Primo Composite Light Hubs

OK, more info for the knowledge base, less of a review more guide for people who find themselves in a position like I did.

Background.
My landboard is an MBS Core8 which is now in it's 3rd summer with the only maintenance being a new set of bearings. I like my board, I have reviewed it already though. I like my tires pumped up to a high pressure...

I noticed one day that the MBS rockstar hubs were starting to bend. The stick I was giving them with my weight and the pressure was making these 5 spoke hubs looks more pentagonal than circular. I was assured by a kite buddy of mine that one day they would break, most likely at speed. And with Wallop coming up I didn't want to take any chances. So I thought I would upgrade hubs and possbly tyres too to 9". And so I stepped into the minefield.

The minefield
- What hubs will fit my ATS axles?
- Which 9" tires will fit which hubs, and which are best?
- Will I need new bearings?
- Will i need new spacers?
- Should I bother?
- Can I justify £90 for some rockstar pro alloys?

So my first port of call was to phone ExtremeKiteShop, where I have returning customer discount. The general advice was "I don't know the answers, I don't have a Core8 or primo hubs in stock, so just buy the hubs and if they don't work, send them back". Not very confidence inspiring. So I rang ATBShop and the convo went like this.

"I want new hubs for my Core8"

"You want to put Primo comps on and primo 9 inchers on don't you?"

"Yes"

"Don't!"

To expand on this it transpires that yes, you can put primo comps on, but you need new narrow spacers as they are wider, and putting these on with a view to fitting 9's is a waste of time. He correctly assumed that I was also having trouble with my trainers rubbing on the tyres from time to time. the guy went on to say that he did this to his Core 8 and he changed it back because 9" wheels change the handling of the core8 to the point it rides weird and there's no room for your feet if you have big (size 10/11) feet like me. So I was advised to stay with my MBS tyres for now and use primo light hubs. These are the same design as the comps but are lighter and can't take 9" tyres, which does not matter anyway. I toyed with a nice set of Rockstar pros but could not justify the £60 premium (or 2 more full sets of primo hubs {!}). So I plumped for the primo lights, at a reasonable £30 for a set of 4.

Arrival and fitting
So yay they arrived, expertly wrapped in a black bin liner. He he worked OK though. They seriously didn't look much when I opened them but once I got them home and compared them to the rockstars I could see the quality hike. The plastic is a much stronger feel for a start they look very nice.

Once the rockstars were off and dismantled I discovered that the primos were a direct swap. The bearings from the rockstars fit the hubs perfect and there was no need for new spacers, direct swap as far as i'm concerned. I did notice that the primos are held together by three fat stainless bolts held in place with nylock nuts, much sturdier than the 5 mild steel pieces of scrap that the rocksatrs are held together with. Which incidentally only screw into the plastic of the hub as far as I can tel and not a nut. The primos nut and bolt was much more confidence inspiring.

In use
Honestly, I can't feel a performance difference between the hubs. They make a different sound going over bumps but that's not a problem. They are heavier than rockstars and noticibly so, but not by a huge margin and they are stronger in feel which inspires confidence so you pays your money I suppose.

They have a nice 3 spoke look and the fat bolts look nice and chunky so there is the aesthetic appeal. The main reason I changed them was I had lost faith in my rockstars and as these look better and feel stronger it was worthwhile and not exactly an expensive upgrade.

So for others in my position
- If your Rockstars are starting to look geometric think about changing them
- There's no point putting 9" inchers on a Core8
- Good advice is invaluable
- Primo lights are a direct swap for roackstrs without any mods needed

Hope this helps

By : panthro