Novatec Campag Hub Not Actually Campag Compatible

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Valbrona
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Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:25 am
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

by Valbrona

Folks, don't buy a Novatec F582SB Campagnolo rear hub thinking that they are Campagnolo compatible, because they are not. Plain bad design.

I have been trying to fit a 10 speed Campagolo 13-29 cassette and it does not fit properly. The lockring bottoms out on the axle and locks in place 'fixed wheel' style. I am guessing users need to fit spacer(s) onto the freehub before fitting the cassette but this seems a very bad fix as in the current scenario only a few threads of the lockring actually thread into the freehub body, and there will be even fewer that thread in if a spacer/spacers have to be used.

I would appreciate any comments on this matter.

by Weenie


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boolinwall
Posts: 195
Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2012 11:19 pm

by boolinwall

Did you try it before locking it into the bike? The only reason I ask is because if you swapped from shimano 10 to campy 10/11. You may need to reshuffle the spacers in the axle. This is the case with a HED freehub conversion and a few others as well. You won't really notice until you try to spin it in the frame though. If it still sticks without the cassette on, this is likely the issue. It's not all uncommon to have to reshuffle the spacers to accommodate the longer freehub body of a campy set-up.

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Miller
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Location: Reading, UK

by Miller

It's not about the spacers. There is a real problem. It's discussed in detail and some fixes outlined in this thread in the 'wheels' sub-forum:

viewtopic.php?f=113&t=115505

Valbrona
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by Valbrona

Thanks Miller. I found your thread before I saw your post with the link. Your problem is the same as mine and your pictures show it perfectly.

Here's a link to your pictures again: viewtopic.php?f=113&t=115505

For anyone interested: As you tighten the cassette lockring the bottom edge of it makes contact with a flanged spacer on the axle. The flange of this spacer covers up the bearings inside the freehub body. As you tighten the cassette lockring it has the effect of clamping against this flanged spacer and this has the effect of locking the cassette/freehub body to the axle. And hey presto, you turn the cassette with your hand and the axle turns with it. The axle no longer turns independently inside the freehub body and is instead locked to the freehub body/cassette.

THESE HUBS ARE PLAIN DEFECTIVE. DO NOT BUY A SO-CALLED CAMPAGNOLO COMPATIBLE NOVATEC FREEHUB, BECAUSE THEY SURE AS HELL AIN'T CAMPAGNOLO COMPATIBLE.

Two solutions spring to mind:-

1/ Fit spacer/spacers onto the freehub body before I fit the cassette in an attempt to create some clearance between the bottom edge of the cassette lockring and the flanged spacer on the axle. But this is exactly what cassette spacers are not meant for.

2/ Use a shallower depth lockring, if you can. I say 'If you can' because in the case of Campag 10 speed a Token lockring is a bit shallower than a Campag one, but you might be screwed if this problem is with an 11 speed cassette where there are few, if any, alternative lockrings.

However, both of these fixes are plain bad because in the case of this Novatec hub there are already very few threads actually engaging between lockring and freehub body, and either of these two fixes will result in even fewerthreads engaging.

Any ideas anyone? Has my Novatec F582SB hub been built with the wrong parts? And what is my position if I cobble together some kind of fix that results in some kind of injury to myself?

NovemberDave
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by NovemberDave

I've never held an F582SB in my hand but I've successfully converted about 25 F482SBs, as well as 2 F482SB-11s now after originally butting up against this issue, which we never saw with the F482SB 10 speed hubs (we don't have a whole ton of Campy customers).

The issue at hand is with the drive side end cap flange. Novatec originally made the flange too large, it was about 23mm wide. They've changed this now. The unflanged drive side end cap from a 10 speed Shimano F482SB, with the spacer, will also allow the lock ring to be tightened to full torque. The wide-flanged end cap, the flange serves no structural purpose and, based on our experience with about a zillion customer miles on unflanged endcaps, serves little to no bearing-protection function. I honestly don't really know why they went with the flange. I am categorically not standing here on the internet telling anyone to grind down their flanges, but if I was personally faced with this issue I would feel fully confident grinding down the flange diameter.

Mackers
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Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:02 pm

by Mackers

My Novatec hubs worked just fine with 11S Campy.

Valbrona
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Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:25 am
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

by Valbrona

Thanks for your comments.

I am guessing one of two defects:-

1/ The F582SB I have is an old stock item produced before Mr Novatec realized that the design was flawed on account of this large diameter flange on the axle which prevents the cassette lockring from fully screwing in.

2/ My F582SB is built incorrectly using Shimano/SRAM parts in error. Maybe they just ran out of the Campag parts and thought that it wouldn't matter.

And this all makes me wonder whether my hub has the correct OLD.

Can anyone point me in the direction of Novatec F482SB (Shimano/SRAM) and F582SB (Campagnolo) drawings? Thanks.

by Weenie


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Valbrona
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Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2011 3:25 am
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

by Valbrona

For anyone stumbling across this thread with the same problem ... An aftermarket alloy cassette lockring - a wee bit shallower than a steel Campagnolo 10 speed lockring - worked.

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