Wheelset built from separate parts

Nice wheelset, looks super fast! Mind if I ask how much the individual components costs? What kind of carbon rims (brand, model, weight?) are those? I was thinking of going custom as well, instead of buying 'off-the-rack' - whichever is better value that is.

Cheers.

Tech72 said:

Nice wheelset, looks super fast! Mind if I ask how much the individual components costs? What kind of carbon rims (brand, model, weight?) are those? I was thinking of going custom as well, instead of buying 'off-the-rack' - whichever is better value that is.

Cheers.

The Rims are factory samples from China actually courtesy of a proxy I know and it has a value around USD250 a pair. I believed the makers are OEM suppliers for bigger names though they remained tight lipped about who their customers are.

I have been toying with this project for nearly 6 months but with luck and timing (due to Ebay sniping of hubset - heh), it finally came together as what you can see here. As for the spokes, more testing must be made before any reviews will come up, so stay tuned!

Pat

Can you post better pics? I'd like to see more of the rim detail.

Did you take the AC hubs apart and rebuild them? Did you check to see if the rear hub was one of the recall hubs and if so, if it had the fix done on it?

When the pace picks up or the headwinds get stiff, you'll like....no, you'll love.....the deep rims. I've got a set of Reynolds Stratus DV's (46mm rims, tubulars) that I love. In fact, the only time they come off my bike is when all of tubies are flat and the time comes that I need to open 'em up and fix 'em. The benefits that you'll notice are subtle. I've notices that at quick pace, I can hold a speed that's .2-.4 mph or so faster than normal. I've also noticed that stiff headwinds are ever so slightly easier to deal with.

I've not found cross winds to be a real problem. The only time they have been a problem is when they were gusty and coming from unpredictable directions in a canyon, on a mountain descent.

What brake pads are you going to use? I've been using yellow Swissstop pads, and frankly, they're pretty awesome. Avoid cork pads like the plague. In wet conditions, cork pads become anti-stop pads. In the wet, the yellow Swissstops provide consistant, predictable behavior and good confidence.

Enjoy the wheels.

alienator said:

Can you post better pics? I'd like to see more of the rim detail.

Did you take the AC hubs apart and rebuild them? Did you check to see if the rear hub was one of the recall hubs and if so, if it had the fix done on it?

When the pace picks up or the headwinds get stiff, you'll like....no, you'll love.....the deep rims. I've got a set of Reynolds Stratus DV's (46mm rims, tubulars) that I love. In fact, the only time they come off my bike is when all of tubies are flat and the time comes that I need to open 'em up and fix 'em. The benefits that you'll notice are subtle. I've notices that at quick pace, I can hold a speed that's .2-.4 mph or so faster than normal. I've also noticed that stiff headwinds are ever so slightly easier to deal with.

I've not found cross winds to be a real problem. The only time they have been a problem is when they were gusty and coming from unpredictable directions in a canyon, on a mountain descent.

What brake pads are you going to use? I've been using yellow Swissstop pads, and frankly, they're pretty awesome. Avoid cork pads like the plague. In wet conditions, cork pads become anti-stop pads. In the wet, the yellow Swissstops provide consistant, predictable behavior and good confidence.

Enjoy the wheels.

I have updated the gallery with closeup shots of the rim as requested. Hope you can see it clearly now. The AC hubs were not affected by the global recall earlier this year.

I do agree that deep section wheels do get you the extra speed on the flats and the last pair I used was the Mavic Cosmic Carbones clinchers. My rolling speed increased by 5km/h with that wheelset. I am still deciding on which tubular tires to get for the new wheelset sans the cheap training tubs which really aint that good IMHO.

Coming to the brakepads, my buddy who is in USA told me that the Swiss Stop pads are really good like you said and I am seriously looking at them. Afterall, I am very open to opinions and reviews being a new tubular wheel user.

Pat

cyclist_sg said:

I do agree that deep section wheels do get you the extra speed on the flats and the last pair I used was the Mavic Cosmic Carbones clinchers. My rolling speed increased by 5km/h with that wheelset. I am still deciding on which tubular tires to get for the new wheelset sans the cheap training tubs which really aint that good IMHO.Pat

Wheels don't make a 5km/h difference. Sorry, there's some placebo effect in there.

badkarma said:

Wheels don't make a 5km/h difference. Sorry, there's some placebo effect in there.

Heh, maybe I was feeling good on that particular ride. Thanks for clarifying though.

Pat

cyclist_sg said:

Heh, maybe I was feeling good on that particular ride. Thanks for clarifying though.

Pat

Wheels do make a difference, about the biggest difference any one component can make. But I'd say it's closer to ~1-1.5 km/h

For all that improvement in component, it all depends on the cyclist's fitness and strength to maximise the component's potential.

Pat

Hmm... getting re-acquinted with tubular wheelset soon..

cyclist_sg said:

For all that improvement in component, it all depends on the cyclist's fitness and strength to maximise the component's potential.

Pat

Hmm... getting re-acquinted with tubular wheelset soon..

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm just saying, if you're going to upgrade any single component, wheels will deliver the biggest performance gain.

