I've been building wheels with what I call "Black Hubs" for a while now,
so I thought I'd write about them.
Normally I use Tni Evolite hubs when building wheels like Nomu Lab wheels,
but when we have stock shortages of those,
we keep "Leaf Hubs" at the shop as a backup.
Since the hub dimensions are roughly the same,
they work well as a substitute for Evolite hubs,
and as an even further backup option,
I prepared the "Black Hub" shown in the image above.
There's a reason the anteater figurine is standing there—
the table is slightly tilted, so if it doesn't hold its ground,
everything will roll off. Hang in there, little anteater!
As for which Novatech hubs these are equivalent to,
the front is a 291 and the rear is a 482SL.
In terms of Tni, the front is an Evo hub and the rear is an Evolite hub.
However, unlike Tni, the end portion is black instead of silver.
That's why I gave it the name "Black Hub" (Blacck Hub),
but with Novatech, this part is already black by default,
so it's not really a special spec or anything.
Since there are no logos or markings on the hub body at all,
if you want a more non-branded looking wheel,
this might be the better option.
This is the Evolite hub, and by actual measured weight,
it's 17g lighter than the Evo hub (Black Hub)—specifically 60g versus 77g.
The reason a front hub that's already less than 100g becomes 17g lighter isn't
primarily because of the lightening holes inside the flange.
The total volume removed by these lightening holes is less than the thickness of a single 1-yen coin for the entire hub.
So we're talking maybe 1g of weight savings from that.
(Of course, the specific gravity of aluminum alloy and pure aluminum differ,
but at this volume level, the difference isn't significant)
The fact that the Evolite hub (291SL) has a thinner hub body than the Black Hub (291)
is related to the weight difference.
But the biggest difference is the bearings.
Being solid iron, even a slight dimensional change means several grams difference per bearing.
The Evolite hub uses press-fit ends with small-diameter bearings,
while the Black Hub uses hollow bolt ends with (relatively) larger-diameter bearings.
When you consider this subtle performance and weight difference,
some people might think the Black Hub is actually better!
I've actually built wheels with that reasoning in mind.
Also, the Black Hub—this wasn't something I specifically requested—has slotted holes,
so you can use flat aero spokes wider than 2.3mm.
I've built wheels with Black Hubs specifically because people wanted to use
CX or Aero Star Bright Type II spokes.
The differences compared to the Evolite hub are
・Black ends with no logos, completely black
・Front hub is Evo hub equivalent
・Compatible with flat aero spokes
Those three points.
Since we get spotty shipments, we only have about 30 pairs front and rear,
and there probably won't be another restock.
The price is the same as the Evolite hub, so
you can also have the hub on your Nomu Lab wheel changed to a Black Hub if you'd like.
As for why I spell it "Blacck" with an extra
"c," it's because the gun manufacturer Remington
changed the spelling of the derringer pistol (Derringer) by adding an extra r
to avoid a lawsuit with the Deringer family of the original developer.
I'm just mimicking that—there's no deeper meaning.
You could also say it's to avoid confusion with the generic term for a "black hub,"
but that's more of a secondary reason—kind of like how
Seven-Eleven (SEVEN-ELEVEn) uses a lowercase final 'n' to say
"this isn't the generic term (morning 7 to evening 11 o'clock),"
you know?
Speaking of Evolite hub stock shortages,
our wholesaler currently has the front hub in 20H and 24H on backorder.
From last December, there was also a period of about two months
when the front 20H was out of stock.
Someone told me that a shop employee somewhere—let me not name them—
had been saying things like,
"It's weird that Nomu Lab isn't sold out of hubs when the wholesaler is,
they must be getting a special allocation,"
but that's just not the case.
I simply maintain larger inventory levels.
Because I've been burned before.
(That's also why I prepared the Leaf Hub option)
Based on experience, with my wheel-building pace,
I've found that keeping about 20 extra front 20H and rear 24H hubs
is generally enough to get through stock shortage periods.
Oh no, I only have 27 left.
Since the table is slightly tilted,
if the platypus doesn't hold firm,
all the hubs will start rolling.
All the remaining hubs are hooked on the one hub
that the platypus is touching.
