Wheel upgrade suggestion...
 

I am getting ready to replace my Mavic Aksiums. They have served me well over the past 10 years, but it's time for an upgrade. So I'm looking for suggestions.

My budget is about $600 USD. I need clincher, rim brakes and a QR hub. I ride pretty much only road. I guess I'm not that hard on wheels as I have never broken a spoke on these or had to get them rebuilt or anything. I have replaced the bearings a couple times but nothing other than that. I do true them over the winter but they never really need much. I am on the fence about tubeless, so that's not a deal breaker.

I'm considering a few sets:

Rolf Prima Echelon - I don't know much about them but I talked to a Rolf rep not long ago and he said they don't put rider weight limits on their aluminum wheels and he suggested them to me. Of course he was a sales rep so naturally he wanted me to buy his wheels.

Mavic Ksyrium UST - I have always ridden Mavic wheels and had good luck, but I've heard recently their quality has gone downhill.

Spinergy Z Lite - Again, no weight limit. But I don't know about the spokes. I've done research and it seems like some people love them and never have a single issue, or they get a set that is nothing but problems and they hate them.

Custom built Colorado Cyclist wheelset - DT Swiss 350 hubs with DT R411 rims. I have never had a set of custom built wheels, so I don't know anything about them, but I hear good things.

I'm also open to other suggestions. I just want them available in the US so that I can get parts if I need them.

I'd check out these guys too. I have ordered parts from them before to build my wheels. Good service but as far as built wheels, I have not ordered from them, only parts as mentioned.

One thing I would look into is that your current wheels seem to be 25 mm tall and the Colorado wheels only 21.

Big selection of parts to custom build

https://www.prowheelbuilder.com/hubs...y/shimano.html

ProWheelBuilder Signature Alloy wheel set, Starting @ $350, decently built (double butted spokes, Kinlin XR31 hoops, etc) for sub-500.

Thanks. I’ve never heard of them. I’ll check them out.

Not to make it more confusing but another great builder is Velomine.
https://www.velomine.com/

I have used them and they are AWESOME, great CS and they are super nice!

Good guy there. I was building a wheel and went to 5 different local shops looking for the pretty standard DT spokes. None them so I checked on these guys, seems they have plenty. Great selection of rims/hoops too!

If I were you and considering a custom built set of wheels, I would consider a Shimano hub - I believe the Shimano freehub bolted to the hub body is a stronger design than ones like the DT, which, if I am correct, relies on the strength and stiffness of the axle to hold everything aligned.

Any rim that a DT hub can be bolted into can also accept a Shimano Ultegra hub.

Give me those Shimano 105 hubs on PWB. $100 for both front and rear?! :thumb:

I still have and use 1997 Shimano 600 (old Ultegra) hubs! :roflmao2:

Several bikes over 23 years, never needed anything other than Shimano.

Only one hub with problems but it was my rear tandem hub. Had it rebuilt with new bearings, like new!

I am a huge fan of Ultegra wheel hubs, I think for the value they are fantastic!! My opinion though....

Shimano hubs are the proven known solution. I said Ultegra because OP is looking for something a little more 'upmarket', but other Shimano hubs, Tiagra and Deore, especially, are extremely budget friendly and still perform very well. Deore hubs are used on most price-point touring bikes for a reason.

The other advantage of SHimano is serviceability - yes, any LBS can order and install bearings or parts on a DT or other sealed bearing hub, but most LBSs are more likely to have the loose bearing balls and spare Shimano freehub bodies in stock when/if you need them, in my experience.

The 105 rear hub that came on my 1991 road bike is still going strong after a few replacement axles and bearings and cones and freehub bodies. It has been laced into 5 rims, I believe. It is a microcosm of my Bike of Theseus, although not actually used on that bike.

The 1991 105 front hub (still laced to the original Araya rim from the early '90s) is probably still viable, but the axle broke a couple seasons ago and I have not found (or really looked for) a replacement.

I don't have a problem with 105. Everything else on my bike is 105.

