Custom Built Rim Recommendations

jackchoo said:

Questions :
- what do you guys think of the combination?
- is the price alright?
- any other suggestions?

Combination? Great...
Price? It's good
Other? Nothing wrong with what you have been recommended.

parawolf said:

Combination? Great...
Price? It's good
Other? Nothing wrong with what you have been recommended.

price is veryyyy good. my place here is selling at least 50 percent more.

you said custom built? i didn't know MAVIC has custom built rims. like bigger size you mean.😄 😄

jackchoo said:

I am thinking of getting a local reputable LBS build up a rim for me. I'm about 88kg, thus i think need all the spokes i can get. My road bike is an old restored steel bike (heavy!). Here's what the LBS suggested over a short call...

- Mavic Open Pro Rims
- Ultegra Hubs
- DT Swiss Spokes

All this at a cost of roughly (for both wheels) USD400

Questions :
- what do you guys think of the combination?
- is the price alright?
- any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Good to support the LBS. What other rims could they use? DT RR 1.1 double or Velocity Fusion.
Are the DT spokes 14/15 DB?

[quote="jackchoo"]I am thinking of getting a local reputable LBS build up a rim for me. I'm about 88kg, thus i think need all the spokes i can get. My road bike is an old restored steel bike (heavy!). Here's what the LBS suggested over a short call...

- Mavic Open Pro Rims
- Ultegra Hubs
- DT Swiss Spokes

All this at a cost of roughly (for both wheels) USD400

Questions :
- what do you guys think of the combination?
- is the price alright?
- any other suggestions?

Maybe sub DT rims for the Open Pro rims..same $.

Available from many distributors, the rims, that is.

193 pounds isn't all that heavy, BTW.

jackchoo said:

I am thinking of getting a local reputable LBS build up a rim for me. I'm about 88kg, thus i think need all the spokes i can get. My road bike is an old restored steel bike (heavy!). Here's what the LBS suggested over a short call...

- Mavic Open Pro Rims
- Ultegra Hubs
- DT Swiss Spokes

All this at a cost of roughly (for both wheels) USD400

Questions :
- what do you guys think of the combination?
- is the price alright?
- any other suggestions?

Thanks!

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I am looking at a very similar combination. What you spec'd appears to be a good wheelset.

You can beat that price on the internet but I hate to steer you away from a LBS.

I am also considering Chris King Hubs (Classic Cross) laced up to open pros with DT swiss spokes. I am not sure about spoke diameter yet or the spoke count. Definitely a bit pricier than Ultegra hubs ($265 vs $627 on colorado cyclist) but the King hubs engage much quicker, are a better build quality and would appear to last longer.

I am having a hard time deciding myself. I am learning towards the King hubs and don't mind spending the extra money for a better wheelset. I have no personal experience with King hubs though. I have used Ultegra hubs for a couple of years with no issues but am hitting rougher trails these days and am switching from road to cross bike.. I am also considering Shimano XT hubs

Anyone care to weigh in on spoke count for these wheelsets? I am about the same weight as Jackchoor, ride mostly road but also light trails (crushed limestone and some gravel), and will be installing on a cross bike. Is a 36 spokecount total overkill for this application? What spoke count/diameter would you recommend?

How will these hold up against the Mavic Kysrium Equipe (2006)? another LBS is offering me this set used....for about USD240. I'm normally ok with used stuff (my current bike is a mix-match of used parts anyway) but for wheels I tend to be a bit more careful....

jackchoo said:

How will these hold up against the Mavic Kysrium Equipe (2006)? another LBS is offering me this set used....for about USD240. I'm normally ok with used stuff (my current bike is a mix-match of used parts anyway) but for wheels I tend to be a bit more careful....

You'll be better off in every respect going with the custom built wheels.

thanks guys, I'll bite the bullet.

Are ultegra hubs decent (performance, weight and price) or am i better off spending a little more on Dura-Ace? which i think is a lot more expensive....I have absolutely no idea how i can source for chris king hubs over here....

jackchoo said:

thanks guys, I'll bite the bullet.

Are ultegra hubs decent (performance, weight and price) or am i better off spending a little more on Dura-Ace? which i think is a lot more expensive....I have absolutely no idea how i can source for chris king hubs over here....

Go ultegra...

Mister C said:

***********
*************
I am looking at a very similar combination. What you spec'd appears to be a good wheelset.

You can beat that price on the internet but I hate to steer you away from a LBS.

I am also considering Chris King Hubs (Classic Cross) laced up to open pros with DT swiss spokes. I am not sure about spoke diameter yet or the spoke count. Definitely a bit pricier than Ultegra hubs ($265 vs $627 on colorado cyclist) but the King hubs engage much quicker, are a better build quality and would appear to last longer.

