
Where bought and price
Parker International (UK online retailer). I don't remember exactly what I paid now, but at the moment (May 2010) a pair sell at Parker sell for GBP83, inclusive of VAT.
How it is used
Used several times each week as my stock road bike hubs. They are laced to some DIY built wheels using DT Comp spokes and Ambrosio Evolution rims.
Description & general
Though badged as Ambrosio, these hubs a rebranded in the UK by some local company/importer that has the UK naming rights to Ambrosio. They are not made by the venerable Italian rim and wheel builders, Ambrosio s.p.a.
The initial indications were that they were made by Taiwan hub maker Formula, but I am recently led to believe they are made by the ‘other’ Taiwanese hub maker, Novatec (same company as Joytec), which seems to check out. In another review I have moaned about my cheap Joytec cup and cone MTB hubs, but these road hubs are a different kettle of fish altogether.
In essence the hubs are standard aluminium road hubs with cartridge bearings and are available with Campagnolo or Shimano compatible freehub bodies. Mine are 36-hole, but they are also available in 32- and 28-hole versions. They can be bought in black or silver - mine are black. The front hubs would have the standard set of two bearings, but I am not sure how many bearings are in the rear. A check of similar looking hubs on the Novatech website suggests that there are two bearings in the hub and another two in the freehub.
Positives
These are well made solidly performing hubs. Mine have done nearly 5000 kms (not much for a hub) without any trouble.
+ Well made and finished
+ The free hub body is solid and my Campag cassette, which has individual sprockets, has not notably notched the body as happens with some other hubs
+ Good quality bearings (it would seem - I’ve not cracked them open just for the sake of it). They roll very well.
+ Not quite up to Campag standards but has a nice loud rachet, which I like.
+ Come with QR skewers
+ Black or silver finish means they can bought to match your build – not everyone wants black!
Negatives
No real negatives but:
- Loud rachet, which not everyone likes
- Weight weenies will think them rather weighty probably

- Spares are an unknown quantity in case you bust a freehub or some such
- No documentation or information is supplied with the hubs
- The Ambrosio labels cannot be made to perfectly line up with valve hole when building due to their location in regard to the spoke drillings (in case you are worried about anal DIY building standards)
Additional notes
These are good hubs and in my research it seems they are recommended by several wheel builders in the UK. If you are looking for a Campag compatible hub they are one of the few reasonably priced options available now that Campagnolo has got out of the mid-range hub game except for their factory wheels. I’ve found them excellent reliable hubs and I would not hesitate to buy another set.
If you want Shimano compatible hubs the price comparison would perhaps keep you with Shimano 105 or Ultegra hubs, unless you wanted cartridge bearings.
Recommendation
A cheaper alternative would be the Miche hubs that are around. I was looking at the Miche Racing Box hubs but couldn’t then get my preferred freehub/spoke count combo so went with these instead – which were my first choice anyway. These are top hubs and I’m happy with them. Given the reports of some free-hub notching with the Miche product the Ambrosios seem a good choice.
OVERALL SCORES
Quality

Performance

Value for money
