suspension hub info
I looked into these and read lots of reviews on them.
the deal is, the 1/2 inch suspension hubs are for rim brakes. and the pad must be adjusted to the very top of the rim, as close as possible with out touching the tire. Then when you sit on the bike or hit a bump in the road, the forks or stays move down, and the rim brakes can still grab the bottom part of the rim's braking surface.
the full 1 inch suspension hubs require disc brakes, however they sell one that does not have a disc brake mount.... does not seem like they should have wasted their time on that. they sell the discs that fit the hubs for 45 dollars, in all the different sizes. I sent an email and I am waiting for a reply, inquiring about the disc brake caliper mounting. I want to know if it stays mounted to the bike's normal caliper mount? or do they have a mount that comes with it, that keeps the caliper pads on the same part of the disc at all times. or if the disc bounces in and out of the caliper. that seems like an important thing they need to have detailed on their website. I hope they get back to me with good news! I want disc brakes!
I read only one bad review of their products. it was an old review from like 2006. the customer lived in Australia. After less than 100 miles, the inside of the hub was destroyed and it was bottomed out all the time. so he had to mail it back to the usa, then buy another 100 dollar wheel so he could ride while it was in the states for a month. Pantour told him that he got an "old model" of the hub, and that he needed a 55 dollar upgraded something or other. so he paid to have them upgrade it. he finally got it back, and it was totally unusable and unfixable. while at the same time pantour said it was ridable... seemed like he was getting the run around, why would he need to pay to upgrade a new defective product? Then someone on the forum posted a quote about pantour having a warranty, and his dealer should have refunded him or gave him a new one. Then that was the last post, and we're all to assume what we will as to what happened next.
Aside from that one. every single other review that i read, and i read a lot of them... loved the pantour hubs, and said they bought a second hub for their wife's bikes and stuff like that. Many of the people with road bikes said they were seriously able to ride much farther and longer with out stopping because their hands, wrists, arms, shoulders were simply not worn out and vibrated to oblivion. no other reviews had hub failures.
recumbent, cruiser, road bike, and mountain bike riders had written replies, and they all liked them.
It really make me want a pantour front hub. I really hope that they get back to me, and say that they have a disc caliper mount that does not require regular caliper mounting brackets on the forks, because I do not have them.
if you needed a disc brake frame/fork already for the disc brakes, I think I will still get the 1/2 inch suspension front hub. If and when I DOOO, you know I will update my findings here!