I am having a hard time deciding myself. I am learning towards the King hubs and don't mind spending the extra money for a better wheelset. I have no personal experience with King hubs though. I have used Ultegra hubs for a couple of years with no issues but am hitting rougher trails these days and am switching from road to cross bike.. I am also considering Shimano XT hubs

Anyone care to weigh in on spoke count for these wheelsets? I am about the same weight as Jackchoor, ride mostly road but also light trails (crushed limestone and some gravel), and will be installing on a cross bike. Is a 36 spokecount total overkill for this application? What spoke count/diameter would you recommend?

King hubs are a very expensive and complicated answer to a pretty simple question. For a companyn that makes superior headsets, their hubs are a real dissapointment. WAY to complicated, expensive to maintain.

DA 7850 are a far better idea or DT, if you need high end hubs. 'Engagement speed' really means nothing, with DT having a ratchet and DA being 3 pawl.

Remember XT hubs are 135mm spacing.

36 h wheels being 'overkill'? Don't get this, will NEVER get this. 4 spokes weigh 28 grams, an ounce. 36h is stronger that 32, all else being equal. There is NO penalty for using 4 more spokes to have a more reliable wheel..none, zero, nada, zippo. BUT having a wheel got to hell when it is built 'too light' ruins your day. Unless you are worried about 'coffee shop points' before your Sunday ride, use 36.

jackchoo said:

thanks guys, I'll bite the bullet.

Are ultegra hubs decent (performance, weight and price) or am i better off spending a little more on Dura-Ace? which i think is a lot more expensive....I have absolutely no idea how i can source for chris king hubs over here....

Ultegra is a great value and has very good TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). It is a well designed and well implemented hub with conventional parts that are widely available and easily servicable/adjustable.
36 spokes makes the wheels more durable, but 36 spoke hubs and rims are a little out of the norm. You will likely wear out or damage the rim in the service life of the wheel. It may be easier to find a 32H rim replacement, but I agree with Peter that the extremely small weight diference is well compensated by more wheel durability with 36 spokes per wheel.
If you even think that Chris King hubs are a challenge to source, think about sourcing Chris King parts, special lube, and service during the life of the hubs.
Quality build and regular hub service are the things to be most concerned about.

daveornee said:

Ultegra is a great value and has very good TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). It is a well designed and well implemented hub with conventional parts that are widely available and easily servicable/adjustable.
36 spokes makes the wheels more durable, but 36 spoke hubs and rims are a little out of the norm. You will likely wear out or damage the rim in the service life of the wheel. It may be easier to find a 32H rim replacement, but I agree with Peter that the extremely small weight diference is well compensated by more wheel durability with 36 spokes per wheel.
If you even think that Chris King hubs are a challenge to source, think about sourcing Chris King parts, special lube, and service during the life of the hubs.
Quality build and regular hub service are the things to be most concerned about.

I think I will go with 36 spokes per wheel and appreciate the advice above on that configuration. I am willing to take the very small weight penalty in exchange for better durability. If I trash the rim first I should be able to find a replacement somewhere I suppose.

I am still on the fence on the Chris King Hubs. Any thoughts on Hope or Phil Wood hubs? I don't have any personal experience with any of these hubs (only Ultegra and Deore which are ok but wanting something a bit better for this new build).

I am curious as to why Peter thinks the King hubs are a disapointment. I guess he means the expensive tools needed to completely tear them down and the need for regular servicing. My expectation is that I wouldn't need replacement parts for King hubs for a long, long time. Yes, I would need special grease but I also hear the Phil Wood grease is as good or better for King hubs so that would be me an alternative source for the thing I would need most often.

Anyway, thanks a ton for all the advice. I have been learning quite a bit and appreciate your help.

Mister C

I think Mavic CXP33 rims are much stronger than Open Pros. That is the rim I'll consider, if I were you. Ultegra hubs, laced to the rim with DT Swiss double-butted spokes are more than sufficient, if you want strength, reliability and ease of maintenance.

Super.

I have a set of Ambrosio Montreals (which came with the steel frame i restored) which has 36 spokes laced onto mid 80's Dura-Ace hubs, front and rear....they roll very very well even for the age and the wheel condition seems to be good.

In the interest of saving some money and also preserving the vintage look, I was thinking of just getting a hub for the rear so that I can fit the 10spd cassette and rebuild the rears as 130mm, while retaining the front as the fit just fine to the fork.

Is this a good option? I don't mind the 'vintage' look at all, in fact I quite like it. Only gripe is that they are tubulars and I've seem to hear a lot of mixed feelings about tubulars from the forum....advice appreciated....Thanks!

jackchoo said:

I have a set of Ambrosio Montreals (which came with the steel frame i restored) which has 36 spokes laced onto mid 80's Dura-Ace hubs, front and rear....they roll very very well even for the age and the wheel condition seems to be good.

