Fnhon DB12: XDR Freehub Body

For this conversion of the Fnhon from 1x11 speed to 1x12 speed, the most critical factor is whether I can fit a 12 speed cassette onto the rear hub. There are various 12 speed cassettes, but not all are suitable.

The most common 12 speed cassettes are MTB cassettes, with a large 10-50T or 11-50T, just to list a few examples. However, these are way too big for small wheeled bikes.

As for 12 speed road cassettes of smaller sizes, it is hard to find, except for Campagnolo or SRAM cassettes. To me, Campy is like a niche manufacturer, although they are considered one of the big three alongside Shimano and SRAM. There might be a few other even more niche manufacturers that I do not know of.

That leaves the SRAM 12 speed road cassette as the only viable option (Shimano 12 speed road was not launched yet at this point). This means a XDR freehub body is necessary, to install the 10-36T 12 speed cassette shown in the previous post.

Which was why, before I bought any more new components, I needed to check if the freehub body on my wheelset can be changed or not. To recap, the 451 wheelset on my Fnhon is a custom wheelset, as I could not find a lightweight, Centerlock disc brake 451 wheelset on the market.

Rear hub on the wheelset is a Novatec D412SB-CL, where CL stands for Centerlock.

After doing some research, I found that there are variants of this hub, where the freehub body is the XD or XDR type, instead of the Shimano spline type that I have. This means that it is very likely that the freehub body on this rear hub can be swapped to the XDR type.

I managed to find a replacement freehub body on Lazada, using the limited info from the seller and also my existing hub. Basically it looked like there was a good chance it would fit, so I took a gamble and bought the XDR freehub body which is claimed to be compatible to my current Novatec hub.

Existing 11 speed road freehub body on the Novatec rear hub.

The new XDR freehub body! Last I searched, it is no longer available from the same seller on Lazada.

To remove the freehub body, this end cap/lock nut has to be removed.

Looks a bit different, let's see if it can be swapped successfully.

Original freehub body removed! Ratchet can be seen here.

Once one side of the locknut is removed, the other side slides out together with the axle.

The spacers are of different length, between these two freehub bodies. The longer spacer is for the Shimano spline freehub body.

The Shimano spline freehub body is longer, as the spline engagement stretches all the way to the 11T sprocket.

From another point of view, most of the sprockets on the XDR cassette do not engage the freehub body directly, but are joined to each other instead.

Shimano spline freehub body and spacer weighs 85 grams.

SRAM XDR freehub body and spacer weighs exactly the same. I always hear that the XDR freehub body is lighter, but it is not the case here.

Testing the XDR freehub body on the original axle

Taking the chance to service the rear hub, by cleaning and adding new freehub grease on the pawls and ratchet. Refer to previous PZ Racing and Wheelsport wheelsets.

I tried to reassemble the freehub body, but found that the freehub body could not seat fully into the hub. I panicked a little as I thought it might be incompatible.

Upon closer inspection, I found that there was an extra seal on the freehub body. When I removed the original Shimano spline freehub body, the seal remained on the hub shell, but I did not notice it (refer to picture above showing internal ratchet). The XDR freehub came with its own new seal, which I also didn't notice. So, when I tried to install the XDR freehub body onto the hub shell, there were 2 seals which caused the interference.

Original seal on the left, and the new seal on the right which comes with the XDR freehub body.

Once I took out the extra seal, the freehub body and other parts went on with no problem.

The hub worked normally, and was able to spin smoothly with and without engaging the freewheeling function. I'm glad that I was able to swap the freehub body on this Novatec freehub! Many thanks to Ascent Bikes for choosing a good and widely compatible hub for building this custom wheelset. If not for this swappable freehub body, this 12 speed conversion project would not have been possible.

SRAM Force 10-36T 12 speed cassette. As mentioned in the cassette post, this is a really good ratio to provide a wide gear range and also reasonably small gear steps.

New 12 speed cassette looking good.

The reason why the XDR structure allows a 10T smallest sprocket is due to the smaller integrated lockring (using same lockring tool), and the absence of spline engagement for the smaller sprockets.

If a conventional lockring was used, the diameter would be too big to fit a 10T sprocket.

So far, the 12 speed cassette and the XDR freehub body have been successfully installed on the existing 451 wheelset of the Fnhon folding bike. This has to be the most doubtful part of the modification, as the other components (rear derailleur, shifter, chain) will probably not pose an issue.

Fnhon Gust: Wheelset and Tires

The Fnhon Gust will require a 16 inch wheelset, as it is a small folding bike. For 16 inch wheels, there are actually two sizes, 305 and 349. 305 was used by Dahon Curve D3, and it is quite small. 349 is larger, and is also more common. It is used by Bromptons as well.

This bike is designed for 16 inch, 349 wheelsets. This means it will be smaller than 20 inch folding bikes, which are either 406 or 451 sizes. These numbers refer to the rim diameter.

