# Novatec hub D712SB - cheap light weight good quality hub upgraded



## Soundbud (Oct 21, 2013)

Novatec hub D712SB fitted with XD cassette driver & thru axle.

i just wanted to share this with everyone. i have had a few of these hubs for a few years and the front and rear weigh in less than 400g some sets are slightly heavier, this is with the shimano cassette driver and QR axles. the Japanese bearings are of very good quality comparable to all the top brands.

lots of people said that you cannot upgrade these hubs, XD cassette driver wont fit! also the thru axles wont fit!

RUBBISH! i thought i would try it out, since i had a spare set of wheels for my 29er with an XD driver fitted to the D772SB Novatec hub. the thru axles i have by the way are 10mm versions to fit into a slot through frame, but the 12mm x 142mm axle will also fit.


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## SpecialCshoe (Mar 29, 2016)

*Ordered*



Soundbud said:


> Novatec hub D712SB fitted with XD cassette driver & thru axle.
> 
> i just wanted to share this with everyone. i have had a few of these hubs for a few years and the front and rear weigh in less than 400g some sets are slightly heavier, this is with the shimano cassette driver and QR axles. the Japanese bearings are of very good quality comparable to all the top brands.
> 
> ...


I just ordered front and rear hubs for 103.00 off Ebay. They are cheap costing. I bet the cost of the hubs that these are the same mfg as Sram and Bontrager. since everything is made overseas anyways it makes total sense.


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## Soundbud (Oct 21, 2013)

You kind of guessed right :-D these hubs are made in Taiwan by the biggest bicycle hub manufacturer in the world. Specialized also use them, there is too many brands to list here.

But you cannot fault the quality of these hubs, they use decent size bearings 6902 in the rear.


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## TigWorld (Feb 8, 2010)

The Novatec rear hubs are not bad but there are at least three styles of rear axle used. If you have a rear axle that you can just pull out once the end cap is unscrewed, then changing to different axles is easy. You can even use the Novatec steel axles which effectively makes the hub bullet proof. The lightest versions use an axle that has two steps in it to space the rear bearings. This axle can't be removed without removing one of the main hub bearings. The axle OD is 15mm and you can put this into any other Novatec hub which has 15mm ID bearings if you remove the bearing spacer that the removable axle versions use.

There is also a version that uses a 9mm sized rear axle and different bearings. The hub shells are all the same, so even this one can be converted with the right axles and bearings, but you will also need a new freehub.


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## Soundbud (Oct 21, 2013)

H TigWorld, yes your right about removing the axle the bearing comes with it, which was a 6902 and easily replaceable. I ordered a hybrid ceramic ball version from ebay for about £4 British pounds.

The existing shimano free hub fits just fine to be honest but I just wanted to use the XD driver, I'm going to use the new e-thirteen TRS plus cassette with it.

The Japanese bearings these things are supplied with are amongst the best, I have only ever had the odd one out of many that doesn't spin as fast as the others. Generally they are really good and in my opinion are amougst the best. They are smooth and last a long time with abusive Mtb use, I'm 180lbs and I don't ride lightly and also ride in the rain. They hold up very well indeed.

Put it this way, if I could get any top brand hub, which would spin the wheel faster than these then I would be using them and not these. I have had all sorts of branded hubs and these novatec hubs do not spin any slower nor are they rough in any way and I have never worn one out.

About 15 years ago these hubs were not as good as the top branded ones, but they were OK. Today is different story.

im going to build new wheel set soon for my trail bike and I was looking at the new DT Swiss 240 straight pull about 395g a pair, but the novatec d772sb and d771sb are lot cheaper and only 30g heavier per set. plus the different axle sizes are also less than half the price.

TigWorld - I like your article about kids bike weight loss on faqload  I got a Specialized hot rock given to me weighs 12.2kg for my 4 year old, so I got plenty of time to make it lighter by the time he grows in to it. I think I will start a new thread on it actaully.


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