In the interest of saving some money and also preserving the vintage look, I was thinking of just getting a hub for the rear so that I can fit the 10spd cassette and rebuild the rears as 130mm, while retaining the front as the fit just fine to the fork.

Is this a good option? I don't mind the 'vintage' look at all, in fact I quite like it. Only gripe is that they are tubulars and I've seem to hear a lot of mixed feelings about tubulars from the forum....advice appreciated....Thanks!

Tubulars are like anything else, some people love them, some people hate them, and then there are a whole lot of people in between. The only way for you to make your decision is to ride the tubulars and see if they float your boat. Once you have ridden them, compare them to clinchers and see which one is best for you. In my personal experience, I did not detect much difference in the ride between good tubulars and good clinchers. Since I am terrible at sewing and usually get more glue on me than what I am glueing, I decided that I would go with clinchers. From these forums, it appears that there is tape now that you can use instead of glue, which makes it a little easier to use tubulars, but I also like to be able to throw a set of tires on a bike and ride right away which is something that I am pretty sure you cannot do with tubulars. That's my two cents. If you want to search the forums, there are many many many....... threads concerning tubulars versus clinchers.

Concerning the hubs, it sounds like a good idea if you want your ride to be a 10 speed bike. You might want your LBS to respace your frame for you if your bike uses a RD hanger that is integral to the dropout, just to ensure that the hanger alignment is correct. I don't know how well the appearance of a modern rear DA hub will compare to the appearance of a 80's vintage front hub, but really, who is gonna notice😄 ?

hi kdelong, really appreciate your comments!

Tubulars or clinchers, you are right, there is simply too much information out there that really does not guide me to one or the other. Its to the point of intangibility, like the 'force' 🙄 The user need a 'feel' for it himself.

My ride was originally with those ambrosio tubulars but I got it respaced as I wanted to transfer my newer Ultegra 10spd gear from my cracked GT road bike to the restored steel bike. So I'm left with these ambrosios (which look very nice IMHO, in a vintage kind of way, an in my opinion very strong, compared to the Shimano R540 which I'm currently using) lying around doing nothing, it's be a shame to try to ebay it off for pennies too.....hence the thought of converting them to fit the respaced 130mm frame (and also the 10spd cassette!).

Mister C said:

I think I will go with 36 spokes per wheel and appreciate the advice above on that configuration. I am willing to take the very small weight penalty in exchange for better durability. If I trash the rim first I should be able to find a replacement somewhere I suppose.

I am still on the fence on the Chris King Hubs. Any thoughts on Hope or Phil Wood hubs? I don't have any personal experience with any of these hubs (only Ultegra and Deore which are ok but wanting something a bit better for this new build).

I am curious as to why Peter thinks the King hubs are a disapointment. I guess he means the expensive tools needed to completely tear them down and the need for regular servicing. My expectation is that I wouldn't need replacement parts for King hubs for a long, long time. Yes, I would need special grease but I also hear the Phil Wood grease is as good or better for King hubs so that would be me an alternative source for the thing I would need most often.

Anyway, thanks a ton for all the advice. I have been learning quite a bit and appreciate your help.

Mister C

CK hubs are a $100 answer to a $10 question. No bicycle hubv needs to be so complicated, not so expensive. Phil hubs are very durable, pretty heavy and shimano compatible only.

If you not after a weebit of bling and weight savings, Ultegra hubs are bard to beat.

Peter@vecchios said:

CK hubs are a $100 answer to a $10 question. No bicycle hubv needs to be so complicated, not so expensive. Phil hubs are very durable, pretty heavy and shimano compatible only.

If you not after a weebit of bling and weight savings, Ultegra hubs are bard to beat.

Thanks for the Reply Peter. After much consideration I have decided against the King hubs. I have also thought more about what I want to do with this new bike and that includes some loaded touring on the C&O Canal and Allegheny Highlands trail. That is pretty harsh riding conditions for any hub and I would really be a shame to break down on the trail miles from anywhere. So, am now looking at Hadley hubs due to LBS recommendation. Hadleys are supposedly bomb proof and extremely reliable. Yeah, they are heavy hubs but I am willing to take on some weight for the reliability factor.

Anyone have experience with the Hadley hubs? Any thoughts on those?

Looks like its more than likely I'll stick with Ultegras....over here, the Dura Ace hubs are like USD10 more compared to Ultegra (F+R) amazing.....

Ok, I've done a little phone marketing research here are there and here are the options for RIMS that I have now....

- DT Swiss RR 1.1 (recommended by another LBS, prob because they carry it...)
- Velocity Deep V (seems like some guys swear by these rims...Aussies ones right?)
- Mavic Open Pro (recommended by the builder I intend to use)

All the rims above cost about the same.

I want a strong wheel that will last me a long long time, and I don't race....appreciate absolutely any ideas on the above rims...THANKS!