High flange hubs are stronger than the low flange hubs because these have larger flange holes, which shows that the spoke head-ends which are inserted within the larger flanges have larger shoulders and larger elbow places where these are going top bent within the flange holes as compared to the low flange hubs. high flanges also look cool and are more comfortable and give a smooth ride as compared to the low flanges. as the name is suggesting high flange hubs have higher peaks as compared to lower flange hubs and higher peaks of these flanges decrease the length of the spokes which are mounted within the higher flange hubs towards the rim.
Another difference is that flange holes of lower hubs are closely present and there is not a big distance between their holes but larger flange hub holes are far from each other and is a noticeable distance between the holes, it has the advantage, that spokes of larger flange hubs are far from each other as compared to spokes of low flange hubs, and larger hub spokes do not cause cracking and breaking due to this feature and are long-lasting, while spokes of lower flange hubs would break in less time.
High flange hubs also have another advantage, you can easily lace bike wheels with 4 cross patterns without any difficulty due to the large space of the flange holes, but lower flange hubs would cause a bad wheel lacing with the 4 spoke pattern and the wheel is not laced accurately in a correct manner, 4 cross pattern of wheel lacing requires greater angles to rotate and swapping of spokes for cross pattern and higher flange hubs would give these spokes easy access to reach the rim holes.
Which Hub Is Popular These Days And Are Widely Installed In Bikes?
In the past, high flange hubs were most popular and were widely used in all categories of biking, but after some years these high flanges start becoming unpopular and these were replaced by low flange hubs, nowadays large hub companies are not manufacturing high flange hubs, but these are focusing with consistency in producing low flange hubs, there was a big reason behind the flop of large flange hubs.
Large flange hubs were mostly specific for pavement rides, park rides, and urban rides and were recommended for commuting purposes, but today the industry has changed and people started to follow more aggressive and hard trails on which these high flange hubs would not perform better, due to all of these reasons high flange hubs were lost their ability and working capacity.
Which One Is Stronger For a Greater Number of Spokes?
A greater number of spokes require stronger hubs which are higher hubs as compared to the lower flange hubs, higher flanges have more tolerance rate and you can also install more number of spoke in these hubs as compared to lower flange hubs, but these days low flange hubs are also firm and stronger and have been competing with the higher flanges in durability and working performance.
If spokes are stronger then low flange hubs are recommended but if you own thin spokes with lower diameter and thickness then high flange hubs are recommended.
Which Hub Is Easier For Installing And Removing Of Spokes?
As higher flange hubs are higher in size as compared to lower flange hubs, you can easily install and remove spokes within the higher flange hubs without removing the cassette and bike wheel, while in lower flange hubs it is necessary to remove the bike wheel, cassette, chain and hub for installing and removing of spokes.
Which Hub Supports Higher Weight?
The total stress which is applied on the bike should be the weight of the rider, bike weight, higher speed stress on long mileages, downhills where the wheel rotates fastly and generates forces, in all of these conditions a large number of forces is totally pulling towards the center of the wheel, which needs thicker flange hubs for supporting these forces of the rotating wheel and dispersing all of these forces within the spokes, all of these forces are tolerated by high flange hubs without any issue, the conclusion is the same this benefit is due to the larger flange holes of high flange hubs.
Spoke Angle Difference Between Higher And Lower Flange Hubs?
After the installation of spokes, both of these hubs would make an angle with the spokes but the angles are different for both of them, nowadays low flange hubs are famous and usually installed in mountain biking, road biking, gravel biking, and other categories of biking, the low flange hubs have advantage, their spokes would make exactly an angle of 90 degrees, which is usually useful for the rim, hub and the spoke nipples, but if we discuss for the high flange hubs, their spokes would never make an exact 90 degree but lower than 90 degrees and above from 45 degrees at the shoulder of the spokes, angle difference is much important to judge between both hubs before buying a new hub for your bike, because higher flange hubs making less than 90 degrees of angle are not goof for spoke nipples, these would continuously vibrate the spoke nipples and does not make the niopples stable on every rotation of the wheel, as a result it is to be concluded that higher flange hubs cause breaking and unscrewing of spoke nipples larger as compared to the low flange hubs.
90-degree angle for the spokes creates tension within the wheel and interlaces the spokes with each other by passing and touching which is called the cross pattern of spokes.
Which Hub Is Lighter In Weight?
Low flange Hubs are lighter in weight and tolerate a lesser number of spokes, 24 rim hole and 28 rim hole wheels are usually recommended for low flange hubs, and 32 rim hole and 36 rim hole wheels are recommended for high flange hubs due to the heavier nature of these high flanges.
Which Hub Is Used For Mountain And Gravel Biking?
These two categories of bikes are for offroading, low flange hubs are recommended for offroad purposes, because these hubs play a big role in absorbing shocks and bumps of rough terrains, and for road biking if you are using them for local purposes for riding on regular basis and you want a harder and stronger wheelset then, high flange hubs are used.
Comfortability difference Between High Flange And Low Flange Hubs:
High flange hubs do not give a comfortable ride for both offroad and on-road rides, that’s the reason their discovery is continuously dying day by day, and flange hubs are more comfortable for both urban and rural rides, that’s the reason these are continuously replacing the old traditional high flange hubs.
Which Hub Ruins Bike Wheel On Cornering And Skidding Trails?
Discussing the geometry of both low and high flange hubs, hubs with stiffer and stronger rims are not recommended to perform skidding and cornering on any terrains. high flanges are much harder which creates more chances to break and crack the spokes due to the load and stress, but stiffer hubs are better for smooth rides, just avoiding skidding and cornering.
High Flange Hubs Are Not A Better Option For Uphill Rides:
While pedaling in the mountains, the heavier weight and stiffer wheels of high flange hubs cause a resistance force within the spokes and the hub due to which, it needs a lot of force to push the pedals of your bike, which causes fatigue.
, but low-flange hubs are better and recommended options for riding with these hubs on both uphill and downhill terrains.
Are High Hubs Compatible With Wider Tires?
Those bikes which have installed high hubs in their wheelsets have small spacing from right to left flanges due to which these hubs also require narrow rims, for which narrow tires are required, and there is no room for the wider mountain tires to install on these high flange hubs, but you can easily install and run wider tires on low flange hubs.