Tubbies will really help as well. I believe tubbies are about 0.5# lighter than clinchers on average, and all that weight is saved from the outside of the wheels, thus dropping your mass moment of inertia of the wheels - therefore you'll have wheels that are easier to spin up.

Took the wheelset out for the first spin and glad to say that the wound up was fast and roll was smooth. Glad to say that my LBS guy did a good job to ensure that the spoke tension was even and stiffness was there when needed.

For the lack in any decent climbs in my area, I am not able to give a feedback on that but will bring over to Malaysia next year and try it out.

As this is my first set of tubular wheels, I am using Vittoria Rally 21-28 (all black) for testing.

Thank you to all for your inputs earlier.

Pat

PS: alienator, no one has SwissStop in my area and there are many in the waiting list for the incoming stock...

badkarma said:

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm just saying, if you're going to upgrade any single component, wheels will deliver the biggest performance gain.

Tubbies will really help as well. I believe tubbies are about 0.5# lighter than clinchers on average, and all that weight is saved from the outside of the wheels, thus dropping your mass moment of inertia of the wheels - therefore you'll have wheels that are easier to spin up.

Moment of inertia has been constantly hammered to be of no effect. Rim weights mean diddly. 200g is a huge difference. My racing clinchers/tubes weigh 500g for the set give or take. A set of conti competition tubs weighs 20g more than that.

badkarma said:

I couldn't agree with you more. I'm just saying, if you're going to upgrade any single component, wheels will deliver the biggest performance gain.

Tubbies will really help as well. I believe tubbies are about 0.5# lighter than clinchers on average, and all that weight is saved from the outside of the wheels, thus dropping your mass moment of inertia of the wheels - therefore you'll have wheels that are easier to spin up.

That's a load of [censored]. Cyclists accelerate way to slow to perceive differences in acceleration as a result of differences in moments of inertia. Do the math.

badkarma said:

Wheels do make a difference, about the biggest difference any one component can make. But I'd say it's closer to ~1-1.5 km/h

The best aero wheels will only net a gain of 0.4-0.5mph at 25mph.

alienator said:

Can you post better pics? I'd like to see more of the rim detail.

Did you take the AC hubs apart and rebuild them? Did you check to see if the rear hub was one of the recall hubs and if so, if it had the fix done on it?

When the pace picks up or the headwinds get stiff, you'll like....no, you'll love.....the deep rims. I've got a set of Reynolds Stratus DV's (46mm rims, tubulars) that I love. In fact, the only time they come off my bike is when all of tubies are flat and the time comes that I need to open 'em up and fix 'em. The benefits that you'll notice are subtle. I've notices that at quick pace, I can hold a speed that's .2-.4 mph or so faster than normal. I've also noticed that stiff headwinds are ever so slightly easier to deal with.

I've not found cross winds to be a real problem. The only time they have been a problem is when they were gusty and coming from unpredictable directions in a canyon, on a mountain descent.

What brake pads are you going to use? I've been using yellow Swissstop pads, and frankly, they're pretty awesome. Avoid cork pads like the plague. In wet conditions, cork pads become anti-stop pads. In the wet, the yellow Swissstops provide consistant, predictable behavior and good confidence.

Enjoy the wheels.

Its been months since I got the wheels built and glad to say that the DT Revolution spokes held up due to the close to even tension ensured by my LBS guy.

Tested it on epic climb up Genting Highlands and made it up without much of an issue to the wheels itself (only the legs were suspect!!! :o )

I have ordered a set of SwissStop pads as recommended and will know soon enough what made you so happy with them.

Cheers,
Pat

Just hijacking the thread for a bit re: Genting Highlands.

What is the best way to get up from SG with road bikes? Hire Car, Plane to KL or bus/train?
Is there a time to avoid the area , holiday season .?
Where is the best town to stay in the area? I assume in the Highlands would be pricey?
Recommendation for mid-price hotels in the area.
What are the local drivers like ie trucks full of chickens overtaking on wrong side of road etc?
Are their any safety issues to Westerners in this area or is this more on the East Coast?

cyclist_sg said:

Hi all,

Just want to share with you my new wheelset which I have put together from parts all over.

Rims: 3K weave Carbon tubular 50mm rims
Hubs: Ebay - American Classic 20F/24R
Spokes: DT Swiss Revolution
Nipples: DT 14mm Brass Nipples

This wheelset was put together by my LBS near my home.

photo.ascender.netDSCN2239Open ↗

Note: Sorry for poor image but comments are welcomed. Also, hope to get recommendation on tubulars and reviews about Challenge tubulars as well.

Thanks,
Patrick

The rims look more like 25mm in the photo. Have I misunderstood?

mikesbytes said:

The rims look more like 25mm in the photo. Have I misunderstood?

Definitely not 25mm... It's deeper than that. Maybe the lighting and is giving that visual appearance.

Why do all these lighter deep wheels have to be tubulars? :o

sogood said:

Why do all these lighter deep wheels have to be tubulars? :o

Not all are tubulars, but tubular rims are 20-30gms lighter than clincher rims

mikesbytes said:

The rims look more like 25mm in the photo. Have I misunderstood?

It is definitely 50mm deep for the record. 🙂