Wheelset for up to $700

gazookas said:

I am 5'11", 173 lbs, riding an aluminum frame with carbon fork and seatstays. Don't do any Cat 1 hills/mountains; rather, rolling hills and some moderate 1-2 mile hills (that are plenty for me, thanks very much!) but I want a light durable wheelset for up to $700.

Am thinking about the Velomax Orion II. Anyone have any experience or advice to offer?

Matt

Light weight and durability work towards oposite ends of the comprimise.
Have some wheels built with 32 spokes 3x front and rear. Use DT Revolution spokes front and left rear; and DT Competition 14/15 right rear.
If you want light, go for Velocity Aeroheads,,... and Aerohead OCR Rear.
Use DT plated brass nipples all around.
If you are Campy equipped, go with Chorus; but if Shimano go with DURA ACE.
You will not only get low weight, you will get serviceability and durability.

daveornee said:

Light weight and durability work towards oposite ends of the comprimise.
Have some wheels built with 32 spokes 3x front and rear. Use DT Revolution spokes front and left rear; and DT Competition 14/15 right rear.
If you want light, go for Velocity Aeroheads,,... and Aerohead OCR Rear.
Use DT plated brass nipples all around.
If you are Campy equipped, go with Chorus; but if Shimano go with DURA ACE.
You will not only get low weight, you will get serviceability and durability.

american classic make a wonderful wheelset called the sprint 350 that weighs a mere 1350 grams and goes for around 600 us.

dingodog said:

american classic make a wonderful wheelset called the sprint 350 that weighs a mere 1350 grams and goes for around 600 us.

Thanks for the advice. I've heard that the hubs on the American Classic were a bit problematic. Any truth to that?

daveornee said:

Light weight and durability work towards oposite ends of the comprimise.
Have some wheels built with 32 spokes 3x front and rear. Use DT Revolution spokes front and left rear; and DT Competition 14/15 right rear.
If you want light, go for Velocity Aeroheads,,... and Aerohead OCR Rear.
Use DT plated brass nipples all around.
If you are Campy equipped, go with Chorus; but if Shimano go with DURA ACE.
You will not only get low weight, you will get serviceability and durability.

True enough! Hard to get lightweight and strong. I thought that VeloMax Orion II would be a good combination of those attributes. Anyone have any experience with those wheels?

This may be a stupid question--but where should one go to get a custom built wheel if one wanted to go that route?

Thanks for the advice!

gazookas said:

True enough! Hard to get lightweight and strong. I thought that VeloMax Orion II would be a good combination of those attributes. Anyone have any experience with those wheels?

This may be a stupid question--but where should one go to get a custom built wheel if one wanted to go that route?

Thanks for the advice!

There are custom builders who contribute regularly here and Rec.bicycles.tech.
Peter Chisholm in Boulder, Colorado, Andrew Muzi of Yellow Jersey in Madison, WI, and Sheldon Brown of Harris Cyclery near Boston, MA are a few.
There are some big mail order houses like Excelsports that also do custom.
Your location is also a decsion maker in this as most custom wheel makers cover their wheels for broken spokes, etc. and some would like to check tension after ~100 miles to make sure that even tension is holding. Shipping wheels is expensive due to their size, so dealing locally can cut cost and time.
My limited experience with VeloMax wheels and American Classic hubs has been less than satifying.
Chris King and DT Swiss are also quality sources of lighter hubs.
You can now get an entire wheelset based on DT Swiss hubs, spokes, and rims. I like to stay with Shimano or Campy due to good experiences with support, wide spread parts availability, and familiarity with these components.

daveornee said:

There are custom builders who contribute regularly here and Rec.bicycles.tech.
Peter Chisholm in Boulder, Colorado, Andrew Muzi of Yellow Jersey in Madison, WI, and Sheldon Brown of Harris Cyclery near Boston, MA are a few.
There are some big mail order houses like Excelsports that also do custom.
Your location is also a decsion maker in this as most custom wheel makers cover their wheels for broken spokes, etc. and some would like to check tension after ~100 miles to make sure that even tension is holding. Shipping wheels is expensive due to their size, so dealing locally can cut cost and time.
My limited experience with VeloMax wheels and American Classic hubs has been less than satifying.
Chris King and DT Swiss are also quality sources of lighter hubs.
You can now get an entire wheelset based on DT Swiss hubs, spokes, and rims. I like to stay with Shimano or Campy due to good experiences with support, wide spread parts availability, and familiarity with these components.

Know of a good custom wheel builder in the Baltimore area? I guess I'll have to research that.

Curious, which of the VeloMax wheels did you try? And what were the problems with the wheels?

Thanks!