Gear One hubs or Pro-Am?

[Jacque Cousteau]

Do you guys see a big diff. in quality between these two hub/brake setups? I like that the Gear One "greasers" have zirk fittings for greasing the outer cv. But I see that kartek seems to be talked about a lot more. Thanks.

[ShaneR]

We are putting Pro Am hubs on Pat's new car, there quality is top notch and second to none!

[Jacque Cousteau]

Are most guys running the series 30 for recreational use or can you get enough duability out of the lesser grade?

[ShaneR]

We are racing on the 35 spline 935.4 and have had good luck with the axles and cv's in several of our other cars. They also sell the kit in a 935.4 - 33 spline which is the standard non broached star size and save's you money on axles and cv's.
I also think all the HMS Avenger cars use the series 30 hubs.

[luckyride]

I have had both and the pro-am are so much better quailty (and money) it is hard to compare the two.

[Jacque Cousteau]

Kartek it is. Thanks.

[ciscokid8]

I also went Pro-Am and have been happy as well!

[WALSHMOTORSPORTS]

I realize Kar-Tek makes a great product but I went with Gear-One Micro set-up on my car and went together smooth and worked flawlessat this years BAJA1000!I must say there machine work and cust service is awsome! I don't think you could go wrong with either. Lance the owner of Gear-One also called me to find out any feedback on his product after the 1000, nice to see some take the time to follow up on their products.

[FullsizeFun]

Are most guys running the series 30 for recreational use or can you get enough duability out of the lesser grade?

30 Series is for BIG HP class 1 cars and TT's. Most class 1's run 934's with 35 spline axles.
As far as HMS running Pro-AM hubs, the TT's run 30 series and the class 1's run 934's.

For recreational use Pro-Am has a Sandcar version of the 934 hub that is less expensive.

[1wood]

I decided to go with the gear one supergreasers mainly because I liked the idea of having the zerks. I spoke with kartek first and they really trashed the gear one stuff. I called gear one next and for what it's worth here's what they said (paraphrasing).

kartek has been much more aggressive about building a reputation with the racing community and gear one has made no effort - until now. Gear One plans on being at every race this coming? season and is going to start going head to head with kartek, as well as bring top notch team support. The works. And gear one has been building hubs longer than kartek has.

That's what gear one had to say. I really only went with them because I liked the zerks, and kartek kind of turned me off with the harsh comments. My two cents.

[FullsizeFun]

In my opinion, zerks are not really necessary. I would not make that a deciding factor. Zerks can be added to any hub if you like. Though there is a set amount of grease you should put in your bearings and cv's, too much grease can actually generate more heat. Pumping grease into the bearings can pop the seals out.

[Jerry Zaiden]

I made the decision to run the Pro-Am hubs on my dual sport car as well. I am using the 2" hollow snout front hubs up front and the 934 mid bore micro stubs in the rear. Yes they will cost more money, but I have looked at them all and the Pro-Am hubs look the best quality wise and from a building standpoint they look better to deal with. I also like the fact that pro-am hubs are used so much through the race industry so they have so much test time on them. Remember in most cases you really get what you pay for!

[Volkspower Racing]

I have personally run Gear-1 products (Brakes, Axles, C.v.'s, Micro Stub kits) on my Desert 1600 and Corr single buggy for over 8 years with zero problems. Keith and Lance are great to work with and will help any way they can. I agree that you get what you pay for, and I've always got great products from Gear-1. Not sure if anybody has noticed that there micro stub kit is fully serviceable, bot a timkin bearing used off of a chevy s-10, and take a look at there new Master/clutch pedal assembles, not to mention there full line of race Rhino parts that they are producing. I personally say check them out, you will be happy you did. Just my 2 cents!

[nickhead]

In my opinion, zerks are not really necessary. I would not make that a deciding factor. Zerks can be added to any hub if you like. Though there is a set amount of grease you should put in your bearings and cv's, too much grease can actually generate more heat. Pumping grease into the bearings can pop the seals out.