105 is great too, the big advantage IMO is the east of adjustment between the 105 and Ultegra, they are just easier I think.

I was not aware of this. I thought they were almost identical with maybe slightly better materials or bearing surfaces or seals on the Ultegra.

105 and below use the traditional cup/cone bearing set up. NOTHING wrong with it at all, they are good quality.

Ultegra and up use the "digital cone bearing adjustment".

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/techn...e-bearing.html

The digital bearing adjustment system allows easier maintenance, simple adjustability and serviceability. Based on a digital adjustment without a double lock, a 5 mm hex wrench is all that is required to make a precise bearing adjustment.

Digital?! How is that "digital"? With some minor differences, it the sealed bearing system that has been used for many years by many different hub manufacturers, specifically Phil Wood. Welcome to the 20th Century, Shimano! We've been waiting for you:rolleyes:

I agree with your but a 5mm hex is way easier to adjust than two spanners. Well its easier for me, I am not a good enough to do traditional without taking 3 days and throwing 6 tools lol

Looking at their "procedure", I find it unnecessarily complicated. They have you take off the end caps and the cover to turn a knurled wheel. Then the cover goes back on but it has to line up with the knurled wheel. Why not just loosen the end caps and turn the cover. Same result with less hassle.

But having to do that kind of adjustment isn't necessary anyway. Phil Wood, White Industries, Paul, even 1984 Suntour hubs, OEM Cannondale Omegas, etc. (all hubs I've owned and used) use bearings which don't even need adjustment. Put them together and roll down the road. There is never a fraction of a millimeter of play in any of them even if the bearing is seizing.

I know your correct but one point I would like to make Is Phil Wood cost vs. Shimano is way different. I don't know a lot of tech about hubs. You absolutely do :)

I just think the price that shimano has on their hubs they are just hard to beat...

They are just so boooring:rolleyes: And a monoculture. And Shimano has a history of not supporting components. If you are going to have wheels built or going to build wheels, get something special. Shimano is like walking into Little Man and asking for DQ soft serve.

Got that right! I remember riding up a local mtn road with some forum members. About 15 miles up, I caught up to a dude. We rode together for a bit when he pointed out my 105 hubs. I had built my own wheels. He looked at my wheels and said that I needed to get better faster lighter wheels like his Mavic Ksyriums. Just then, his front hub started coming apart. I don't know what the problem was exactly as I use Shimano hubs and avoid all the hassle of trying to look fancy with overpriced hubs. It started to unscrew itself in some way. Again, I don't know the anatomy of Mavic high end hubs, all I know is he had to stop because his hub was falling apart.

23 years, 15 bikes, never had a problem with Shimano (Oops, edit, did have the bearing replaced in a rear tandem hub after 10 years, no further probs). I'll stick with them. Durable, decent, inexpensive, proven! :thumb:

Just to note, most of the wheels on Velomine's site are machine built. They do have hand built, but you can tell those because they are way more expensive!

That said, I have two sets of Velomine machine built hoops (a Clyde 36h Deep-V set and a set of H+Son Archetypes on my gravel bike), both are great quality.

Correct, I should have noted that. Sorry

I too have the H+son rims with ultegra hubs on my road bike and they are awesome!

I've been using Velo Orange cassette rear hubs which are built as you state with the axle being the carrier of the entire load. The spoke part of the hub has two sealed bearings, one for each end, and the cassette has its own two sealed bearings, one to each end. The hub can be taken apart with no tools. Not only that the axle is about 15mm in diameter in aluminum. I have yet to bend that aluminum axle and I ride these hubs off road a lot. I am a Clydesdale having been as much as 282lbs riding that hub. Absolutely no problems whatsoever. My oldest one of these has been in service since 2015. I now have three of them in service. Servicing of this hub is ridiculously simple and very fast. You do need some tools to drive out the sealed bearings if you want to. The bearings are sealed cartridge #6902 . A quick Amazon/eBay search has them new from about $8 to $20 for a ceramic version. These types of bearings are very easy to service. The downside is their initial expense.