Wheel Advice

[Raul Ramaya]

Looking for advice on a new rear wheel. My old Ascent II failed and don't have the money to replace the set - just the rear.

Usage: racing only - primarily road races with short steep hills. Likely only 10-15 a season at this point [I'm cutting out the Crits which limits my options ]

My weight: I hover around 71Kg (155-157lbs)

Spending threshold: Willing to pay money if truly helps performance. Otherwise I am happy to be out of fashion -> for reference I'm still riding a steel frame.

Not even remotely close to being a gearhead so pretty lost at this point. Had been looking at the Easton EA90 SLX but got scared away by complaints of broken spokes.

Any advice?

 

[Bustedknuckle]

Looking for advice on a new rear wheel. My old Ascent II failed and don't have the money to replace the set - just the rear.

Usage: racing only - primarily road races with short steep hills. Likely only 10-15 a season at this point [I'm cutting out the Crits which limits my options ]

My weight: I hover around 71Kg (155-157lbs)

Spending threshold: Willing to pay money if truly helps performance. Otherwise I am happy to be out of fashion -> for reference I'm still riding a steel frame.

Not even remotely close to being a gearhead so pretty lost at this point. Had been looking at the Easton EA90 SLX but got scared away by complaints of broken spokes.

Any advice?

Find a local wheelbuilder that will design and build a rear wheel specifically for you and your needs...

 

[JayKosta]

I'd appreciate your thoughts about why you still race on a steel frame.

About the wheel you said
"Spending threshold: Willing to pay money if truly helps performance."
So it seems you are serious about doing well in races.

Are you competitive riding the steel?
Are you already on a super lightweight steel framed bike?
Have you tried aluminum/carbon and not gotten an improvement?

I'm still satisfied with my steel frame bikes, but I ride for exercise and recreation - not racing.

thanks,
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

 

[Giuseppe Magnetico]

Looking for advice on a new rear wheel. My old Ascent II failed and don't have the money to replace the set - just the rear.

Usage: racing only - primarily road races with short steep hills. Likely only 10-15 a season at this point [I'm cutting out the Crits which limits my options ]

My weight: I hover around 71Kg (155-157lbs)

Spending threshold: Willing to pay money if truly helps performance. Otherwise I am happy to be out of fashion -> for reference I'm still riding a steel frame.

Not even remotely close to being a gearhead so pretty lost at this point. Had been looking at the Easton EA90 SLX but got scared away by complaints of broken spokes.

Any advice?

A KinLin XR-300 rim is going to be the closest replacement for what you had. 28h2x, you cold get away with a 24h, but racing and short/steeps require a lot of torque so 28h would be better without much weight penalty, whatever hub and spokes you can afford.

 

[Raul Ramaya]

A KinLin XR-300 rim is going to be the closest replacement for what you had. 28h2x, you cold get away with a 24h, but racing and short/steeps require a lot of torque so 28h would be better without much weight penalty, whatever hub and spokes you can afford.

Thanks for the input. I've now spent a fair amount of time researching and the consensus when weighting performance seems to be to go for a mid-Aero wheel (34mm or so) and not worry much about weight. Carbon doesn't seem worth the hassle (I don't want to worry about crashing) so that leaves aluminium for rims. I was gravitating towards the Rolf Vigor (34 mm) factory wheel but I'm hearing alot of good things about the KinLin as well.

Any thoughts on factory built vs custom? I don't have a reputable local wheelbuilder so if I go custom it would be via online... perhaps Zen or Wheelbuilder.

 

[Raul Ramaya]

I'd appreciate your thoughts about why you still race on a steel frame.

About the wheel you said
"Spending threshold: Willing to pay money if truly helps performance."
So it seems you are serious about doing well in races.

Are you competitive riding the steel?
Are you already on a super lightweight steel framed bike?
Have you tried aluminum/carbon and not gotten an improvement?

I'm still satisfied with my steel frame bikes, but I ride for exercise and recreation - not racing.

thanks,
Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

Not sure what your reference point is when you think of a steel bike. Mine has a carbon fork and comes in around 18.5 lbs. Once you are in that range and not competing in the Pro ranks I believe its more about the engine. Don't get me wrong though - if I were sponsored I'd be riding the lightest coolest bike out there. Sadly I have to worry about replacement costs if (when) I crash.

 

[Giuseppe Magnetico]

Thanks for the input. I've now spent a fair amount of time researching and the consensus when weighting performance seems to be to go for a mid-Aero wheel (34mm or so) and not worry much about weight. Carbon doesn't seem worth the hassle (I don't want to worry about crashing) so that leaves aluminium for rims. I was gravitating towards the Rolf Vigor (34 mm) factory wheel but I'm hearing alot of good things about the KinLin as well.

Any thoughts on factory built vs custom? I don't have a reputable local wheelbuilder so if I go custom it would be via online... perhaps Zen or Wheelbuilder.

