I have a Specialized Tricross Sport ('09) which i'm trying to get replacement cones for both the front and rear hubs. I took the original parts back to the dealer who said they could order replacements but later found that their supplier (Avanti Australia i thik?) don't have them. The hubs are "Specialized" branded but the guys at the shop think that they are likely to be Novotech units rebranded.

the mechanic found some shimano cones which he said would work as they have the same profile on the bearing surface. He explained that the width was different so some adjustment with spacers etc. may be required to get the overall width right. I figured, no problem, i'll have a go at fitting them myself and if i can't get the right spacing etc i can always take the wheel in and have it done at the shop. I also noted that the seals were different, much wider on the chimano cones. The mech said there may be a little more resistance due to this, and if it was a problem to remove the seal altogether and just make sure there is plenty of grease in protecting the bearings.

Looking closely at the cones today i have found that not only is the profile on the bearing surface quite different between the two sets of cones, but the seals on the front cones don't fit in the hub so my only option is to remove them and have a ~1mm gap between the cone and the dust cover.

So the questions are, where can i get the right parts for these hubs, how inportant is the profile of the bearing surface and can I live without the seals or am i just opening myself up to a ruined hub in the near future?

Wheels Manufacturing has a cone chart in the catalog on their website which might be of help in ID'ing what would work for you.
https://wheelsmfg.com/tech/PDF/wheels_cone_chart.pdf

The cone surface must be an *exact* match - curvature and depth - see barnetts for more information. Seal difference is irrelevant as long as they do their job. If you want the *precise* cone, you want to find a shop that deals in specialized.

Thanks for the replies, I tried Wheels Mfg. but none of the taiwanese cones match and of the shimano ones, the closest ones are the ones the bike shop gave me which it turs out aren't that close at all.

OK, so that means the cones the shop gave me are useless. I don't have a copy of Barnetts, can anyone give me a rundown on why the surfaces need to match so that i can go and hassle the shop some more?

Yep, that why i wen't back to the place of purchase for this bike, they're a Spesh dealer. I mentioned Avanti as i think they are the importer of specialized gear into Australia, and the bloke at the shop mentioned them. I thought an aussie might be able to confirm why Avanti were called regarding a Specialized bike.

The small end diameter of the cones must match. The curved surface of the cones must match, otherwise the balls will be riding too high or low on the curve, instead of directly in the middle. Barnett's says you can test fit them in the hub complete with balls and see of the grease print left behind on the surface of the cone is located in the middle of the curve. Many times a cone that matches except for being shorter in length may not work because once installed, the flats on the cone will not be accessible.
Barnett's says that if all else fails, you may be able to use a cone with a different curve, along with a different ball size. If you test fit a cone and the balls grease print is located below the middle of the cone curve (towards the smaller end of the cone race), a smaller ball' might work. The smaller ball would contact further out towards the center since the cone an be screw in further. If the grease print is above the middle of the cone curve, a larger ball might work.
You may have to add or substract a ball to the total count to fill the race accordingly.

Wow, pretty complicated for replacing some cones! Thanks for the run down though, i've found that Specialized have an online tech support system so i've asked there how to proceed, hopefully they give me some reasonable response otherwise i'll probably have to go back to the shop and get them to do it properly.