A quick update on my recent reviews, now I've been using the bits review for a few months.
Showing posts with label novatec. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novatec. Show all posts
Friday, 29 June 2012
Friday, 10 February 2012
Novatec MTB Hubs Review
Bling
Hope, Chris King, Royce, Hadley, White, the list of aftermarket hub manufacturers is almost endless. You can find fans of most of them if you look hard enough. And generally with good reason: a lot of the boutique hubs are very well made and have good backup service. For this you pay a decent sum: here in the UK a set of Hopes will run you near on £200, a pair of Royce, closer to £350, and for Kings, about £500. Not for the budget conscious!
Not Bling
But what happens before aftermarket? When you buy a bike in the first place? Especially for the sub £1000 bikes, which makes up the vast bulk of the bike market.
It'll come with some hubs. They might even be quite good hubs. They'll invariably have the word "Shimano" written on them - or the name of the bike manufacturer. Everyone knows Shimano. That leaves the in house branded items.
Badge Engineering
Chances are, if you've bought a Giant, or Specialized, or Trek, that the hubs have been made in Taiwan, like the rest of the bike. The companies Joytech, Formula, Chosen, and a few others, knock out these components in huge volumes, often to be rebranded and sold on. Not just by the big bike companies, but by the smaller guys as well, for instance in the UK take a look at Superstar Components who are quite open about only sourcing their gear from mass manufacturers and rebranding it (without adding an expensive advertising service). A lot of companies who simply want to complete their existing component range will source bits from these guys - compare DT Swiss (who make rims, spokes and hubs) with Specialized (who get rims from DT Swiss and hubs from Formula and spokes from who-knows-where).
Hope, Chris King, Royce, Hadley, White, the list of aftermarket hub manufacturers is almost endless. You can find fans of most of them if you look hard enough. And generally with good reason: a lot of the boutique hubs are very well made and have good backup service. For this you pay a decent sum: here in the UK a set of Hopes will run you near on £200, a pair of Royce, closer to £350, and for Kings, about £500. Not for the budget conscious!
Not Bling
But what happens before aftermarket? When you buy a bike in the first place? Especially for the sub £1000 bikes, which makes up the vast bulk of the bike market.
It'll come with some hubs. They might even be quite good hubs. They'll invariably have the word "Shimano" written on them - or the name of the bike manufacturer. Everyone knows Shimano. That leaves the in house branded items.
Badge Engineering
Chances are, if you've bought a Giant, or Specialized, or Trek, that the hubs have been made in Taiwan, like the rest of the bike. The companies Joytech, Formula, Chosen, and a few others, knock out these components in huge volumes, often to be rebranded and sold on. Not just by the big bike companies, but by the smaller guys as well, for instance in the UK take a look at Superstar Components who are quite open about only sourcing their gear from mass manufacturers and rebranding it (without adding an expensive advertising service). A lot of companies who simply want to complete their existing component range will source bits from these guys - compare DT Swiss (who make rims, spokes and hubs) with Specialized (who get rims from DT Swiss and hubs from Formula and spokes from who-knows-where).
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