Onyx MTB Front Centerlock Disc Hub
This page covers the Onyx MTB Front Centerlock Disc Hub.
The Onyx Classic comes from us only as a finished wheel: pick the rim, spokes and nipples, and we lace, tension and true it by hand in Georgia before it ships.
Design and construction
Machined and anodized in Minnesota, it is the hub to choose when the loads are high rather than when the grams matter.
A front hub is a bearing carrier with flanges, and that is the whole job of the front Classic: two sealed bearings on a stiff axle, end caps for your fork's standard, and flanges spaced to give the spokes a good bracing angle on the rotor side. There is nothing to engage and nothing to swap. Everything written about freehubs and engagement applies to the rear hub only; what you get up front is the same shell quality and the same seals without any of the moving parts.
How it rides
For cross-country, trail and enduro the Vesper is lighter; for downhill, park and e-MTBs, the Classic is the Onyx hub we recommend.
A front wheel is where you feel a hub least and a build most. With no drive torque to carry, the front Classic can be laced two-cross or even radial on the non-rotor side on a rim-brake bike, which makes a lighter, more direct-feeling wheel; on a disc bike we lace both sides crossed so the rotor's braking torque has spokes to pull against. Either way the front wheel is the one that steers, and a stiff, true front wheel is most of what makes a bike feel precise.
Specifications
| Position | Front |
|---|---|
| Axle options | QR 5x100mm Front, Thru Axle 12x100mm Front, Thru Axle 15x100mm Front, Thru Axle 15x110mm Boost Front, Thru Axle 20x110mm Boost Front |
| Drillings | 24h, 28h, 32h, 36h |
| Spoke head | J-bend |
| Brake | centerlock disc |
| Left flange diameter | 57 mm |
| Right flange diameter | 57 mm |
| Spoke hole diameter | 2.6 mm |
| Weight | 215g |
| Material | Aluminum |
| Finishes | baby blue pc, black ano, black aura pc, black matte ano, blue ano, blue candy pc, clear ano, gold ano, green ano, green anti freeze pc, green florescent pc, green kawasaki pc, orange ano, orange florescent pc, pink ano, pink florescent pc, purple ano, purple candy pc, red ano, red candy pc, turquoise ano, white pc, yellow cardinal pc, yellow florescent pc |
About this listing
What sets this listing apart from the other Classic versions: centerlock rotor mount, QR 5x100mm, Thru Axle 12x100mm, Thru Axle 15x100mm, Thru Axle 15x110mm Boost and more, 24h, 28h, 32h, 36h drilling, about 215g, in baby blue pc, black ano, black aura pc, black matte ano, blu. Pick the one that matches your frame and rotor and the rest of the hub is identical.
Centerlock is the lighter, quicker rotor mount: a splined rotor drops onto the hub and a single lockring holds it, so a rotor swap takes a minute with a lockring tool and there are no six small bolts to torque or lose. Shimano and most current road and gravel rotors are centerlock; 6-bolt rotors fit with an adapter.
Sizes, fit and compatibility
J-bend spokes in any gauge; we build most Classic wheels with Sapim Race, Strong or CX-Sprint spokes or DT Competition and Alpine III and brass nipples.
It pairs naturally with the WTB HTZ, DT Swiss FR 541 and HX 531, Race Face ARC Heavy Duty, Stan's Flow EX3 and the carbon gravity rims in the catalog. Pick downhill or e-bike as your bike type in the configurator and it recommends a spoke count and lacing pattern.
Build it into a wheel
This hub is live in our Custom Wheel Program for gravel and road disc, track and road single-speed, mountain bike, MTB single-speed and fat bike builds. Start a build with the Onyx MTB Front Centerlock Disc Hub and the configurator opens with this exact hub pinned at the top of the Onyx list — you choose the rest of the parts and it validates every combination as you go.
Testing, standards and warranty at Onyx
Onyx Racing Products hubs are made in the USA by a division of Christianson Systems in Minnesota; in a 2020 interview the company described itself as "Minnesota made and owned". Bearings are hybrid ceramic on the Classic line and an upgrade option on Vesper; the distributor states "Since early 2025 all Onyx hubs have been assembled with high-quality Japanese EZO bearings." Onyx specifies a grease service temperature range of -58°F (-50°C) to 248°F (120°C). It publishes no bearing-cycle, salt-spray, ISO 4210 or load-test figures. Onyx's specifications state radial lacing is not permitted on any Onyx hub and set a maximum spoke tension of 120 KgF.
The European distributor recommends "a seasonal check-up 2-3 times a year".
Inside the Onyx shop
Certifications
- Made in USA (Minnesota) — Onyx states it is "Minnesota made and owned"; retailer and distributor listings state "Made in the USA" (source)
- 5-year limited hub warranty — Hub 5 years to original owner; sprag clutch 1 year against manufacturing defects; wheel builds 1 year (source)
- E-bike approval (Classic hubs) — Distributor states Classic hubs are e-bike approved for mid-drive units with peak power output up to 1500W (source)
Sources on Onyx's site:
- Onyx Racing Products - Tech (site returned 403 at time of research)
- Onyx Racing Products - Limited Warranty (U.S. Only)
- Onyx Racing Products Wheels - Warranty
- November Bicycles: In their own words - Onyx Racing Products (April 17, 2020)
- Onyx Hubs Europe - Technology
Everything in this section is published by Onyx. ProWheelBuilder is the wheel builder, not the tester, and the hub reaches us as the maker ships it.
Building it at ProWheelBuilder
Onyx makes the Classic; ProWheelBuilder is an independent custom wheel builder in Georgia and not the manufacturer. We measure the rim before we cut a spoke, bring the wheel up in three or four rounds with a gauge, stress-relieve it between rounds and true it last, then tape it and fit a valve if you want it tubeless.
Only compatible hubs and spokes appear in the configurator, impossible combinations are struck through rather than hidden, and the price is live.
Warranty
Onyx's warranty. Onyx Racing Products covers its hubs under a five-year limited warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.
ProWheelBuilder. Built into a wheel by us, this part is covered by our own one-year wheel warranty on top of the maker's. For a year we replace broken spokes whatever caused them, and we cover the labor on the wheel - truing, re-tensioning, a rebuild if it needs one. If a rim or hub fails and its maker covers it, we run that claim for you; if the maker says no, you get an eligible replacement rim or hub at 25% off retail. You pay the shipping each way. Wheels built from parts you send us are excluded.
Full terms are on our Policies & Warranty page.
MTB Front Centerlock Disc Hub questions
Will my rotors fit this hub?
This is the centerlock version, so a splined centerlock rotor drops on and a lockring holds it - one tool, no six bolts to torque or lose. If your rotors are 6-bolt they will fit with a centerlock adapter, or take the 6-bolt version of the same hub, which is a separate listing.
Classic or Vesper?
Classic for downhill, e-bikes and the heaviest duty; Vesper for cross-country, trail and enduro where its 23% lower weight matters.
Which axle spacing does it fit?
QR 5x100mm Front or Thru Axle 12x100mm Front or Thru Axle 15x100mm Front or Thru Axle 15x110mm Boost Front or Thru Axle 20x110mm Boost Front. Measure between the inside faces of your dropouts if you are unsure, or text us.
Does it need special spokes?
No. It takes standard J-bend spokes, which the configurator offers in every gauge and finish we stock.
How long will the wheel take?
Build time comes down to parts availability rather than bench time. The estimated ship date is shown in the configurator before you check out.
Not sure? Text or leave a voicemail on 470-253-0929 or email info@prowheelbuilder.com — you will be talking to the people who build the wheels.
