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DT Swiss 350 Road Hubs Bring Lighter, Faster Star Ratchet Performance to Drop Bar Bikes

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hubset
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These new DT Swiss 350 Road hubs look a lot like the latest DT mountain bike 350s. That’s because they are pretty much the same thing, just adapted for road spacing and drivetrains. But let’s face it, the bike industry needs more high-quality, dependable components that aren’t necessarily fighting to be the lightest, fanciest, or most expensive. And while a set of DT Swiss hubs isn’t the cheapest option out there, the 350s are DT’s lowest-cost aftermarket hubset, and they just got a premium performance and reliability upgrade.

Want more premium, fancier tech? You can always opt for the newer, more expensive Ratchet EXP 180 & 240 hubs.

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs upgraded

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub upgrades, gravel wheels

Let’s face it, this was a long time coming. DT Swiss already upgraded their 350 mountain bike hubs from 18-tooth to 36-tooth SL Star Ratchet engagement standard, almost two years back. In fact, complete alloy DT MTB wheels already had the new centerlock hubs even 9 months earlier.

dt350-36T-SL-Ratchet-hub-1700-spline-wheelset-10-degree-engagement

At the time they were only offered MTB standard sizes, so while you could get a centerlock & 6-bolt hubset for classic mountain bikes, modern Boost mountain bikes, or even fat bikes… if you had a rim brake bike, or just needed a 12mm thru-axle front hub… you were out of luck.

Until now…

So, what’s new?

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hubset upgrades

Just like on the trail, DT Swiss 350 Road hubs are their everyday workhorse on road, gravel & cyclocross, too. So DT gives them the same upgrades to keep your wheels spinning longer. For the most part, the new 350 Road hub isn’t actually very new, rather a much more refined evolution of the long-proven 350s. This generation does seem to look a lot more like the higher-end 240s, just with simple black & white graphics and the proven Star Ratchet tech inside.

Starting off, they do get a bit more extensive machining than the old 350s, in order to shed a couple grams. In fact, the DT weight claim on the new 350 Road Classic hubset starts at 383g, making them lighter than the old pre-EXP 240 Classic hubset which started at 401g.

Our 350 Road Classic Centerlock hubset weighs an actual combined 400g with a Shimano freehub & 12mm thru-axles (142g front, 258g rear).

New DT Swiss 350 MTB hubs, lighter faster still affordable 36T Star Ratchet, tool-free swaps

Inside, instead of upgrading to the newer Ratchet EXP internals, the 350s stay with tried-and-true Star Ratchets, but do get faster engagement with DT’s lightweight machined-out 36T SL steel ratchet rings inside.

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub upgrades, tool-free service

The new 350 Road hubs also feature the same easy tool-free swaps from one freehub body to the next as the rest of DT’s premium hubs. That makes swapping two different cassette ranges for the same drivetrain easy without tools, or the same thing when swapping, for example from Shimano to SRAM cassettes when moving one wheelset from bike-to-bike, again without tools.

That also includes the new tool-free endcaps we first spotted on the top 180 EXP hubs. They get a subtle notched end profile that is easier to grasp with your hand so you won’t have to pull out my Unior Hub Genie every time you want to pop a cap off. OK, maybe that’s a shame. But they are still a really tight fit, so the Hub Genie is easier on my fingers.

New DT Swiss 350 MTB hubs, lighter faster still affordable 36T Star Ratchet, ratchet engagement options

Inside, those upgraded 36T SL Star Ratchet pairs double engagement, down to 10°. But of course, you can still always swap out different sets of Ratchet rings (for ~$50-120 / 40-95€) to get the engagement angle that’s right for you, your bike, and your style of riding. DT breaks down why the endless hunt for faster engagement isn’t always the perfect solution for everyone. And they offer 6.7-20° engagement options so decide.

DT Swiss 350 Road hubs – Options, pricing & availability

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub details

The real difference though between the latest DT Swiss 350 MTB hubs and these new 350 Road hubs comes down to more options.

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub upgrades, rim brake
Classic rim brake (l) & Straightpull rim brake (r)

The new DT 350 Road hubs come in both Classic medium flange hubs for traditional J-bend spokes and machined-down StraightPull hubs for straight-pull spokes.

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub upgrades, centerlock disc brake
Classic centerlock disc brake (l) & Straightpull centerlock disc brake (r)

Both versions come in a Centerlock-only disc brake version or traditional non-disc version for rim brake bikes. All four of those separate combinations appear to spin on the same sealed stainless steel bearing and oversized alloy axles, meaning all are compatible with either classic road QR axles (5×100/130mm) or modern 12mm thru-axles (12×100/142mm). Classic flange hubs are offered in 20, 24, 28 & 32-hole drilling, Straightpull hubs in just 20 & 24-holes.

