I don't think the actual hub is junk, the bearings on the other hand...those bearings are not serviceable either, I don't see much maintenance involved other than changing the bearings, which I wasn't expecting to do after a few miles. I did lookup alternative bearings to use but for bike specific units the price goes significantly higher than the price of replacement bearings from Hope. A ceramic equivalent of the hub bearing will cost about $44 from Boca Bearings, the whole Hope replacement kit is between $35 and $55 .