Profile Elite Hub Review

"Profile Racing, Inc. started in early 1968 when the firm was established as a racecar chassis shop in Flemington, New Jersey by Jim Alley. Profile Racing moved its operations to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1971. Then, in 1978 Jim’s son, Corey, and daughter, Justine had their first taste of BMX racing at a small track in St. Petersburg. The entire Alley family was immediately hooked on this sport. With Jim’s keen eye for innovation and competitiveness, a new venture into the bicycle industry was born. It was an easy transition for Profile Racing to make. Having its background in auto racing, chromemoly fabrication and lightweight, aluminum alloy components, Profile Racing was a “shoe-in” for the bicycle racing industry."

Profile Racing History

Profile Racing's bulletproof hub design comes to the world of 142mmm hub spacing. The hub is designed for a 12mm thru axle, ISO disc brake mount. Shimano/Sram compatible 9/10/11 speed driver. 24-36 spoke hole drilling. Tall flanges use shorter, stiffer spokes, and centered flanges allow wheel to be virtually dish-less for added strength. We are testing the 11spd variant with an SRAM XX1 rear cassette.

Features

• Flange Diameters: 59mm
• Center to Drive-Side Flange: 26mm
• Center to Non-Drive-Side Flange: 28mm
• 150mm OLD 12mm Thru Axle (no Skewer) weight: 352g
• 6 pawl driver for 204 points of engagement means instant forward motion at the first application of pedal pressure
• Hub body matched anodized aluminum cone spacers with hardened CrMo knurls to bite into dropouts
• Hub body matched anodized aluminum volcano bolt head covers
• Fits Shimano and SRAM 8, 9, and 10 speed cassettes
• 135 12mm Thru axle, 142mm 12mm Thru-axle, QR, CrMo or Ti 3/8 bolt on axles
• QR weight: 363g
• 3/8 CrMo Bolt on axle weight:425g
• 3/8 Ti Bolt on Axle weight:401g
• 135mm OLD 12mm Thru Axle (no skewer) weight: 334g
• 142mm OLD 12mm Thru Axle (no Skewer) weight: 342g

Profile has been making high end bicycle components for almost four decades now! They began making BMX parts and eventually found their way into the Mountain Bike side in the late 1990's. Their products are always top notch and we were curious how the high engagement hub would work on a trail bike.

The Profile Elite hubs have 204 engagement points and you can for sure hear them coming when out on the trails. The hubs weighed as Profile claims on their site so they are a bit heavier than some other options out there. We went with Derby DH rims and Phil Wood 14 Gauge spokes and their nipple offering. The wheels came in at 1810 grams in 650B size.

Profile offers a few different drivers. When we started building our Guerilla Gravity Megatrail to test we thought 10spd was going to be the route we took. Things changed and 11spd SRAM got mounted up instead. We sent an email and received the 11spd driver in a few days. Removing the other one was a snap and everything went smooth.

Having a hub like this can be a big benefit on an AM/Enduro bike. Many times you are confronted with tricky terrain while climbing and may need to move the cranks around to clear obstacles. Doing so while slow moving can be tricky but with 204 points in the hub it is easy to maintain momentum on the slow uphill climbs. It saved us a few times after scrubbing a crank arm or when having to spin them out of the way to clear rocks on the trail.

We have run Profile Elite hubs a few times in the past and had one wheel set for almost 2 years. The hubs always proved rock solid and reliable with little service needed. We live in California and see rain maybe 15 days a year so conditions here are dry and favor bearings.

 

Ian W

Overall the Profile Elite hubs performed as we have come to expect. They gave us no surprises and returned instant engagement. The hubs did help out on some of the more technical climbs. Having so many points on the hub also helps when getting power down leaving corners. The gas is always there and any pedal movement will transfer power to the pedals. Another thing that we noticed is that the hubs are so loud that if you forget your bell that day the hikers should hear you in plenty of time. The faster you go the louder they get!

