I just purchased a profile hub for my 24" Hunter and upgraded to a Sun doublewide rim. Just wondering how folks that are using this gear like it, durability, quality, etc. Also, does anyone know the width of the doublewide rim? Is it wider than the 'O5 KH rim?
I have no experience on the durability of Profile hub but I know it’s very strong. Sun doublewide (46mm) is wider than KH 05 (42mm). I think that’s maybe the strongest wheel set.
I have always wondered how a profile hub works is there any exploded view out there that anyone knows of or maybe an explaination im just curious and realy have no idea how they work or why they are so good
all i know is about profile, is that they are 48-splined, the more splines you have, the stronger it is, and 48 is the most splines ive ever seen =p
Yeah i knew it was splined too but i wonder what the other differences are id love to see and exploded pic or somthing that would explain it
Same here, all i hear is that its the strongest hub, but i never get any back up info on why its the strongest, except it being 48-splined, and im thinking about using one of those for when i build my trials
ive got a profile/sun doublewide/gazz setup. I use it for EVERYTHING.
I started with the same setup about 4 years ago. Since then i broke a crank, got one new wheel rebuild with new spokes and rim, and plopped a new tire on the thing.
Profile lived up to their warranty with the broken crank.
I like a bald gazz for street and skinny riding. Id go to a slick but i like the square profile and grippies on the edges of the gazz for when i go to trials. Of course, a brand new gazz is the best for muni. So a slightly worn down gazz is my favorite tire.
The sun doublewide is the strongest rim ive tried yet (out of Alex DX32, KH, and monty). However, its not perfect. It did not take me long to put a Dip in my rim shortly after i got it, just from doing big handrails. The downhill bikers ive spoken to have agreed that Doublewides are bad at getting flat spots. I just try to save my really big (consiquence) moves for special occasions 
Chances are, youre going to get a great life out of this wheelset, however nothing on your unicycle will last forever.
The rim is amazingly strong and durable. I’ve broken a UDC hub and two sets of cranks with it (big drops, bad landings, abuse, etc.), then built a Profile hub into it and now it’s my current setup. I’ve read some complaints on mountain biking forums that the doublewide tends to develop flat spots, but then those guys are doing 20-30 foot airs on the things… mine’s been round and true since I got it just over two years ago. Just keep the wheel trued and the spoke tension even and the rim will last you a long time.
As for the Profile hub, I’ve had one in my trials uni for over a year and it’s a trooper. Crank grabs, grinds, big drops, you name it, it takes a licking and keeps on ticking. Rumor has it the Profile hub will develop “keyway slop” after some years of use due to some shortcoming in the design, but I’ve yet to see / feel / hear it, and there’s a straightforward fix to the problem. Do a search on “keyway slop” and/or “Profile hub” and you’ll hear all about it…
In short, the Profile / Doublewide combo (with a good wheelbuild) is one of the strongest wheelsets you could possibly put on a uni. Boulders will bounce off your wheel as you ride down the hill… you could deflect cruise missiles and ride out 8.0 magnitude earthquakes without losing wheel trueness… you’ve got some serious hardware!
Jerrick, think about what you said… More splines is not stronger, and there is no reason to think otherwise. What if you had 2,000 splines on a 3/4" shaft? They’d be the size of hairs, and not really able to transmit torque effectively.
Profile hubs aren’t anything special. There is a chromoly 3/4" axle with 48 V-pattern splines going down the last ~1" of each end. These are cut with a milling machine, not rolled (rolled splines are slightly stronger, and more uniform). There is a single keyway in the center of the axle. The hub is a solid aluminum shell that has a keyway broached through the center hole, where the axle goes. The hub presses onto the axle along with an oversized pair of woodruff keys, which transmit torque from the axle to the hub shell.
Advantages of the profile hub:
-Lifetime warranty. They stand by their product.*
-The cranks come in chrome, which is more resistant to damage.
-They are made to very tight tolerances, which is has mixed blessings, discussed later.
-They have a variety of crank lengths over 145mm.
*They refuse to stand by their warranty in some cases. Do a search for more info.
