I recently built up two sets of wheels recently for cheap. Both tubular. Both use the new Velocity Road Hub and the Escape rim. One uses DT Revolution spokes and the other uses SuperComps. One weighs in at 1350 grams and the other comes in at 1440. Both are for cross. Both seem to hold up fine although the one with the rev spokes feels more "springy" if that is a word. I got them direct from Velocity with no mark up from the shop, but even if you included a decent margin the total cost would be probably be $275 to $300 for all of the parts, not including labor. Guys at the shop tell me that the new Mavic R-sys or whatever it is called is worth the money--or at least the money if you get an employee deal, but I have a hard time wanting to spend the money. My other wheels are a custom built DT 240s wheelset with DT rr1.1 clinchers rims and then an American Classic carbon tubular wheelset (which hardly ever gets ridden), an American Classic 420 wheelset, and an
American Classic 29er Singlespeed wheelset. (Damn I have a lot of wheels!) I have had lots of wheels in the past made by everyone from Mavic to Chris King to White Industries to Tune. I have found that the really lightweight hubsets tend to make odd noises after awhile (Tune, Zipp). I like to build or have my wheels built for me because I have found that I like the feel of certain rim and spoke combinations. I also have found that I can save money and have a lighter wheelset when compared to the Mavic or other pre-built wheels out there.
My cheap wheels seem to work every bit as well as the more spendy wheels so far. I think that if you do it smart you can have a great wheelset for less money without having to go to someone like Neuvation (not that there is anything wrong with his stuff).
-Devin
Erik Long wrote:
.hmmessage P { margin:0px; padding:0px } body.hmmessage { FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY:Tahoma } As long as we're on wheel issues, at the races I see a lot of different high-end Brand-name wheels, which is no surprise since most race bikes come stock with such wheels. I still see custom wheels around, though. And, I have to say, the lightest/toughest wheels I've raced over the years where built by hand in the bike shop.
What's the typical preference between Pre-built wheels and Custom-built amongst Obra?
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Devin Flynn
Cycling Blog: http://www.rcmt.blogspot.com
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