Hang in there, platypus!
so I thought I'd write about them.
Normally I use Tni Evolite hubs when building wheels like Nomu Lab wheels,
but when we have stock shortages of those,
we keep "Leaf Hubs" at the shop as a backup.
Since the hub dimensions are roughly the same,
they work well as a substitute for Evolite hubs,
and as an even further backup option,
I prepared the "Black Hub" shown in the image above.
There's a reason the anteater figurine is standing there—
the table is slightly tilted, so if it doesn't hold its ground,
everything will roll off. Hang in there, little anteater!
As for which Novatech hubs these are equivalent to,
the front is a 291 and the rear is a 482SL.
In terms of Tni, the front is an Evo hub and the rear is an Evolite hub.
However, unlike Tni, the end portion is black instead of silver.
That's why I gave it the name "Black Hub" (Blacck Hub),
but with Novatech, this part is already black by default,
so it's not really a special spec or anything.
Since there are no logos or markings on the hub body at all,
if you want a more non-branded looking wheel,
this might be the better option.
This is the Evolite hub, and by actual measured weight,
it's 17g lighter than the Evo hub (Black Hub)—specifically 60g versus 77g.
The reason a front hub that's already less than 100g becomes 17g lighter isn't
primarily because of the lightening holes inside the flange.
The total volume removed by these lightening holes is less than the thickness of a single 1-yen coin for the entire hub.
So we're talking maybe 1g of weight savings from that.
(Of course, the specific gravity of aluminum alloy and pure aluminum differ,
but at this volume level, the difference isn't significant)
The fact that the Evolite hub (291SL) has a thinner hub body than the Black Hub (291)
is related to the weight difference.
But the biggest difference is the bearings.
Being solid iron, even a slight dimensional change means several grams difference per bearing.
The Evolite hub uses press-fit ends with small-diameter bearings,
while the Black Hub uses hollow bolt ends with (relatively) larger-diameter bearings.
When you consider this subtle performance and weight difference,
some people might think the Black Hub is actually better!
I've actually built wheels with that reasoning in mind.
Also, the Black Hub—this wasn't something I specifically requested—has slotted holes,
so you can use flat aero spokes wider than 2.3mm.
I've built wheels with Black Hubs specifically because people wanted to use
CX or Aero Star Bright Type II spokes.
The differences compared to the Evolite hub are
・Black ends with no logos, completely black
・Front hub is Evo hub equivalent
・Compatible with flat aero spokes
Those three points.
Since we get spotty shipments, we only have about 30 pairs front and rear,
and there probably won't be another restock.
The price is the same as the Evolite hub, so
you can also have the hub on your Nomu Lab wheel changed to a Black Hub if you'd like.
As for why I spell it "Blacck" with an extra
"c," it's because the gun manufacturer Remington
changed the spelling of the derringer pistol (Derringer) by adding an extra r
to avoid a lawsuit with the Deringer family of the original developer.
I'm just mimicking that—there's no deeper meaning.
You could also say it's to avoid confusion with the generic term for a "black hub,"
but that's more of a secondary reason—kind of like how
Seven-Eleven (SEVEN-ELEVEn) uses a lowercase final 'n' to say
"this isn't the generic term (morning 7 to evening 11 o'clock),"
you know?
Speaking of Evolite hub stock shortages,
our wholesaler currently has the front hub in 20H and 24H on backorder.
From last December, there was also a period of about two months
when the front 20H was out of stock.
Someone told me that a shop employee somewhere—let me not name them—
had been saying things like,
"It's weird that Nomu Lab isn't sold out of hubs when the wholesaler is,
they must be getting a special allocation,"
but that's just not the case.
I simply maintain larger inventory levels.
Because I've been burned before.
(That's also why I prepared the Leaf Hub option)
Based on experience, with my wheel-building pace,
I've found that keeping about 20 extra front 20H and rear 24H hubs
is generally enough to get through stock shortage periods.
Oh no, I only have 27 left.
Since the table is slightly tilted,
if the platypus doesn't hold firm,
all the hubs will start rolling.
All the remaining hubs are hooked on the one hub
that the platypus is touching.
Hang in there, platypus!