For this bike, the wheelset was bought from AliExpress, and it came surprisingly fast. The cost was around SGD 300.

An all black wheelset was desired, and this wheelset seems to fit the bill perfectly. One more thing to take note, the Fnhon Gust uses rim brakes (caliper or V brakes), so don't get a disc brake wheelset. The OLD of the frame and fork is 74 mm front, 130 mm rear.

All black 16 inch 349 wheelset. 20 spokes for front wheel, 24 spokes for rear wheel.

Double wall rim, with hooked rims.

Black spoke nipples as well. Even the brake track is black, not sure if it will last after some usage.

Inner rim width is a narrow 13 mm, which is really narrow by modern standards.

External rim width is almost 19 mm. Also very narrow by modern standards.

Rim height is only about 18 mm, also very shallow.

With a narrow rim and short rim height, this should keep the weight of the wheelset low. That is the one of the few advantages to having narrow and short rims.

The rims are laced to standard Novatec hubs, which are normally of good quality, are affordable, and relatively lightweight. It is similar to what I used last time, the Novatec A551SB.

Front hub is A211SB, with 74 mm OLD. Straight pull lacing pattern is used for the front wheel.

There is a small gap between the rubber seal and the hub, not sure if this is normal or not.

Rear hub is Novatec F162SB. Straight pull lacing on non-drive side.

Looking pretty good with all black components. Drive side uses cross lacing pattern.

11 speed compatible freehub, important if you want to use a 11 speed road cassette.

The rear freehub has 27 clicks per round, which means 13.3 degrees of engagement angle. This is an unusual number, as a more common value is 18, 24 or 30 clicks per round. I did check a few times so the value is correct.

I forgot to measure the weight of the wheelset, but we can calculate it later, since I did weigh all the parts that go onto the wheels.

Rim tape is provided, 22 grams for a pair.

Quick release axles are included with the Novatec wheelset, 101 grams for the pair.

Next to a full sized 700C wheel (622 mm diameter), the 16 inch wheel (349 mm diameter) looks so small!

Schwalbe Kojak tires are selected for this bike, for a balance of speed and comfort. It was hard to find as it was out of stock nearly everywhere, due to it being a common size with Bromptons.

32-349 Kojak tire. A width of 32 mm is a good width for small wheeled bikes, as narrow tires on small wheels will require high tire pressures, which makes the ride very bumpy.

Each tire weighs 249 grams. These are with wire beads, which will be heavier than those with kevlar beads.

16 inch inner tubes, Schwalbe SV4. It can actually be shared with the slightly larger 18 inch, 355 wheels. This is what was used on the Tyrell IVE.

Inner tube is 84 grams each.

As expected, the tire will bulge out over the narrow rim, but I think it is OK since I have been using this combination for a long time, on the Dahon Boardwalk and Dahon MuEX.

During tire installation, I found that one section of the tire refused to seat on the rim properly, despite inflating and deflating a few times. I had to use the Schwalbe Easy Fit, which is a soapy solution that you apply on the tire bead, to lubricate it as you install the tire. With this, the tire was able to seat on the rim properly.

Schwalbe Easy Fit, with a foam applicator for easy usage.

Schwalbe Kojak tires installed! Managed to achieve the all black look. Size looks normal, until...

...next to a full sized road bike wheel, it looks tiny! The road wheel is from Ascent Bikes.

Front wheel with inner tube and tire and rim tape is 706 grams.

Rear hub with inner tube, tire, rim tape and Dura-Ace 9000 11-28T cassette is 1114 grams.

Front wheel weight with rim tape = 706 - 249 - 84 = 373 grams

Rear wheel weight with rim tape = 1114 - 249 - 84 - 195 = 586 grams

This gives a wheelset weight (inclusive of rim tape) of only 959 grams, which is pretty good. The low weight mainly comes from the small wheel size, and also the narrow and short rims.

Wheelsport Ultegra Di2 2x11 Speed: Part 2 - Compatibility Check for Wheelset and Brake Calipers

After introducing the Wheelsport Fantasy 2.0 mini velo frame and carbon fork in Part 1 of this upgrade series, it is now time to check the other components for compatibility with this frame. As I will be moving over most of the components from the Dahon Boardwalk folding bike, some of the components may not be compatible due to the different frame design.

Two areas which are critical would be the wheelset and brake caliper compatibility. The Dahon Boardwalk folding bike uses a front hub with a 74mm Over Locknut Dimension (OLD), while the Wheelsport Fantasy frame has a standard 100mm front OLD. Both the frames can accept a standard road rear hub of 130mm OLD.

