Velo Orange Chronos Rear Hub
The Velo Orange Chronos Rear Hub is a rim-brake touring and road rear built around a floating 36-tooth ratchet instead of pawls, large sealed cartridge bearings and 58mm flanges. It weighs 290 grams, takes a Shimano HG, Campagnolo or SRAM XD freehub body, and fits 130mm road or 135mm touring frames with the end caps Velo Orange includes.
Drillings are 28 and 32 hole in silver or black, plus 36 hole in silver only for the heaviest touring loads. This page covers the rim-brake Chronos rear, built to order in Georgia with the rim, spokes and nipples you choose.
Design and construction
The Chronos rear is Velo Orange's answer to the rear-hub problems touring riders actually have. Pawls are replaced by a floating ratchet, which Velo Orange says handles high torque loads with ease. The stock ratchet has 36 teeth, a point of engagement every 10 degrees, and a 54-tooth ratchet is sold separately for quicker pickup.
The freehub body and end caps come off by hand. A broken drive-side spoke on tour means pulling the body, not hunting for a lockring tool and chain whip. The 58mm flanges house large sealed cartridge bearings, and the flanges sit 36.9mm left and 14.2mm right of center, the usual road-rear geometry, so the drive side carries the higher tension and we choose spokes and lacing with that in mind.
How it rides
Out of a corner or up a loaded climb the ratchet picks up cleanly, and with fewer, larger teeth than a high-engagement mountain hub it is built for torque rather than for speed of pickup. The sealed bearings and the tool-free freehub suit a rider who covers long distances far from a shop.
For a long-distance touring wheel we usually suggest 36 hole in silver; for a road or randonneur wheel 32 hole is plenty, and 28 hole suits a lighter rider who wants a lighter wheel.
Specifications
| Position | Rear |
|---|---|
| Brake | Rim brake |
| Axle | QR 5x130mm or 5x135mm, end caps included (skewer not included) |
| Freehub bodies | Shimano HG, Campagnolo or SRAM XD, chosen in the configurator; the body is included in the price |
| Ratchet | Floating ratchet, 36t stock (54t sold by Velo Orange) |
| Drillings | 28h, 32h, 36h (36h silver only) |
| Spoke head | J-bend |
| Flange diameter | 58 mm, both sides |
| Left center-to-flange | 36.9 mm |
| Right center-to-flange | 14.2 mm |
| Weight | 290g |
| Bearings | Sealed cartridge |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Finishes | silver, black |
About this listing
This listing is the rim-brake Chronos rear: no rotor mount, quick release at 130 or 135mm, about 290g, and the only Chronos rear offered in 36 hole (silver).
For disc brakes see the Chronos Rear ISO 6 Bolt Disc Hub, which runs 135mm quick release or 142mm thru-axle, and for a Boost 148 mountain bike frame the Chronos Boost rear. Micro Spline bodies fit the disc rears only, so this hub is offered with Shimano HG, Campagnolo and SRAM XD bodies.
Sizes, fit and compatibility
130mm is road spacing and 135mm is the usual touring and older mountain bike spacing; measure between the inside faces of your dropouts if you are not sure, and pick that axle in the configurator. Velo Orange does not include a skewer.
The Shimano HG body takes Shimano and SRAM HG cassettes through 11-speed and Shimano road 12-speed; Campagnolo and SRAM XD bodies are the same price. It builds with standard J-bend spokes, usually DT Champion or Competition or Sapim Race with brass nipples, on a rim-brake rim with a machined braking surface. Choose road, touring or track as the bike type and the configurator recommends spoke count and lacing.
Build it into a wheel
This hub is live in our Custom Wheel Program for road rim brake, track and road single-speed and touring builds. Start a build with the Velo Orange Chronos Rear Hub and the configurator opens with this exact hub pinned at the top of the Velo Orange list — you choose the rest of the parts and it validates every combination as you go.
How Velo Orange makes and checks the Chronos
The hub factory Velo Orange uses in Taiwan does its forging in-house: on the 2025 visit Velo Orange photographed aluminum bar stock being cold-forged into shells and freehub bodies on a 650-ton press before CNC machining. The spoke holes are punched, not drilled, and the chamfer that leaves is, in Velo Orange's words, the best seat for a J-bend spoke because it does not create a stress riser at the bend. Each hub is checked for smooth rotation and bearing play before packing. New hubs were already sampling and in testing at the time of that visit.
On the Chronos rears Velo Orange has moved from pawls to a floating ratchet, which it says gives excellent engagement and handles high torque loads with ease; 36 teeth are stock, and a 54-tooth ratchet is sold as a replacement part for more engagement off-road. The end caps and freehub body come off by hand, which Velo Orange describes as tool-free maintenance that turns a roadside drive-side spoke replacement into a minor detour.
Velo Orange does not publish impact, fatigue or ISO test results for the Chronos. On warranty it states that defective parts can be exchanged for one year from the purchase date, with proof of purchase.
From Velo Orange
Sources on Velo Orange's site:
- Chronos Rear Hub, Rim Brake
- Replacement Chronos Rear Hub Ratchets
- Behind the Scenes: Velo Orange's Factory Visits in Taiwan
- Velo Orange Hubs collection
Everything in this section comes from Velo Orange. ProWheelBuilder is the builder, not the tester.
Building it at ProWheelBuilder
The Chronos rear hub is a Velo Orange part; the wheel is ours. ProWheelBuilder is an independent builder in Georgia, and every wheel is laced by hand to your order: spokes cut to length for the measured rim, tension brought up in rounds and checked with a gauge, stress relief, then a final true and dish check.
Pick the rim, spokes and nipples in the configurator; anything that does not fit this hub is struck through, and the price updates with each choice.
Warranty
Velo Orange's warranty. Velo Orange exchanges defective parts and accessories, its rims and hubs among them, for one year from the purchase date. Proof of purchase is required, because the warranty period runs from the day the part was bought.
ProWheelBuilder. Any wheel we build on this part carries ProWheelBuilder's one-year warranty in addition to the manufacturer's. Broken spokes are replaced for a year whatever the cause, and all wheel-side labor is included - truing, re-tensioning, rebuilding. Where the maker covers a failed rim or hub we handle that claim for you; where they decline, an eligible replacement comes at 25% off current retail. The customer covers shipping in both directions. Components supplied by the customer are not covered.
Full terms are on our Policies & Warranty page.
Chronos Rear Hub questions
Is this the old Velo Orange cassette rear hub?
No. Velo Orange discontinued its earlier pawl hubs. This listing now carries the Chronos rear that replaced them: floating ratchet, 58mm flanges, 290g, and 28, 32 or 36 hole.
130 or 135mm?
130mm for most road frames, 135mm for touring, cyclocross and older mountain frames. The hub converts with end caps, so choose the one that matches your frame and we set it up.
Which freehub body should I pick?
Shimano HG for Shimano or SRAM HG cassettes, Campagnolo for Campagnolo, SRAM XD for SRAM's 10-tooth cassettes. All three cost the same.
Can I get it in 36 hole?
Yes, in silver only. Black is 28 or 32 hole.
Can I upgrade the ratchet?
Velo Orange sells a 54-tooth ratchet as a replacement part for quicker engagement. The hub comes with the stock 36-tooth ratchet, which suits road and touring riding.
Is ProWheelBuilder the manufacturer of the Chronos Rear Hub?
No. Velo Orange makes the hub. ProWheelBuilder is an independent custom wheel builder in Georgia that builds it into a wheel to your spec.
Not sure? Text or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 or email info@prowheelbuilder.com — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
