THE best 8 speed hubs ever made IMHO. Depressingly, they only take Mavic specific cogs.
It's a love thing. If you really want to preserve 'golden age' bicycle engineering, then you will have to persevere in the hunt...you know it's worth it.
Hope you find the Suntour cassette, there seems to be a lot in the US, if you can afford the postage!

 

[ishaw]

Suntour XCD NOS Vintage 7 Speed 13-30 Cassette

Made from the 1980s to the 1990s. New old stock - still unused after all these years! Shipping worldwide since 2010 | Shop now >>

www.pedalpedlar.co.uk

I wonder, but I doubt it any of the myriad of new cassette standards accidentally fit?

 

[PanoIgano]

Suntour XCD NOS Vintage 7 Speed 13-30 Cassette

Made from the 1980s to the 1990s. New old stock - still unused after all these years! Shipping worldwide since 2010 | Shop now >>

www.pedalpedlar.co.uk

I wonder, but I doubt it any of the myriad of new cassette standards accidentally fit?

Probably not unless you chose to go down the road of modifying one. I would guess some early shimano cadettes might be the closest there are?

 

[PanoIgano]

Anyhow I am already having 2nd thoughts about it…

 

[sksmith2500]

7-Speed is different than 8-Speed and MicroDrive is different from non-MicroDrive. Finding the correct cassette is the hardest part.
But a sweet Suntour XC-Pro MicroDrive set-up is cool and shifts like butter when dialed in!

 

[PanoIgano]

That’s a lot!

I think the seller is a bit confused then as he believes his rear hub is compatible with both 7 and 8 speeds for micro drive.

Anyone knows of a source on line that clears up all the different Suntour standards?