Introduced last year at Interbike, Novatec’s premium Factor lineup showed all three diameters in the new carbon fiber rimmed wheels, but word is only the 26″ model made it into circulation. And only in limited quantities.
Now, the brand has made a few refinements to the rims’ shape, introduced a more XC-oriented 1-series, and should have everything ready to ship. The wider 3-series has all three diameters and a rim width of 23mm inside, 30mm outside at the top of the rim. The 1-series gets a bit skinnier at 21mm inside/28mm outside and only has the 27.5″ and 29er sizes.
Beyond having a carbon rim, the other main upgrade from the Novatec lineup is a 3º engagement in the rear hub. It pairs a 60-tooth engagement ring with six double-tooth pawls. Three pawls are engaged at any time, and the other three are partially engaged. Each pawl has two teeth on it, so there are technically six points of engagement at any time.
The front gets QR/15/20 axle options with tool free plug-n-play end caps.
The rear does the same with QR/10/12/X12 options, plus an XD Driver Body option.
The steel ABG Anti-Bite Guard keeps the lighter weight alloy freehub body from being eaten up by the cassette.
