Generic off-brand hubs

[BiketoBasics]

I bought a set of wheels a number of years ago whose hubs were unbranded (see photo). They seem like decent quality. There are but a few hub manufacturers in the world. It seems that there must be a way to secure some of this type of unbranded hub (not neccessarily the one shown), from somewhere. Once a label goes onto something, the price goes way up. Why pay magnitudes more just for a label?

 

[BiketoBasics]

I think these were an unlabelled "Formula" hub. Considering these had press-in cartridge bearings, one wouldn't need to be concerned about the cone and race machining quality usually found in a lesser hub.

 

[pigman]

I'm sure when Shimano acquire and sell hubs, they don't just say to one of the manufacturers 'what you making at the moment? .... Ah those! ..... We'll have x000 of those and sticker them up as Shimano and sell at a massive premium. Meanwhile, we're ok with you continuing to sell them unbranded and undercut prices on eBay '.

Whilst there may be a limited number of hub manufacturers, Shimano will require them to be made to their design, to their quality tolerance and agree a budget. The theory is that you then pay a premium for known quality, with a reliable distribution network, with parts backup, some form of guarantee and an element of R&D for future products. And then there's overheads with running a multinational. Oh and an element of profit isn't unreasonable too