We have used these hubs on two different Downhill bike builds over the last 5 years and they have proven to be very durable. Maintenance is something we openly admit to not always being on top of. The Elite hubs have proven to be durable over time and if service is required it is pretty straight forward to pop off the driver and gain access to the bearings.

Conclusion

Overall the Profile Elite hubs are an awesome piece for any wheel build. With 204 engagement points they  offer instant engagement and allow the rider to climb tricky terrain that may require serious pedal movement to clear obstacles.. The AM crowd will want to take a good look at these since being able to climb and have instant access to power at the pedals would be a big plus. Especially with the development of lower BB heights and bikes that are more capable at climbing than any we have seen before. Riders are climbing terrain on bikes that 10-15 years ago would have been considered a DH bike.

Profile offers these hubs in all the main configurations and a wide assortment of color options. This is something you can only get from small boutique builders along with an attention to detail that is unmatched. We would strongly suggest these to friends as a hub option. The only downside we have found thus far is cost on the hubs they do hit the pocketbook but when people are looking at buying $900 hoops that will last 5 months is a $400 hub that can last 5 years that out of line if only no new standards are introduced in that time.

People looking for a new AM wheelset should seriously consider The Profile hub as an option. We would suggest these to a friend looking for new hubs without a doubt. The Profile product is quality in both finish and design!

Profile Elite MTB Hub Questions

1. How long has Profile been making bike parts? When did you make the jump into MTB from BMX?

­BMX SINCE 1979, MTB SINCE 1992

2. When you set out designing the Elite hubs what where some of the main objectives?

­LIGHTWEIGHT HUBSET WITH A MODULAR DESIGN(MANY DIFFERENT AXLE COMBOS & SIZES ON ONE HUBSHELL

3. Was the high engagement point a must have?

­DEFINITELY! YOU REALLY CAN FEEL THE DIFFERENCE WHEN RIDING A FAST ENGAGING CASSETTE HUB... PLUS IT SOUNDS COOL!

4. There is a bit more drag than what a more conventional hub displays are there any tips for users to make their hubs glide just that hair better?

­A LITTLE BIT OF LIGHT OIL ON THE SPRINGS AND PAWLS HELPS... ALSO OVER TIME, THE HUBS “BREAK IN” AND SEEM TO ROLL BETTER

5. What sort of maintenance should be preformed on the Profile Elite hubs and how frequently?

­EVERY FEW MONTHS REMOVE DRIVER AND INSPECT SPRINGS, PAWL POCKETS FOR WEAR. ADD SOME LIGHT OIL(MOBIL 1 WORKS GOOD). CHECK HUB BODY AND DRIVER BEARINGS... MAKE SURE THEY FEEL SMOOTH (NO CRUNCHY FFEL)

6. Are the hubs using standard sized bearings?

­YEA, VERY COMMON HUB BEARINGS... 6903, 6803, 6902

7. What color options are offered on the MTB versions? Do you ever do Camo or Floral like you do with the BMX variants?

­THERE ARE 8 ANODIZED COLORS, POLISHED, AND TWO CAMO WRAPS AVAILABLE

8. What are some of the great innovations in MTB technology you have seen in the last twenty years?

FORK & FRAME SUSPENSION, USE OF CARBON FIBER

9. Who is the greatest MTB rider ever? (XC, DH, DJ, FREERIDE)

JT! ... JOHN TOMAC

10. What type of trail would you prefer to ride rocky, jump filled or high speed and drifty?

­HIGH SPEED W/ JUMPS

11. What drives you crazy with the industry?

­TRENDINESS

12. Anything readers should know about or keep eyes open for in the near future coming form Profile?

­FULL LINE OF MTB STEMS­(BOTH 31.8MM & 35MM BAR)­110MM FRONT HUB,148MM CASSETTE HUB, ELITE SEALED FREEWHEEL... YEA... FREEWHEEL WITH 210 POINTS OF ENGAGEMENT!