Nice answer Dave, i was thinking the same thing.. ;) All I can really say is what has RG been running on his H3 race hummer since Dakar 06?? That would be Pro-Am 934 Race floater Hubs, 5 on 205mm with 35 spline axles.. and they have been flawless.. and too bad Dakar 08 is a no go.. (here is some info that is not public wide known yet, but oh well..) Because the latest addition to the Pro-Am hubs on RG's and RB's H3 hummers is an on board air-system thru the hubs.. yes, no more external single air line from the wheel well to the hub center cap.. the new setup has three air lines into the hub on the back side by the cv boot, so the air up & down time is cut down, making the pressure adjustments faster when in need, and no more exposer to the air line either.. :D :D On the Gear One hubs, I would have no opinion because I have never ran them, I know they are priced cheaper, i guess I would say what ever fits your budget and needs.. Good Luck!!:D

[TallKewl7]

I decided to go with the gear one supergreasers mainly because I liked the idea of having the zerks. I spoke with kartek first and they really trashed the gear one stuff. I called gear one next and for what it's worth here's what they said (paraphrasing).

kartek has been much more aggressive about building a reputation with the racing community and gear one has made no effort - until now. Gear One plans on being at every race this coming? season and is going to start going head to head with kartek, as well as bring top notch team support. The works. And gear one has been building hubs longer than kartek has.

That's what gear one had to say. I really only went with them because I liked the zerks, and kartek kind of turned me off with the harsh comments. My two cents.

That would turn me off too. I don't like to hear people bash their competition. If your stuff is better, the proof will be in the pudding. There's no need to bash them. I think it's unprofessional.

Marshall

[1wood]

Price wasn't really an issue for me. I could have had one or the other. My builder (darren/sandco) sets his prerunners up with gear one. I thought I would check out pro am because there was such strong opinion about them on the board.

Final analysis - the gear one guys were completely confident in their product, and there was no hype. BTW, the full floaters that RG runs are not the same hubs that I compared. Per kartek, the floaters have to be cleaned after every race. They aren't completely sealed. That was a buzz kill. I'll let you know how the greasers hold up. Thanks.

[FullsizeFun]

BTW, the full floaters that RG runs are not the same hubs that I compared. Per kartek, the floaters have to be cleaned after every race. They aren't completely sealed.

The Floaters that RG has run for the last 2 yrs in Dakar ARE the standard Pro-Am Class 1 Floater hub. They ARE fully sealed. The only difference this year, like Nick said, is the "Central Inflation" for on-the-go tire pressure adjustment.

As far as prepping them goes, they are pretty easy to prep, 6 bolts and they come apart.
In the 2006 Dakar, RG ran 5 or 6 stages before the tranny problem took him out of the race. When he got home he ran the Parker 425 and won it without ANY prep to the hubs. After being submerged in water and mud (europe) and burried in sand (africa) thats not too bad huh.

[1wood]

I'll take your word for it. Like my last post says, Kartek said they weren't completely sealed and needed to be cleaned evry race. Not sure how the subject of floaters came up anyway. wasn't comparing the floaters. Thanks for the clarification though.

[FullsizeFun]

I'll take your word for it. Like my last post says, Kartek said they weren't completely sealed and needed to be cleaned evry race. Not sure how the subject of floaters came up anyway. wasn't comparing the floaters. Thanks for the clarification though.

I believe the person who started the thread was asking about floaters/ centerboard/ midboard hubs - same thing.
Didn't you say you bought the Gear one super greasers? aren't they a floater hub?

If you want to know about micro-stub hubs, all Pro-Am MS series hubs have sealed bearing units and need no service.

[mebuildit]

Actually, I am new to the offroad arena but I am building a dual sport buggy and checked both of them out. My determining factor was quality and customer support. Now I come from the drag racing end of things and have friends who drag race VW bugs. They deal with Gear One quite a bit, but according to him their parts are very good but the customer service isn't so good. From what I heard that it's a family run business and sometimes family issues get in the middle of getting parts. Now this is from a few of my friends that have used them.

Either way I like the greasers but, I went with Pro-Am since Robby Gordon has used them and that is a resume for me. The way I see it is if he uses them then they have to be good. I'm not taking sides just letting you know what I know.

I don't think you can go wrong either way.

Good luck with your project...

