DT Swiss 54 Tooth Ratchet Upgrade Kit: Customer Review

Here in this review, our customer Brian Kogawara tells about installing the DT Swiss 54 Tooth Ratchet Kit and how it does on the trail. This is a quick and easy way to get quicker engagement out of your DT Swiss hubs. Check it out.

This past holiday season I received a set of DT Swiss M 1700 wheels as a gift. Of course after finding out that some of the internals in the 350 hubs could be upgraded I started doing a little more research. Everyone on the internet recommended upgrading from the stock 18 tooth ratchet system in the freehub to a 54 tooth. I ended up purchasing the DT Swiss Ratchet upgrade kit from Worldwide Cyclery and had it delivered the following day! Free shipping and knowing you're buying from an authorized dealer like Worldwide Cyclery is always great as well. The kit comes with 2 new tension springs, a container of grease, and the two 54t star ratchets.

Installation of the new ratchet stars was as easy and painless as the all the online tutorials claim it to be. The whole process requires no tools and takes less than 5 minutes. It's as simple as removing the free hub body and swapping the 4 pieces of hardware from the new kit in with a light coat of grease. It's also worth noting that the 54t star ratchets are hollow compared to the solid stock 18t, so I'm sure there are a few grams of weight savings there. During the first ride I immediately could tell a significant difference between my previous rear hub and the new one. My old wheel set was a pair of DT Swiss E 1900's with a 3-pawl freehub, which I had no issues with. However, I immediately noticed the "clunk" characteristic pawl hub systems typically have is nonexistent on DT Swiss's ratcheting hubs due to the finer engagement point. Going from coasting to pedaling feels much more refined now. Slow, technical, trail sections are now a bit easier since they require less crank arm ratcheting to engage the free hub. Oh yea, you also get that sweet buzz DT Swiss hubs are known for!

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