This has been the #1 on-going debate about wheels for the last 10+ years. From my 20 years building custom, 3 of them were in a typical wheel factory setting, so I'll give you a rundown of my experiences.

In a factory setting, there's no such thing as a wheel builder, only lacers, truers, or machine feeders, usually paid low wages, held to hourly production quotas, and have no vested interest in what the end user will be doing with them. They're just trying to make it to the end of the day without crying, and generally don't ride any of the products that they build, or even ride at all. To top it all off, most of these ultra low spoke count wheels like the Rolf Vigor are flawed by design even before they're ready for the factory floor. At the factory profit/volume comes before quality.

In a true custom setting a wheel builder will directly work with a customer on individual part selection based on variables like rider weight, purpose, road conditions, and riding style. From the hubs, rims, spokes, nipples, spoke counts, colors, even final spoke tension in some cases. Almost always with standard parts that can be bought at the shops, no proprietary junk that is factory specific. Two types of custom builders, the first breed are the wheel-centric shops, where I spent many of my early wheel building years, cut my teeth as they say. Then there are the solo wheel building entities like Wheelbuilder.com, and Zen like you mentioned. Both reputable and would recommend. Goes without saying the custom builder has quality as the #1 priority before anything else.

There is a stark difference in the end product depending on which route you go. Wheels from a factory are only good as the person, or machine that did the final true before they were boxed up. Or, the person at the shop who un-boxed them and properly corrected the flaws from the factory, which are almost always a combination of uneven tension and true. Custom is the exact opposite theory, the wheel doesn't go out the door unless it's tension is even and trued to much higher standards than a factory would employ.

 

[Bustedknuckle]

Thanks for the input. I've now spent a fair amount of time researching and the consensus when weighting performance seems to be to go for a mid-Aero wheel (34mm or so) and not worry much about weight. Carbon doesn't seem worth the hassle (I don't want to worry about crashing) so that leaves aluminium for rims. I was gravitating towards the Rolf Vigor (34 mm) factory wheel but I'm hearing alot of good things about the KinLin as well.

Any thoughts on factory built vs custom? I don't have a reputable local wheelbuilder so if I go custom it would be via online... perhaps Zen or Wheelbuilder.

Talk to Mr Magnetico..it's what he does, design and build wheels and put 'em into boxes. Some other of us build wheels cuz we own a shop that still builds wheels(like me, no wheelsouttaboxes) but with 2 wrenches and a full, 3 week service sked, it may be a while before you get the wheels.

 

[nightfend]

I'd probably go custom if I were you. A Kinlin 300 (30mm) is a good rim, fairly durable and not very heavy. At your weight, you could do either a 24 or 28 spoke wheel and have plenty of durability.

If you must have a factory built wheel, I still believe Shimano makes the best. The Dura-Ace line of wheels are very good. The C24's have a strong carbon/aluminum hybrid rim that is also very lightweight.

 

[avanti]

................If you must have a factory built wheel, I still believe Shimano makes the best. The Dura-Ace line of wheels are very good. The C24's have a strong carbon/aluminum hybrid rim that is also very lightweight.

I agree with the Dura-Ace suggestion. This should see you through until you figure out what wheels are best for you.

 

[Raul Ramaya]

This has been the #1 on-going debate about wheels for the last 10+ years. From my 20 years building custom, 3 of them were in a typical wheel factory setting, so I'll give you a rundown of my experiences.

In a factory setting, there's no such thing as a wheel builder, only lacers, truers, or machine feeders, usually paid low wages, held to hourly production quotas, and have no vested interest in what the end user will be doing with them. They're just trying to make it to the end of the day without crying, and generally don't ride any of the products that they build, or even ride at all. To top it all off, most of these ultra low spoke count wheels like the Rolf Vigor are flawed by design even before they're ready for the factory floor. At the factory profit/volume comes before quality.

In a true custom setting a wheel builder will directly work with a customer on individual part selection based on variables like rider weight, purpose, road conditions, and riding style. From the hubs, rims, spokes, nipples, spoke counts, colors, even final spoke tension in some cases. Almost always with standard parts that can be bought at the shops, no proprietary junk that is factory specific. Two types of custom builders, the first breed are the wheel-centric shops, where I spent many of my early wheel building years, cut my teeth as they say. Then there are the solo wheel building entities like Wheelbuilder.com, and Zen like you mentioned. Both reputable and would recommend. Goes without saying the custom builder has quality as the #1 priority before anything else.

There is a stark difference in the end product depending on which route you go. Wheels from a factory are only good as the person, or machine that did the final true before they were boxed up. Or, the person at the shop who un-boxed them and properly corrected the flaws from the factory, which are almost always a combination of uneven tension and true. Custom is the exact opposite theory, the wheel doesn't go out the door unless it's tension is even and trued to much higher standards than a factory would employ.

OK, you sold me I went with Wheelbuilder.com mainly because their turnaround was a bit better and I couldn't wait too long...

Thanks for the advice!