Therefore, I will need to convert the width of the front hub from 74mm to 100mm, in order to continue using the same Chris King/Novatec wheelset on the Wheelsport frame. There are adapters available that can be used to extend the front hub from 74mm to 100mm. Some of them are the screw on type, which is meant to replace the current end cap on the front hub, while others are merely fitted onto the existing end cap and secured with the QR axle.

The first choice is of course to use screw on adapters that will be more secure and also stronger, but since different brands of hubs have different hub dimensions, it is difficult to find a suitable adapter. I tried the Wheelsport front hub adapter, but it does not fit as the thread size of the screw on end cap is different from the Novatec front hub end cap.

The longer Wheelsport end cap on the left (to convert 74mm to 100mm), and the original Novatec end cap (74mm). However, it cannot be used as the thread size is different.

Since the screw on type of adapter cannot be used, the alternative is to use a simple adapter that is just fitted onto the end of the existing front hub. This will increase the front OLD from 74mm to 100mm. This adapter can fit practically all QR front hubs as the cylindrical area that slots into the front fork ends are the same dimension for QR front hubs.

Elosix front hub adapter to convert the OLD from 74mm to 100mm

It fits onto the end of the existing front hub end cap, and once installed in the frame, it will be secured by the compression of the front fork and the QR axle.

Now that the front hub OLD issue has been solved, the next compatibility check would be the braking system. The Wheelsport Fantasy frame is designed for caliper brakes and 451 wheels (around 22 inch in diameter), but the current wheelset that I plan to use is a 406 wheelset (around 20 inch in diameter). As the wheel is smaller, using standard road caliper brakes will result in the brake pads being unable to reach the rims on the 406 wheels.

For the front fork, I first tried to install the Elosix Front Brake Adapter, which will move the mounting point of the caliper brake downwards. This might enable me to use standard road caliper brakes.

Elosix Front Brake Adapter, originally designed for Dahon bikes

Installation of this Elosix front brake adapter is successful, but now the front brake mounting point is too low and too close to the tire. When I tried installing the brake caliper, the brake arm will rub against the tire.

Using the Elosix Front Brake Adapter will move the mounting point too close to the tire. Not suitable for use.

In this case, I will have to use extra long reach caliper brakes, such as the Tektro R559 brake caliper that was previously used on the Dahon Boardwalk and Dahon Vitesse. The distance from the front brake mounting point to the wheel rim is about 70mm, so it should be possible as the Tektro R559 brakes has a maximum reach of 73mm.

Reach of 70mm is required for the front caliper brake, due to the large distance between the brake mounting point and the rim.

As for the rear brake, I measured the reach required to be 62mm. This also means that I will need to use the Extra Long Reach Tektro R559 for the rear brakes, as standard road caliper brakes have a reach of only 39-49mm.

Reach of 62mm is required for the rear brake.

In order to confirm these theoretical calculations, I moved the Tektro R559 brake calipers from the Dahon Boardwalk to the Wheelsport Fantasy frame. Before that, I took the opportunity to re-install some gold hardware onto the Tektro R559 brakes, such as the gold coloured cable adjust bolt and brake pad holders.

Tektro R559 caliper brakes with gold cable adjust bolts and brake pad holders

Overall weight of 350 grams for this pair of Tektro R559 caliper brakes

Tektro R559 installed on the front fork, and is able to reach the rim with no problem. Wheelsport Fantasy carbon fork with 406 wheels and Kojak tires.

One advantage of using 406 wheels in this fork (originally designed for 451 wheels) is that I can use wider tires. Seen here is the Schwalbe Kojak 20x1.35" tires which are 35mm wide.

Also plenty of tire clearance for the rear, and thus is able to run these 35mm wide Kojak tires with no issue. If a 451 wheelset is used, it can take a maximum tire size of about 25-28mm.

A standard bolt and nut fixing is used for the rear brake caliper due to the length of the axle on the brake caliper.

Seems that there is no problem with using 406 wheels and wide Kojak tires in this frame! There is plenty of tire clearance with the frame and brake calipers, and the extra long reach brake calipers is also able to reach the smaller 406 wheels.

While checking the compatibility of the wheelset and brakes, I also found that the rear derailleur hanger is a bit bent. Having a bent RD hanger will make it difficult to get good rear shifting performance, as the RD cannot be properly aligned to the cassette gears.

RD hanger is slightly bent, and now is the best time to fix it before installing more components.

RD hanger alignment tool

As described in an earlier post about the other Wheelsport Fantasy mini velo (2x10 speed, flat handlebar), the RD hanger alignment tool can be used to check the alignment of the RD hanger, and also make minor adjustments to the RD hanger to achieve good alignment with the cassette.

With that, this frame is now ready to accept the other components! Wheelset and brake compatibility issues have been studied and solved, and there should not be other major issues for this bike upgrade.

In the next part of this upgrade series, the components that have been selected for this Wheelsport Fantasy mini velo will be shown.

Part 3 here!