[jeff]

I too know a few people that are less than happy with Gear One as a company... but I don't know anybody that has anything terrible to say about their product. It appears to be another case of good product, bad management. That's lil' old me sitting on the outside looking in. The caliper mounts on my F-150 project were originally positioned and built to run a GearOne 6-piston caliper... but after getting royally screwed on a pre-production price quote I'm avoiding GearOne simply out of principle. The original cost quoted by GearOne was in the $400's per caliper... that price somehow ended up being $750 with no clear explanation given.

Aloha

[richard cretsinger]

not that i know anything about these hubs, but i did hear that the rotor is not replaceable on the pro am stuff, is this correct? if so, what happens if you ruin a rotor, do you then have to buy a whole new hub. this might be on a different pro am part, correct me if i have been mislead.

[Brock_Beeson]

+1 pro-am based soley on ease to get new parts and their involvement in offroad.

[FullsizeFun]

you can buy almost any Pro-Am replacement part individually. Not a problem.

[WALSHMOTORSPORTS]

For what it's worth, I am using Grar-One Micro, brakes all the way around,ect. My decision was again cust. service as well as quality. I believe "BOTH" make quality product for the industry. I could have went either way, I live in Ca. but when I went to Kar-Tek maybe the guy who was helping me just had a bad day...but when you drive a couple of hours to spend approx. 4-5 Grand on all your brakes, arms,axles ect. and the guy is a prick on the other side of the counter, I walked out. When I contacted Lance@ Gear, He still followed up with me after the 1000 to see if I had any problems. Just pissed me off when I was treated like *****. I guess everyone can have a bad day.....My 5/1600 micro stuff and brakes have been trouble free and easily maintained. Thats all I asked for. Personal prefreance I guess. See you at the start!

[eterpay]

Since we're bashing... I went to Fartek this summer just to browse; I had never been to that kind of store before... Anyway, the guys there gave me an attitude since I wasn't there to buy anything. I'd still use their hubs though, but the size 30's. Im not sure if the 934's use the same concept as the size 30's, but I think that the size 30 design is much better than an over-sized spindle like some other brands.

[Bad Abbotts]

Yeah, their is a lot of attitude at Kar-tek. But if u want a knowledgeable person ask for "bajamike" never steered me wrong.

[J_Lothringer]

Pro-am hands down for a race car, If your trying to save a buck for your prerunner or play car GEAR-ONE hubs would be more then sufficiant. But the pro-am just a more race worthy product................

[Martin]

I've never had anyone with an attitude problem at Kartek I'm suprised to hear that.

My choice on hubs would be Pro Am outboards. I don't like the idea of mid board hubs seems that they would run really hot.

[johnowhite]

I've used both...I think what makes sence is to be straight with both companies, and get both sets (Katek and gear-one) so you can compare, and tell them that you need to see both to make your decision. Look at the work, call a bearing company to see has the best bearings and pay the freight to get them to you so you can make a good decision.

Ask the vendors who there toughest competitor is too!

If you burn a $100 shipping to make a good decision on a high dollar purchase it's money well spent.

Don't fprget there's CNC and a few others in the mix too.

Enjoy the journey.

Cordially,

John

[Fourstroker]

I've never had anyone with an attitude problem at Kartek I'm suprised to hear that.

My choice on hubs would be Pro Am outboards. I don't like the idea of mid board hubs seems that they would run really hot.

FYI the Proam's are midboards as well. Kreger and Summers Bros are the only real Outboard hubs

[Martin]

FYI the Proam's are midboards as well. Kreger and Summers Bros are the only real Outboard hubs

I thought Roy was building outboards now.

[SThomas]

Talk about messing with the poor guys head they are all good if the set up on the bearing pre-load is done wright. After seeing a set from Kartek and figureing out that they had .035 preload and most inboards only require .003-.005 due too the fact that a set that i did increased mph on the dry lake at primm from 118 to 127 by only changeing the pre- loadand by the way when kartek was asked if this was wright the customer was told that the bearings are supposed to look like that and I mean they looked like a torch had been taken to them.

[FullsizeFun]

Pro-am has a new 934 Outboard hub.
The pre-load has been resolved on the 934 midboard hub for quite a while.

[J_Lothringer]

FYI the Proam's are midboards as well. Kreger and Summers Bros are the only real Outboard hubs

Kregers are not an outboard, they are a midboard also............