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub upgrades, tool-free freehub bodies

Officially, all of the new 350 Road hubs are available with Shimano Road 11sp & SRAM XDR Ratchet freehub bodies and endcaps, but only the thru-axle versions are shown to be compatible with Campagnolo N3W Ratchet bodies. But based on the extensive Conversion database on all of DT’s current 240 & 350 road hubs, there should be a classic Campy option possible for all new 350 Road hubs.

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub upgrades, gravel wheel build kit

The new DT Swiss 350 Road hubs are available starting today from your favorite wheel builders and DT retailers, with front hub pricing from $113 / 85€ and rear hub prices from $285 / 215€. That’s a noticeable increase from the old road 350s (at least a 30% bump for European buyers). But with material and energy cost inflation, these road 350 are even a bit more expensive than the MTB version was when they debuted in 2021.

DT Swiss 350 Road bike hubs, bring affordable durable lightweight Star Ratchet hub upgrades, gravel wheels

I guess, snap ’em up now to build a bulletproof road or gravel wheelset, before they inflate even further.

Myself, I’ve laced up a set of the new 350 Road hubs into a pair of DT Swiss GR531 alloy rims with 24 shiny silver AeroLite spokes, ProLock brass nipples & spoke washers. They tip the scales at 1756g for the pair, and should serve me well as a bulletproof gravel wheelset for bikepacking and all-around adventure riding.

DTSwiss.com

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16 Comments
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Atakua
Atakua
1 year ago

Ugh, this nasty Centerlock. DT Swiss no longer offers 6-bolt hubs? I guess I will have to run/maintain my existing DT Swiss hubs until no longer possible, and then switch to some other brand not so bent on using exclusively Centerlock.

blablabla
blablabla
1 year ago
Reply to  Atakua

I actually like Centerlock more than 6-bolt. First of all – it’s universal and You can mount rotors of both mounting systems on it. It’s also easier and faster to mount, with no risk of stripping the bolt.

The only downside is that You need a specific tool for it (either a cassette tool, or a BB tool).

And lastly – No! When done properly it does not get loose!

David
David
1 year ago
Reply to  Atakua

What don’t you like about it?

Jaap
1 year ago
Reply to  Atakua

There are loads of different DT Swiss hubs still offering 6 bolt.

Bas Simons
Bas Simons
1 year ago

good news!

Patrick
Patrick
1 year ago

Kind of a bummer they are supporting rim brake wheels, but not 15 x 100 (the bearings are smaller now) for the new 240 EXP and this. Looks pretty good otherwise!

Greg
Greg
1 year ago
Reply to  Patrick

I have the new 350 hubs and converted the front to 15mm… Same system as the old 350, different from the 240.

Patrick
Patrick
1 year ago
Reply to  Greg

Then it would appear this article is wrong and my assumption was based off of it.

Greg
Greg
1 year ago

I can’t find info one way or the other, but historically the 350 hubs had standard steel bearings, while the 240 had stainless steel bearings.

George T Fleming
George T Fleming
1 year ago

I guess this thing is just a sophisticated free wheel. I thought it might be a gearbox, but apparently not.

Why is it an improvement that is worth the money?

Jaap
1 year ago

As far as I know, DT Swiss has been using their star rachet mechanism for over 20 years. So no, it isn’t an improvement.

As for comparing the star rachet mechanism to pawl-operated free wheels, the star rachet has less parts, less moving parts, a larger contact area and complete toolless serviceability.

Tim
Tim
1 year ago
Reply to  Jaap

It’s closer to 30 years- DT Swiss bought Hugi, the original design holder IIRC, in 1995. The Hugi design that DT bought is a couple years older than that.

George T Fleming
George T Fleming
1 year ago

Anyone know the torque rating of this unit?

For a conventional freewheel, the only reference I can find on the internet says that it is rated at about 60 lbf-ft.

Or about 80 N-m, for those who have not read “The Measure of All Things” and have not learned the truth about metric system, or SI system for the purists.

Jaap
1 year ago

Always nice to see updates on these 350 hubs. They are the go-to hub when building wheels for friends.

Doze
Doze
1 year ago

Love DT star ratchet hubs but the graphics are a negative. Wish they made a plain black or silver version with a simple DT logo.

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