Latest Custom Builds — Novatec

We repaired a set of original equipment wheels for Evan a few years ago. He came to us to replace those wheels with something lighter, stiffer, and more reliable. He planned to use these wheels for "all road" riding - all bitumen surfaces, and the occasional dirt and gravel. Of course, he needed reliability (it one thing we won't compromise) and wanted to keep weight and price reasonable. Novatec hubs are always a smart choice - inexpensive, super reliable, and easy to source parts for. AlexRims Volar are a tough, light MTB rim that we have used for many gravel/allroad builds...

Josh emailed us looking for a new rear wheel for his trusty XC bike. He's been rocking 26 inch wheels up until now, and can't see the benefit of moving onto the bigger wheel sizes. He specifically races XC and ride Trails around Canberra, and sought our advice about a perfromance wheelset that was not too expensive, but offered a perfromance upgrade on his current wheels. After putting some quotes together, he realised the options we were suggesting enabled him to get a pair of wheels, and stay within his budget. Winner! We selected the Alexrims SPRK 2.1 rims as they...

The brief was simple, could this once ridden pair MTB hubs be reused in a pair of Gravel/Grandfondo wheels for a road bike? At XLR8 we relish these challenges. These hubs had been ridden once on a test ride, and then the wheels parked. They were a 10s hub, but we had the freehub and the hub body machined to ensure that an 11s cassette would clear (note this is not possible on all hubs*), and adapted the front 15mm thru axle front hub to 9mm quick release (using White Industries adaptors). The Hplusson THE HYDRA is an excellent choice for lightweight disc...

Bugs races XC, and needed some new MTB wheels to update an older ride. Having ridden carbon hoops before, he wanted to revert back to alloy, as he felt that (at least with skinnier XC tyres) alloy rims offered a more "comfortable" ride. He'd seen a pair of wheels we built some time ago, and decided a very similar package would suit him. Novatec D811SB QR15 front hub and the XLR8 MD rear MTB hub, in 12mm thru axle guise. The XLR8 hub is a solid choice. It's convertible back to QR and 10mm thru axle. The freehub can be converted...

Ben had a Powertap lurking, not being used. He heard that Cam was getting some new carbon hoops so he felt a need to get some too! He is one of the last bastion of tubular users. We honestly think that tubs still ride nicer than even the nicest and most supple wide clinchers, but it's also fair to say they can be a hassle. Ben thinks they are worth the effort ... We specced tried and true tubular carbon hoops from Nextie in 45mm, specifically the NXT45RT. We laced Ben's Powertap into a 32h rear rim, and supplied a...