Disadvantages
-They develop keyway slop, which profile refuses to cover in their warranty. You can continue to ride with this, as I have done,b ut it’s annoying, and could theoretically lead to a serious failure (highly unlikely). It is extremely difficult to permanently fix this problem. All of the attempts, done by professional machinists, have failed. To say the least, drilling through hardened chromoly is a B*tch, and weakens the axle.
-No short cranks (>145mm).
-The more splines you have, generally the tighter tolerances you need. Profile does have tighter tolerances, but that doesn’t change that you can 0.0001" (yes, four zeros) off tolerance can be much more detrimental on a 48 spline hub than a 36 or 8 spline hub.
-The splines are not tapered, which means if they wear or are shipped out of tolerance, you are stuck with permanent slop.
Profile hubs are good, but they aren’t perfect. Do a search if you want more information, but really, do some research before jumping to the conclusion that more splines=better. While it theoretically makes a difference, a whole number of other variables, such as spline profile (shape), size, and length, and diameter and material of axle makes the number of splines virtually irrelevant.
Thanks for all that inof =p all the time ive searched they i would end up getting things like, more splines = more strength, but now from reading what youve said i guess thats not always true =p so once again tahnks for all of that info, it was much better than anything ive read from my searching lol
Profile offer a limited lifetime warranty on their crank arms (to original purchaser), there is no such warranty on their hubs.
jim
I understood that the warranty also covered the splined section of the axle where the cranks afix, but not the hub body or the area where it is fixed to the axle.
Actually, I disagree that the Profiles are not special. They are special in several ways:
- they are the first really tough unicycle hub, and quite arguably still the best available,
- they have stood the test of time, and are still being used several years later,
- there is a huge variety of crank lengths available (10 lengths last I checked),
- there are many, many options available, including black or silver hub or cranks, Ti or steel axle, a variety of drillings, and three crank weights
- the axle/frame setup is extremely versatile,
- spare parts are readily available,
- the setup shares many parts in common with similar products for the bicycle, which gives them excellent stability.
- the essential aspects of the hub, seen externally by the frame and other parts of the wheel, have remained constant, allowing frame and wheel builders to have some longevity in their designs and fabrications.
There is a lifetime warranty, which is on the axle and cranks. Although the warranty doesn’t cover the hub, this is largely irrelevant. I have heard of many successful crank warranties by unicyclists that are pushing the state of the art.
There was a problem with keyway slop developing over time. I participated in one such attempt to have a professional machine shop fix the problem, and it returned. When I tried to warranty the user-modified setup (openly, with no deception), Profile refused, which I think is reasonable. However, Profile changed the size of the keys and the dimensions of the hub body slightly a couple of years ago, and now have to use a large press to put the hub body on. According to them, they have had no slop problems since, and I haven’t heard of any.
It’s great that there are other hubs on the market, but the Profile is definitely special.
thanks for all the info. I am looking forward to trying to destroy my new setup.
Unichomp
I should clarify: The profile design isn’t anything special. It is a pretty simple design, and that is not what makes it so good.
Thanks for making those points. I generally agree with them, but have a few points to differ on.
There are no titanium axles available for unicycles, last I checked. As you know, the titanium axle is for bike BB’s, and isn’t really adaptable to unicycles. Furthermore, there is no warranty, expressed, or implied on any part of that axle for bikes.
Crank variety is nice, but there are no short ones, which sucks. Furthermore, you can’t get a nubless set of cranks, which can interfere with frames and cause premature failure of the a crank. Also, the nubs sometimes lead to incompetent grinding jobs to be done on the crank, allowing its heat treat to be ruined. This isn’t profile’s fault, but it’d be nice if nubless cranks were an option.
I think I wasn’t fair enough to profile on this. They are still the best, IMO. I have profile on both my muni and trials, and will probably never switch.
I didn’t hear about the keyway mod. It’d be nice if they used a tapered woodruff key, so if any slop developed, you could simply tighten it. However, if their mod works, well great.
ive got a hunter, sun, and profile setup. i developed the keyway slop, but i assume it has something to do with the oldness of the hub axle setup. i got it back in 2001. also ive got a flat spot about 20cm long in my rim. again, the setup is old and buckled, and pretty damn heavy. but good for strength.
Profile hubs rock if you don’t care about weight the surly Large Marge would be stronger than the double wide and the 3" gazz works very well with both rims and I own and run both, Just depend what you want to run.