Have you been considering Profile Racing or Madera hubs? Did you know that you can actually Build Your Own Hubs and customize them to be exactly how you want them with your choice of hub shell, axle, bolts, drive and hub guards? Check out the full details below….
Growing up, I remember seeing the Profile Racing Mini hubs on different bikes and thinking about how dialed they are. It was something I always wanted to run, but for one reason or another I never could afford to do some custom wheels or I would be able to get another set from some friends or something. I knew at some point I would have to get a pair to finally get what I really wanted my bike to roll on.
One thing that’s cool about growing up is if you work enough, you’ll be able to afford the nicer things you always wanted but couldn’t when you were younger. Recently, it was time again for me to get some new wheels built up and I knew there was no way I was going to postpone getting a setup I really wanted to save a few dollars.
I was talking to Matt Coplon about all of the different options from the different bolts, axles and hub guards you could do with the hubs these days and it really made me realize there’s a lot of options and combinations that allows for you to really build up something that’s suited for what you’re doing on your bike whether it’s street riding, skateparks, trails, flatland or racing.
While we were talking about all of the options, Matt mentioned that they were working on a new program that would make it easier for you to build up a set of hubs customized to your needs without having to buy everything individually like you would in the past. They’re launching the “Build Your Own Hubs” program worldwide today, so we figured it would be a good time to give you guys a look at all of the options and explain how this new program works. Let’s get into it!
If you aren’t familiar with the different Profile hubs by now, you either haven’t been in BMX very long, or you live under a rock. That’s okay though, because a while back Dave did a real good Drawing Board interview with Profile about the History of Profile’s Cassette Hubs that you can check out. I’m not 100% sure on this, but I’m willing to bet Profile’s hubs are the best selling hubs in BMX’s history.
For my wheels, I personally went with the Mini hubs, which are made right here in the U.S. down in Florida at the Profile Racing warehouse (Like all Profile Racing and Madera hubs, cranks, etc.). The hub shell is made from machined 6061 aluminum with two sealed bearings and a chromoly one-piece driver with 4-pawl engagement and 4-sealed bearings inside of the driver making for a real smooth ride. Now that’s when you start seeing options. Once you get into axles, bolts and hardware, that’s where you can start getting creative. The basic hub setup comes with a 7075-T6 aluminum hollow axle 3/8″ chromoly female bolts and the aluminum Volcano washers. In the rear you can find a 14mm GDH (Gun Drilled Hollow) axle with alloy axle nuts or a 14mm 7075-T6 aluminum axle with 3/8″ chromoly female bolts (which do fit the 14mm drop outs since below the head it turns to 14mm). But that’s just the basic setup… They’ve got multiple options that you can customize your hubs with.
With the new “Build Your Own Hubs” program, they let you pick out the hub of your choice (Profile and Madera) and the color… then it’s up to you on the style of bolts and axles you want. Here’s a little break down of the different options you can use…
Profile Mini front and Madera Pilot front hubs
-3/8 standard bolts with polished Volcano cones (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromoly button head bolt (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromoly 17mm hex bolt (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-14mm chromoly GDH straight axle with alloy nuts.
Profile Mini Rear and Madera V-2 Rear hub options:
-3/8 standard bolts with polished volcano cones (7075-T6 14mm aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromo button head bolt (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromo 17mm hex bolt (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-14mm chromoly GDH straight axle with alloy nuts.
-choice of chromoly cog or a one piece driver (9, 10, or 11t)
Female axle for the rear hubs with the standard bolts and cone spacers. This replaces the 14mm gun drilled hollow axle.
Profile Totem front and Profile Elite Front hub options:
-3/8 standard bolts with anodized colored volcano cones (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromo button head bolt (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromo 17mm hex bolt (7075-T6 aluminum axle)
-14mm chromoly GDH straight axle with alloy nuts.
Profile Totem rear and Profile Elite rear hub options:
-3/8 standard bolts with anodized colored volcano cones (7075-T6 14mm aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromoly button head bolt (7075-T6 14mm aluminum axle)
-3/8 chromoly 17mm hex bolt (7075-T6 14mm aluminum axle)
-choice of chromoly cog or one piece driver (9, 10, or 11t)
Above we have the front hub along with the different bolt options for the Build Your Own Hubs program. The furthest to the left is the standard 3/8″ chromoly bolt with aluminum volcano washers. In the middle you have the 3/8″ chromoly button head bolt, and then the furthest on the right is the 17mm hex bolt. What’s the difference in these options? Well, the standard 3/8″ bolt sticks out a little further with the cone washer, if you’re looking for a more flush look, the button head option is more ideal for your situation. I personally, due to running pegs on the right side, chose to go with the 17mm hex bolts for my front axle since I prefer using my sockets over allen keys to tighten my wheel. If you prefer allen keys, there’s tools out there that allow for you to use a socket extension and wrench.
Standard Bolts
17mm Hex bolts
3/8″ button head bolts
So what is the advantage of having the “Build Your Own Hubs” option? Prior to this, if you wanted to built your hubs using different hardware, you had two options. You could go to the Profile Web Store and pick out the setup of your choice and order the hubs with a small price increase for different bolts and if you were outside the U.S you would have that heavier shipping cost, or option two would be that you could have your local shop order you up the hubs and you could buy the bolts or axle separately.
Now you can have your local shop from anywhere in the world order you up a set of hubs with the chromoly bolts of your choice for no additional cost! This saves you money and gets you exactly what you want.
Now if you’re looking to save a few ounces, you can also upgrade and pay a little more for the titanium bolts or axle. This still allows you to order what you want and can be done directly from the shop the same way.
Beyond the titanium option, another upgrade you can do for some additional money is hub guards. Profile now offer the Aegis hub guards made from 7077 aluminum for your front hub, rear non-drive side and drive side. They essentially replace your cone spacers and hold the hub tight by compression from the bolts or nuts being tightened on the axle. I definitely recommend picking these up for those of you running pegs. Hubs aren’t cheap and replacing spokes all the time is a pain in the ass. So having these really help to protect your investment and will help to keep your hubs running smoothly much longer.
Example of both rear Aegis hub guards on the Mini hub.
Example of Aegis guard on the front Mini hub with 17mm hex bolts.
So that about wraps it up on how to Build Your Own Hubs. I personally chose to run the 17mm hex bolts up front with the stock gun drilled hollow 14mm axle in the rear with the Aegis guards on my non drive side. I laced them up to some chrome Sun Ringle Big Ballers which really make the wheels pop with the all black hubs and spokes.
If you’re looking into getting yourself a fresh set of hubs, I definitely suggest you take a look into the Build Your Own Hubs program that Profile Racing and Madera have to offer. Now that they’ve made it even easier to customize the hubs to your personal choice for the same price as a stock set, it makes even more sense to give them a go.
If you’re a shop here in the U.S trying to order a set of custom hubs, you can get ahold of Profile Racing directly or through QBP. If you’re a shop outside of the U.S, you can find your country’s distributor by clicking here.
To find out more about Profile Racing and their products, check out their website — ProfileRacing.com
UPDATE: This post was created in 2013 and since then Profile and Madera have continued to expand their Build Your Own Hubs program with newer bolt, axle and hub guard options. Below is a video released in 2017 explaining the Madera Build Your Own Hubs program that is identical to Profile Racing, since, well, they are both manufactured under the same roof in Florida!
