Fully customizable hubs made for thousands of your great miles on the road.

We can talk about our products for hours, but if you don't like long reads, there is a short summary at the end of this page

The story

It all started in 2012. We were two students of the Polytechnic University who loved bicycles. We studied mechanical engineering and really wanted to do something of our own. We looked at bike parts outside of the box because we still didn't know how they were usually made in this industry. We didn't just want to have something of 'our own'. It's more like we wanted to make something 'in our own way'. So, in 2016, we founded Raketa. At that moment we were already running a bicycle workshop, where we had received our knowledge of good bicycle wheels.

We understood, that we couldn't simply begin making road hubs, so we had decided to enter the track bike market first. Despite having their own nuances, track hubs and chainrings are no doubt simpler in terms of design and manufacturing. We focused on mastering our skills in prototyping, machining, and finishing parts. It all turned out fantastic, as far as I can judge.

We had been making our track hubs for two continuous years when we felt ready for the bigger challenge.

Modern bicycle hubs are very complicated things. They should be as light as possible, but at the same time, they should withstand extreme stresses and work fine under loads of 200 times more than their own weight. In fact, our hubs are machined with more precise tolerances than the jet fighter.

Who are these hubs for?

The first thing we should talk about is who this product is intended for. We've made these hubs for people, who get the idea of a beautiful bicycle, in terms of both (form and function) appearance and technological advance.

We strongly believe that our product is for people who don't like to leave the money on the table. We make the product, which will last long and brighten each day on your bike.

The process

We machine our hubs from a round bar of the highest quality 7075-T6 aluminum with 5-micron tolerances. Our bores and axles are absolutely round, that helps bearings to spin silky smooth.

The main part of our work starts when the parts come off the CNC machine. We hand check every single part before sending them to the finishing line. Hub shells are being hand-polished, engraved and anodized. All operations are made in-house, at our own facilities. We truly believe that the only way to ensure the perfect quality is controlling all processes from start to finish.

There are manufacturers who automated all their processes. There are some who make everything by hand. We tried to take the best from both worlds, so the machines are responsible for the precision and the man stands for the perfect appearance.

Technology

Hub body design

Hub body geometry has all the features the premium hub should have. Different diameters of the flanges of the rear rim brake hub help to equalize the spoke tension on the drive and non-drive side of the wheel. Flanges are angled towards the center of the hub to minimize the stress on the spoke. Every spoke hole has big chamfers from both sides of the flange to help the spoke head sit better. All of this establishes the basis of the well-balanced, stiff and strong wheel.

All standarts in one shell

Some people are worried if their current wheels will fit their future bike. With Raketa hubs they definitely will! Our axle design with interchangeable end caps will allow you to use these wheels with all modern axle standards, both quick release and thru-axle.

Lightweight

The lightweight is the key to a fast and responsive bike. However, the excessively light weight will actually slow you down, because of the flex under the stress, when the parts simply don't work as intended. That's why we've spent many days with the computer analysis software to be able to make the hubs of just the right weight. The parts of our hubs are light and thin where it's acceptable, and thick where the strength is needed.

Easy adjustment

During many miles of riding any bearing (even the hardest one) will slowly wear off. Extra clearance between the balls and the race is formed and the wheel gets the excessive play. Usually, it means, that you need to adjust preload, not to change expensive bearings, as your local mechanic probably told.
All manufacturers offer their own preload adjustment systems (some don't however), but we think, our solution is the handiest. To adjust the preload you only need to unscrew the small bolt, tighten the adjustment nut with your fingers and clamp it with the bolt. No special tools needed and you don't even need to take the wheel off your bike!

Excellent protection

You want your wheels to roll smoothly for years, right? Then you need to keep the internals of your hubs clean from contamination. To protect your hubs from dirt, we used three types of protection: the labyrinth seals on the endcaps, precise rubber lip seals in the freehub body and the sealed bearings as the last stage.

Instant engagement

When we were designing our hubs, we were looking only for strong and reliable solutions, that's why these hubs use the traditional mechanism with springs and pawls. While it may look not as 'technologically advanced' as helical, magnets or star ratchets, it offers everything you expect from a high-performance hub. 4 individually spring-loaded pawls with 3 contact points for each and a 48T ratchet ring give you nearly instant engagement.
We make all parts of our ratchet mechanism in-house, to be able to precisely tune it's performance and ensure we always have spare parts for our hubs.

The secret main ingredient.

Bearings are the thing where manufacturers usually cut corners. New cheap Chinese bearings may spin almost as easy as good bearings (or even easier due to the poor sealing). But if you want your hubs to last many miles without visiting a bike shop, the only way to go is the NSK bearings. We order them according to our specs directly from Japan.
NSK makes their bearings for more than 100 years now. According to our tests, we've found these bearings lasting a dozen times longer than generic ones. And yes, they cost 10 times more, than Chinese alternatives, but since we mostly retail by ourselves (so don't need to have huge margins) we're able to supply our customers with the highest-quality bearings.

Features

Any spoke number

Forget choosing between 28 and 32 spokes. Each rider is unique and everyone have their own preferences. We'll be happy to make your hubs with any spoke hole count, ranging from 12 to 32.

Customization

We offer the biggest number of customization options among all manufacturers in the world. We run all finishing processes in house, that allows us to make our hubs in dozens of colors, in gloss and matte finish, with black or silver hardware and many other custom features. Want our hubs to match your King headset? We'll make it for you. Your hubs may be custom engraved or anodized to match other parts of your bike.

Technical specifications

Front hub (rim brake) Rear hub (rim brake) Front hub (6-bolt disc) Rear hub (6-bolt disc)
Flange diameter (spoke holes centers) 40 mm 43 mm non-drive side, 51 mm driveside 58 mm 58 mm
Bearings 2x 61803 2x 61902, 2x61802 in freehub 2x 61803 2x 61902, 2x61802 in freehub
Axle 9x100 QR 10x130 QR 9x100 QR, 12x100 thru-axle 10x135 QR, 12x142 thru-axle
Weight 104 grams 238 grams 155 grams 266 grams
Freehub Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11 speed, SRAM XDR, Campagnolo Shimano/SRAM 9/10/11 speed, SRAM XDR, Campagnolo
Rider weight limit 100 kg 100 kg 100 kg 100 kg
Spoke hole drilling availability 16, 18, 20, 24, 28, 32 20, 24, 28, 32 20, 24, 28, 32 24, 28, 32
Price (RRP) 149 USD 299 USD 159 USD 309 USD